Six Fun Facts of Madame Tussauds, a Famous Wax Museum

VIVA – Madame Tussauds is a popular wax museum located in several countries, such as England, the Netherlands, the United States, Thailand, Singapore, and others. The museum displays wax statues of famous figures. It was founded by wax sculptor, Anna Maria “Marie” Tussaud.

Marie's sculptural talent emerged when her mother worked as a housekeeper for dr. Philippe Curtis in Bern, Switzerland. He was a doctor who specializes in wax modeling. That is where Philippe taught Marie.

In 1835, the first Madame Tussauds Museum was founded on Baker Street, London. While the first branch of the museum is in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, and opened in 1970.

Nowadays, Madame Tussaud's museums are present in more than 20 cities around the world. Madame Tussauds has arguably created an empire in the world of wax sculpture. But behind the statues made, there is history and interesting facts. As reported from various sources, here are six fun facts about the Madame Tussauds Museum.

1. Her Mother’s Employer Liked Marie

As already mentioned, Marie's mother worked with Philippe Curtis in Switzerland. Philippe liked Marie and decided to become a guardian in addition to being a mentor in wax sculpture.

2. The Process of Measuring the Statue is More than 250 Stages

To measure a statue to be exactly like the human being imitated, the museum had to make about 250 exact measurements and photographs and 2,400 pounds (1,088.63 kilograms) of wax. A total of 20 artists were also involved to make a wax statue.

Madame Tussauds also features various fictional characters. One of them is Tinkerbell which is the smallest statue in the collection measuring 5.5 inches or the equivalent of 13 cm. The Tinkerbell statue is available at Madame Tussauds London.

Before opening each day, all statues at Madame Tussauds are inspected by two maintenance teams, the statue's hair is washed and makeup is re-polished.

A big fan of Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan did this in 2007. That big fan visited the statue of Shah Rukh Khan in London and gave him an engagement ring with diamonds.

During the manufacturing process, all wax figures are made two percent larger than real people. This is an estimate of how much they will melt within 6 months of manufacture.