Futuristic nightpot (photo: National Museum)

As you may have guessed, Jára Cimrman - the amazing individual who did all this - doesn't exist. But his creators, actor/writer/directors Zdeněk Svěrák and Ladislav Smoljak, always presented him as if he were real. The fourteen Jára Cimrman plays are all presented as the "lost" plays of this 19th-century genius, and are often preceded by a scientific lecture on the play's literary context.

Jára Cimrman even has a museum where, free of charge, visitors can admire his many inventions and learn about his life. Besides the aforementioned bicyle and gloves, there's a "broomelin" - a combination broom/javelin for sweeping up the wood shavings after hitting a wooden target - and a model of the Eiffel Tower as designed by Cimrman. You can also learn about his early "girlhood" - his parents spent the first few years of his life raising him as a girl.

And now, the National Museum presents an extensive exhibition of the strange and unusual products of this greatest Czech of all time (he would have won a national television survey on that subject - if the organizers hadn't disqualified him for not being real). 

Until the end of the year, visitors to the National Museum's New Building (the former National Assembly and Radio Free Europe buidling) can admire Cimrman's inventions: an ingenious broom from sweeping in corners, a futuristic nightpot and a combination watering can/briefcase.

The Legacy of Jára Cimrman Collection can be viewed daily from 10am to 6pm (Wednesdays from 9am to 6pm). Closed the first Tuesday of the month. For more information, visit the National Museum website.