New items at Odd Wisconsin exhibit in Madison

MADISON, Wis. — An original script from the movie “Casablanca,” a journal from the Lewis and Clark Expedition and one of the world’s first atlases are among the new items at the Wisconsin Historical Museum’s exhibit of odd items.

“Odd Wisconsin” opened last fall at the Madison museum, with more than 60 artifacts. Museum officials recently swapped out about 40 percent of the exhibit to replace fragile or sensitive items with different ones.

Some of the other new items include the banjo-ukulele used to record the “Oh I Wish I Were an Oscar Mayer Wiener” jingle, a collection of the creepiest of dolls and toys and the blanket under which Abraham Lincoln purportedly died.

Some of the remaining artifacts include the glass from which Teddy Roosevelt was drinking when he was shot in Milwaukee. Museum spokesman John Lemke said the exhibit will run at least through the summer 2010.

The Wisconsin Historical Museum is at 30 N. Carroll St. on Madison’s Capitol Square and is open Tuesday through Saturday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Admission is by donation: $4 for adults, $3 for children under 18 or $10 for families. Visit the museum online at www.wisconsinhistory.org/museum.