Yes, you read it correct!. It’s not a prank, nor I’m crazy😉. A laundry service is open at the Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen in Rotterdam, with big washing machines/dryers and welcomes the visitors with dirty laundry to see the museum for free for the next three months.

The museum wanted to show the ideas of designers for a better world in the theme of “Change the System”- one of them was to encourage people to communicate more closely!. It’s unfortunate that people talking to each other is really getting less and lesser. Since we all have Google Maps, we do not even ask for the road directions; Evening chats with neighbors are gone and we even lost negotiation talks with our old grocer as everything happens online nowadays.

The laundry is an idea of ​​Rotterdam artist Manon van Hoeckel., who felt: “Laundry room can be nice meeting place; Of course a lot of talking can happen in laundry area. You always have to wait until you're done and you'll be easily conversing with each other” . In-fact, Van Hoeckel himself thought this is a crazy idea, but the museum authorities really liked the proposal and now it’s open to the public throughout this autumn.

If you’re living in/around the area, just go and see how it works. You just have to go with your dirty laundry, they even provide you the detergent and all necessary supplies😊. Though that’s the main intention, the museum is not going to compel you to talk to the other visitor; you may also wander through the museum when their laundry is running.
Anyway, this is a creative way to attract more people to the museum too.