Article: The Worst Aquarium Ever, and the Collection We Made With Them
The Worst Aquarium Ever, and the Collection We Made With Them
In 2020 someone left the New Bedford Whaling Museum a one-star Google review calling it the "worst aquarium ever." The museum is not an aquarium.
Last fall the museum put the review on shirts and totes. On July 15 they posted a restock. WPRI covered it July 22, CBS Evening News ran it July 23, and the museum store has been selling through since. The museum has also now installed an actual aquarium. It is 250 gallons.
On r/massachusetts the story ran twice: a discussion of how the museum "turned a bad Google review into free marketing" and the AP story itself. The comments are locals defending the museum: "Incredible museum. I highly recommend it to anyone." One commenter's favorite exhibit is the full whale skeleton that has been dripping oil for a century and a half. The museum collects the drops in a jar.
The reviewer has come forward: Jake Ozcan of Fairhaven, who wrote it in high school during COVID as a joke with friends and "literally did not even remember writing that." He is now studying marketing. He told Fun 107 he wants the merch: "I need the sweatshirt at least, or maybe a couple for my family."
Why “Worst Aquarium Ever” worked
The Museum did not hide the joke. It made the phrase memorable, timely, and useful: a local story people wanted to share, merchandise that made the idea tangible, and national attention that sent buyers back to the institution.
Whalerknits and the New Bedford Whaling Museum
For the 30th Moby-Dick Marathon in winter 2025, Whalerknits made a limited three-piece collection with the Museum: a Wellfleet Rollneck, Docksider Beanie, and Seedstitch Throw with collection labels. The Museum-label pieces are no longer sold through Whalerknits.com.
Explore the current Wellfleet Rollneck, Docksider Beanie, and American-made blankets and throws. Museum-exclusive items may still be available from the New Bedford Whaling Museum Store.
Organizations looking for made-in-Massachusetts knitwear can start a corporate or institutional program with Whalerknits.
