International Spy Museum

The International Spy Museum in Washington DC is lots of fun! They have tons of real vintage spy gadgets and equipment, and they are overflowing with detailed information about real spies. Just for fun they also have an extensive James Bond exhibit, which is a must for fans of the films. It's a privately owned museum, which is a disadvantage in contrast to all the wonderful, free Smithsonian museums nearby. But when we were in town, it was actually a huge advantage. A government shutdown was taking effect, and throngs of protestors in town for either the March for Life or the Women's March were competing with ordinary tourists to visit their favorite Smithsonian museums before they were closed for who knows how long... In the chaos of the moment, the Spy Museum was an oasis. In a city of unique and wonderful museums, this one stands out.

We were excited to see the Lipstick Pistol, "used by a KGB agent during the Cold War".
It was featured in a favorite book of ours, "Gilda Joyce, Psychic Investigator: The Dead Drop",
as a haunted object.

The accompanying card reads, "Rectal Concealment for Cyanide Capsule, Germany, 1945."
"A desperate alternative to capture is suicide. Hermann Goering, the World War II head of the
German Luftwaffe, concealed his poison in a rifle cartridge hidden in his rectum.
He took his own life while imprisoned at Nuremberg."

Microdot camera. It could photograph documents onto a dot
less than a millimeter in diameter.

A "Dog Doo Doo Transmitter".

An Enigma Machine, a WWII espionage legend.

A pendant containing "blood diamonds" belonging to James Bond villain Gustav Graves, and furnishings from his Ice Palace (from "Die Another Day").