Like a nagging morning-after headache, it's amazing how hangovers creep into our pop culture. Classic rockers have written songs about those after-effects from nights of carousing. Celebrities dish out remedies for those post-red carpet blues. Heck, there's been a box office smash with two sequels that dealt with the topic. And if that isn't enough, a museum in Croatia open in December to document the sorrows after the merriment.

Croatians on average drink a lot

It's probably a badly-needed attraction since Croatia ranks fourth in the world when it comes to per capita alcohol consumption, with Belarus, Lithuania and the Czech Republic comprising the top three. The average Croatian downs nearly 26 pints of booze annually.

But those who imbibe in much higher quantities probably wind up with quite a few hangovers. And the more hangovers they experience, the greater the likelihood that those painful episodes might make for some interesting stories.

Exhibits based on hangover stories

That's the whole idea behind the Museum of Hangovers, which opened Dec. 1 in Zagreb, Croatia's capital. And coincidentally, it all started when university student Rino Dubokovic was out for a night of drinks with pals trading stories about their own bouts with post-imbibing agony. That's when he thought that an exhibit based on those accounts might work as a unique draw in a venue.

It certainly qualifies as a gallery of sorts for the unusual. Part of the museum is dedicated to items mysteriously left behind and discovered by hungover folks in the agonizing throes of waking up.

Another section enables patrons to don beer goggles as part of a reflex testing game. Yet another space doubles as a get-together session for visitors to share amusing hangover stories. Then there's the gift shop that sells an array of novelties like a Drunkopoly board game.

Attraction in experimental stage

It's an amusing concept come to life, although Dubokovic is quick to point out that in no way is the museum trying to encourage overindulgence of alcohol. Instead, he prefers to describe the venue as a place to share experiences displaying the downside of downing a bottle.

The museum is in the experimental stage at the moment, while Dubokovic looks for funding to make the attraction more permanent. And should he manage to achieve that goal, there's no telling what might be added. As long as it's not one scene in the first Hangover movie involving a tiger in the bathroom.