Humans never fail to surprise us with their quick wit and dumb luck. The Greek gods are probably looking down on us mere mortals and betting what’s the stupidest thing that could happen next in a particular scenario. Well I bet they weren’t the least bit disappointed in what they saw, in fact they’re probably enjoying the show! Here’s 8 times people had a different kind of fun at a museum.

1. The Boy Who Punched a Painting

First rule in visiting museums is to never under any circumstances touch the art. Unless, of course, if the building is burning, which in that case don’t touch it still because I’m pretty sure the museum has its own evacuation plan. But this boy had a different idea in mind when he tripped and punched a $1.5 Million painting at Taipei’s Huashan 1914 Creative Park. As if that’s not worse enough, he also had a soda in the same hand that punched the painting. DOUBLE WHAMMY! I bet that visit will scar him for life. Luckily the curator of the exhibition did not ask the boy’s family to pay for the damage as the painting is insured.

ARTWORK – 0

HUMAN – 1

2. Smashed lego artwork of Nick from Zootopia

Small but terrible – these are the children of the new generation. They can look harmless one minute and then wreak havoc the next. Just like this young boy at the LEGO Expo in Ningbo, China who smashed the lego artwork of Nick from Zootopia. It has only been an hour since the new exhibit opened on its first day!  The artist said that it was worth $15,000 and that he had spent a number of days piecing it together. But he was kind enough to let the incident go without compensation, saying that the boy didn’t mean what he did.

3. The ancient wooden clock that fell

The rules in a museum aren’t there to keep people from having fun. It’s there to be respected and obeyed and to preserve the artifacts that are probably a hundred years older than you. But that’s not what this man did when he went to the National Watch and Clock Museum. Apparently, he was looking at the art, a wooden handmade clock, and decided that he wanted to see how it worked. So he tinkered with it a few times until bam! It fell in broken woody heaps on the floor. To his credit, he immediately called museum staff and admitted his mistake.

4. The trash themed artwork that was treated like.. trash

This marvelous party-themed installation entitled Where Are We Going to Dance Tonight (2015) by artists Goldschmied and Chiari was on an exhibit at the Museion Museum for Modern and Contemporary Art in Italy. It’s a great and lively masterpiece that looked real. Unfortunately, this is the exact same reason for the art’s downfall.

A group of hardworking cleaners who were told to clean the foyer accidentally cleaned the entire artwork itself. Made to look like a real aftermath of a party with numerous champagne bottles and confetti, the cleaners mistook it for the real thing. Imagine the surprise of the curator when she comes in the next day and finds the art all gone! Fortunately they were able to save the pieces and offered to reinstall it to its former glory.

5. The Girl Who Took a Selfie that Shookt the Artifacts

Of course it’s a given that we will take photos of artwork in museums, heck that’s part of why we go there – because we want to brag we went there! But it’s also crucial to be alert and careful in taking photos. Unlike this woman who wanted to have her picture taken with the Hypercaine (2015) an art that is a 60-pedestal beauty with different kinds of crowns made in varying metal on top. She was taking a photo with it when she got a lot closer than intended and bumped into one pedestal which toppled and had a domino effect on the others. The damage caused was worth $200,000!

6. The Crossword Lover

A 91-year-old woman thought she was in for a treat when she whipped out her ballpoint pen and started writing on an art piece that looked like a crossword puzzle. To her defense, the artwork really did look like a crossword. It was called the Reading-Work-Piece at the Nuremberg’s Neues Museum. It even had the phrase “Insert words” written on it so how could this woman resist the temptation to fill it out? The once-young crossword addict in her suddenly resurfaced and committed the act that caused an $89,000 damage. Don’t go blaming her though, there were no signs that said she shouldn’t write anything and hello, the artwork itself invited her to! Don’t worry though, officials said the art piece could be restored (whew!).

7. Two Concerned Teenagers

Imagine the pity these two teenagers must’ve felt when they saw the 5,000-year-old rock carving looking faded and forlorn. It is with their good intentions and pure heart that they took a sharp object and started carving on the outline of the earliest evidence of a person skiing.  County Archaeologist for Norway’s Nordland County Tor-Kristian Storvik said that the carvings cannot be restored to its former glory because “the lines are both in and outside where the old marks had been.”

8. Spoiled Kids Who Spoiled an Artwork

If you’re going to the museum with your kids, please for the love of art keep them in check. Do not let them run around or go beyond the ropes because surprise surprise, kids might damage the art! But of course the parents of this one didn’t care. Their kids went near the artwork Angel is Waiting at the Shanghai Museum of Glass and played with it and broke it while the parents are filming their children on their phones! The artist Shelly Xue spent 27 months making it and even dedicated it to her daughter.

She has since then renamed the art Broken after the incident. It has also been reported that there is now a monitor displayed beside the art replaying the CCTV footage of the incident.

Know of any other instances? Share it with us in the comments below!