Things to do in DC: Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum

I've always been fascinated by wax museums; there's something undeniably neat yet creepy about them. It feeds my voyeuristic tendencies, without actually requiring that I get up close and personal with famous people. So I feel naughty, but haven't really done anything wrong.

The only problem with going to Madame Tussaud's in DC is that it is ridiculously expensive. For $18 I would expect a personally guided tour with my own personal wax figure to take home as a parting gift. Fortunately, Madame Tussaud's is having a winter sale (or as I like to call it, a "dear god please come in before we have to close due to this shitty economy" sale) and the cost of an adult ticket is only $10. So on a chilly Friday after Christmas, Carly, Rachel, Rachel's sister, and I took off to enjoy us some wax figures. '

First off, it's worth noting that some of the wax people are more realistic than others. The Beyonce figure looked almost nothing like her, while I freaked myself out in the hall of Presidents by constantly thinking the wax figures were real people. In my defense, they were positioned around the room such that they could have been fellow tourists. When I saw them out of the corner of my eye, there was always a moment of confusion before the brain kicked in an realized they were just wax.

Also, while the price was greatly reduced, the Madame Tussaud's experience comes down to walking around a couple rooms and staring at wax mannequins of famous people. We were through the whole thing in approximately 20 minutes, and if I had paid $18 for that I would have been kinda pissed. So, in conclusion, it was fun, but probably not worth the money. But good thing I had my camera to document our hijinks!

Rachel shaking hands with Thomas Jefferson.

Carly getting fresh with Robert E. Lee.

Rachel attending the theater with Abraham Lincoln (sidenote: this set-up was actually really creepy since they had you sitting right next to Lincoln right before he got assassinated. It felt kind of...wrong).

My championing civil rights alongside Martin Luther King, Jr.

Me being interrogated by J. Edgar Hoover. I didn't do it, I swear! Communism was just a red herring!

Carly and I gaze adoringly at President-Elect Obama.

President Margaret and Chief of Staff Carly.

Carly gets fresh with Johnny Depp.

Me and George. Look, we're holding hands!

I help Tiger line up his next shot.