Get inspired by this Museum of Failure!

The newly opened 'Museum of Failure' in Sweden on failed innovations is a lesson in embracing your errors

Jun 17, 2017, 06:25 IST19 min
1/26
Google Glass2013-2015When Google launched these &lsquosmart glasses&rsquo with a built-in camera, voice controls and a revolutionary screen, expectations were sky high. Technology enthusias...
Image by Museum of Failure
2/26
Bofors toothpaste1968-1971In the 1960s, the Swedish weapons manufacturer Bofors tried to branch out and start making so called &lsquopeace products.&rsquo Like toothpaste, artificial sweete...
Image by Museum of Failure
3/26
TwitterPeek2009-2010TwitterPeek was supposed to be a single-use device for Twitter. For $200. The main question here is  &lsquoWhy did this product ever exist? Didn&rsquot all heavy Twitter...
Image by Museum of Failure
4/26
Millennium Dome1999-2000An amazing £789 million was invested in the Millennium Dome project, planned to be a glittering achievement for Tony Blair's government. It was supposed to be a spec...
Image by Philip Bird LRPS CPAGB / Shutterstock.com
5/26
Sony Betamax1975-2002In 1975, Sony launched an innovative home video tape recorder called Betamax. When JVC released the competing VHS format a year later, it started a decade long videotap...
Image by Museum of Failure
6/26
Rejuvenique1999-1999This beauty mask tones facial muscles with electricity. According to the instructions, the mask should be strapped onto the face for 15 minutes, three to four times a we...
Image by Museum of Failure
7/26
Segway 2001 This is a first-generation Segway, and it was a marvel of technology. Since Segways are still being sold, you may wonder what the Segway is doing here at the Museum of Failure. ...
Image by Museum of Failure
8/26
Ford Edsel1957-1960Ford hoped that the Edsel would be the car that everybody wanted. The car had several technological innovations, like an electro-mechanical Teletouch transmission - with ...
Image by Museum of Failure
9/26
Nokia N-Gage2003-2005Back in the year 2000, many people carried both mobile phones and handheld game consoles. Nokia combined these two devices into one unit and launched the N-Gage in 2004...
Image by Museum of Failure
10/26
Kodak DC-401888-2012Kodak was a successful early pioneer in the development of digital cameras. The DC40 released in 1995 was among the first consumer digital cameras sold. When Kodak creat...
Image by Museum of Failure
11/26
BIC For Her2011The French company BIC is best known for their ballpoint pens, which have been produced since the 1950s. Bic for Her are pens designed to &lsquofit comfortably in a woman&rsq...
Image by Museum of Failure
12/26
Coca-Cola BlāK 2006-2008Coca-Cola spent two years developing this soda-coffee concoction, in the hopes of tapping into the growing premium coffee market. The beverage was launched in 2006 ...
Image by Museum of Failure
13/26
Synthetic Trachea2011-2013The surgeon Paolo Macchiarini pioneered a new regenerative surgery using a synthetic trachea (windpipe) combined with the patient&rsquos own stem cells. The revolu...
Image by Museum of Failure
14/26
Colgate frozen dinnerAccording to the literature on brand failures, Colgate launched a line of frozen food in the 1980s. This was a mistake because the brand was strongly associated with or...
Image by Museum of Failure
15/26
Exubera2006-2007The pharmaceutical company Pfizer developed an inhalable insulin. The biggest advantage was that the insulin no longer needed to be injected with syringes. Following the pro...
Image by John Sommers II / Reuters
16/26
Lego Fiber Optic1996In the early 2000s, LEGO was close to bankruptcy with poor management and runaway costs. An example of this was LEGO Technic Fiber Optic, which featured specialized part...
Image by Museum of Failure
17/26
Apple Newton1993-1998Apple&rsquos personal digital assistant was marketed as the future of computing. The sleek design and touchscreen with handwriting recognition made the Newton an exciti...
Image by Museum of Failure
18/26
Orbitoclast1935-1967A lobotomy was a surgical procedure where nerves in the front of the brain were cut to treat psychiatric symptoms such as severe anxiety, depression and obsessions. The ...
Image by Museum of Failure
19/26
CueCat2001-2002Marketed as a revolutionary technology, the CueCat was a cat-shaped handheld scanner that plugs into your computer. By scanning special codes in printed magazines, users coul...
Image by Museum of Failure
20/26
McDonald&rsquos Arch Deluxe1996 &ndash 1997In an attempt to change its image as a restaurant for families with small children, McDonald&rsquos introduced a new hamburger with a more "adult ...
Image by Museum of Failure
21/26
Iridium1998-1999Along with Motorola, Iridium created an enormous satellite infrastructure for a new global telephone network. A total of 66 satellites were required at a cost of $5 billion....
Image by Christian Charisius / Reuters
22/26
Trump: The Game1989-1990 2004Inspired by Donald Trump&rsquos real estate business, this game is about buying and selling real estate. It was described as a boring and complicated variation ...
Image by Museum of Failure
23/26
Tidal2015This music service got its start when the rapper Jay Z bought the Swedish technology company Aspiro, which developed Tidal. The new service was launched at a grand press conference...
Image by BestStockFoto / Shutterstock.com
24/26
Groove StickThe double drumstick inventor&rsquos basic idea was that you could play the hi-hat cymbals twice as fast by hitting them both on the downstroke and upstroke. The problem is that...
Image by Museum of Failure
25/26
Teleguide1991-1993The Swedish state telecom company&rsquos TeleGuide could be described as a pre-internet computer network. With the French Minitel as a model, this major investment was exp...
Image by Museum of Failure
26/26
Harley-Davidson1996-2005The brand of the iconic American motorcycle maker Harley-Davidson is strongly associated with &lsquothe biker myth&rsquo - the freedom of the open road, strength, an...
Image by Museum of Failure

Photogallery