TAMPA, Fla. — Most people don’t like being stabbed in the back—unless, of course, you are talking about the Museum of Science and Industry’s Bed of Nails.
This month, MOSI's most famous exhibit celebrates its 20th anniversary.
It may look a little strange: children and adults, one after another, line up to lay down on a bed of 3,600 nails, which will slowly press up against their entire body.
MOSI President and CEO John Graydon Smith said the Bed of Nails isn’t only one of their oldest exhibits, it's still one of their most popular, so they wanted to do something sharp for its 20th year.
“It's an experience that people remember, and they gravitate toward. It’s our world-famous attraction,” said Smith. “So it’s been a party all month long with just celebrating the millions of backs stabbed in the greater Tampa Bay region.”
MOSI is asking visitors to take photos lying on the bed and then post them on the museum’s social media pages. All the entries will be eligible to win four tickets to a Tampa Bay Lightning game.
“You can post your old pictures or current pictures through July 31,” said Smith. “The only catch is, just like the backstabber the Bed of Nails, those tickets are behind the opposing team's bench for a game this season."
Since the exhibit has been around for so long, it's become generational for many families.
“I'm going to look for pictures I have of my nephews and nieces that are all in their 20s, doing this when they were 4 and 5 years old,” said visitor Sarah Custar-Lalanne. “And it’s just fun seeing my kids doing it too after all this time.”
Then there’s Jose Cotayo, who first climbed up on the bed when he was 13 years old.
“I went on a field trip, and I’m like, ‘There is no way this is real.’ I tried it—oh my goodness, it was the coolest thing,” said Cotayo.
Jose is now 29 years old and working at MOSI, educating field trips today.
“Seeing kids going through that same awe and excitement that I first felt a whole 16 years ago,” said Cotayo.
However, it’s not all fun and games. The exhibit also hammers home an important physics lesson.
“It’s basically your body weight spread out over a large surface area, and because there are so many nails, the pressure is less on any given part, so they don’t actually go through you,” said Cotayo.
MOSI hopes the exhibit continues to make an impression on visitors for another 20 years.
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