Most travelers are guilty of picking up odd knick-knacks that seemed attractive at the time; I know I am. So we’ve rounded up some of the weirdest souvenirs out there for your viewing pleasure.

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About The Author

Lola (Akinmade) Åkerström

Lola (Akinmade) Åkerström is a MatadorU faculty member and Network contributor. Her work has appeared in National Geographic Traveler, Vogue, BBC, Fodors.com, and many more. Follow her photoblog at Sweden.se.

  • http://thebrooklynnomad.com Andrew

    Absolutely brilliant post. My favorite has to be #9 – the smoking baby with tarred lungs. Funny to think someone came up with that idea, designed it, sculpted it and then painted the lungs black. Too funny.

    • http://www.lolaakinmade.com Lola Akinmade

      @Andrew – That smoking baby is creepy on so many levels..

  • http://matadortravel.com/travel-community/michelles Michelle Schusterman

    That baby is FREAKING SCARY. And I love the Austria patch!

  • http://www.evaholland.com Eva

    Okay, how badly do I want the Eiffel Cower? So badly. Oh my.

    • http://www.lolaakinmade.com Lola Akinmade

      @Eva – Aren’t you the queen of souvenirs? I’d love to see photos of all yours. We could do a special essay :)

  • http://www.candicedoestheworld.com Candice

    I could TOTALLY use a beer kilt.

    • http://www.lolaakinmade.com Lola Akinmade

      @Candice – The kilt is so cute.

  • Kim A Martin

    I think the Ragged Ass Road signs in Yellowknife should be on the list. People kept stealing the signs so the city started selling replicas to tourists http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ragged_Ass_Road_%28street%29

    • http://www.lolaakinmade.com Lola Akinmade

      @Kim – Thanks for the ragged link! We plan on compiling a second set of souvenirs too.

  • http://www.nehasweb.com neha

    What a fun photo essay, the jelly bean thing looks a bit scary though!

  • http://annemerritt.blogspot.com Anne

    I’m so happy I’m not the only one who wants the Eiffel Cower.

    Also, I would buy those creepy Russian owls. When I was in Russia, the stackable dolls came in Toronto Maple Leafs, Communist World Leaders, and Harry Potter character sets. Weird!

  • http://iwannagothere.com/ maria

    Hi there!

    Hi, I’m María from iwannagothere.com.

    We are hosting the Tackiest Souvenir Ever Photo Contest.

    The grand prize is an iPad! To win, all you have to do is post a pic of your tacky souvenir, and tell your friends to vote for you!

    Check it out: http://iwannagothere.com/contests/tackiest-souvenir-ever

    Thanks!

  • http://www.michiyuki.wordpress.com Alina Radulescu

    Kind of strange that two of the items (the boobies-cookies and Mount Fuji) are from Japan, the absolute country of souvenirs. Those people have a great culture of omiyage (souvenirs): small, big, weird or not, any kind. And the boob-cookies are kind of offered a lot also (they are delicious too!).

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