Kooks Museum WELCOME TO THE FREEZE-DRIED KOOKS MUSEUM. Open for all time and eternity, ceaseless, all-knowing and unchanging. The word "kook" was coined by the beatniks, as a pared-down version of "cuckoo," as in "going cuckoo." A kook is a person stigmatized by virtue of outlandish, extreme or socially unacceptable beliefs that underpin their entire existence. Kooks usually don't keep their beliefs to themselves; they either air them constantly or create lasting monuments to them.