# Ever develop an emotional attachment to an inanimate object? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [February 25, 2016, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-develop-an-emotional-attachment-to-an-inanimate-object/747121 "2016-02-25T18:45:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2016, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-develop-an-emotional-attachment-to-an-inanimate-object/747121/1 "2016-02-25T18:45:44Z")
I’ve been into photography since I bought my Canon AE1 back in the late 70’s. I’ve had my trusty Nikon D80 for 10 years or so, and I’ve recently decided it was time for an upgrade. I figured I’d get a relative pittance as a trade in, but I really didn’t need a second, decade-old camera body, so trading it in was a no-brainer. I found what I wanted at a competitive price at a local B&M camera shop, and struck a deal, trade-in included. I just had to run home and pick up the D80. “Be back in 10 minutes”, I said. So I drove home, removed the memory card and the lens, and headed back to the store. On the short drive back, however, I felt strong pangs of guilt. This camera never gave me an ounce of trouble, and it gave me countless hours of enjoyment (and many fine photos). Virtually everything I know about photography I learned on the D80. Why was I giving it away for next to nothing? Is it really worth $85 to give up this object that I’ve been so attached to for the past 10 years? I got blindsided by sentimentality. I felt like I was putting my dog down. I knew instantly and assuredly this trade in wasn’t going to happen. So here I sit now, the new camera not even unpacked yet, the old D80 sitting in front of me. It will look good on the shelf next to the AE1. mmm ---
**Author:** ![HoneyBadgerDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honeybadgerdc/32/1033_2.png) [@HoneyBadgerDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HoneyBadgerDC)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2016, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-develop-an-emotional-attachment-to-an-inanimate-object/747121/2 "2016-02-25T18:54:38Z")
I have never really thought about it like this but evidence says that I have. Shortly after I got marrried in 1971 my wife bought me a german shorthaired pointer as a present. It opened up an entirely new aspect of life I had never experienced. Bird hunting and training my bird dog. I developed a very close bond with my dog and was heartbroken when I lost him at the age of 4 years old. The whistle I used for training him hangs around the knob on my closet door where it has hung for over 40 years. I think of the times we had together every time I see the whistle. I don’t dwell on it, just a passing thought. Every so often I think about throwing the 45 year old whistle away but I can’t bare to part with it. ---
**Author:** ![SpoilerVirgin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4491bb/32.png) [@SpoilerVirgin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpoilerVirgin)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2016, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-develop-an-emotional-attachment-to-an-inanimate-object/747121/3 "2016-02-25T18:55:40Z")
Ever watch an episode of Hoarders? 😃 Almost everyone gets emotionally attached to some objects. I have clothing and jewelry that is very special to me that would be really hard to give up, even if it no longer fit me or my style, because it reflects a certain period in my life, or the way I felt when I wore it. ---
**Author:** ![Drunky\_Smurf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drunky_smurf/32/449_2.png) [@Drunky\_Smurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drunky_Smurf)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2016, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-develop-an-emotional-attachment-to-an-inanimate-object/747121/4 "2016-02-25T19:09:04Z")
I have a very special relationship, for several years now, with a certain pillow with a picture of a girl on it. ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2016, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-develop-an-emotional-attachment-to-an-inanimate-object/747121/5 "2016-02-25T19:18:36Z")
The obvious one: a Smokey the Bear teddy. Long ago. **HoneyBadgerDC** , do NOT throw away that whistle. That is going into the casket with you when you get to the clearing at the end of your path. It’ll give the folks something to ask/talk about and you get to pay tribute to your friend one last time. Excuse me, sumpin in my eye… . ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2016, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-develop-an-emotional-attachment-to-an-inanimate-object/747121/6 "2016-02-25T19:29:17Z")
Sure, not all that strong of an attachment, but I’ve been sad to lose some things. Maybe most of all is a box of my childhood treasures, arrowheads I found, a couple of silver dollars, a pocketknife, a rock shaped liked a horses head, nothing all that special, but they were important to me at the time and I wish I still had them. ---
**Author:** ![Sir\_T-Cups](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ed655f/32.png) [@Sir\_T-Cups](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sir_T-Cups)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2016, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-develop-an-emotional-attachment-to-an-inanimate-object/747121/7 "2016-02-25T19:34:17Z")
Oh yes, all the time. I never had many friends growing up and even through/post-college I still rarely had a friend. I would get attached to stuffed animals, cars, anything that I could interact with to make me feel less alone. That sounds super depressing to read, but I really mean it as a statement of fact and not like a “boo-hoo my life sucks” kind of thing. It’s better now anyway ---
**Author:** ![Dogzilla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e480ec/32.png) [@Dogzilla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dogzilla)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2016, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-develop-an-emotional-attachment-to-an-inanimate-object/747121/8 "2016-02-25T20:13:31Z")
I developed an inappropriate emotional attachment to a car that I kept for 17 years. It was a great car! I loved driving it. I cried when I sold it. Part of the reason for that was that I hated the replacement car (I’d purchased it from a friend to do her a favor but never really liked the car). I’ve since sold that car and bought the updated, modern version of my old car, which solves the three major problems I had with the old car. It’s much faster/more powerful, and I got the loaded model because I wanted all the bells and whistles. I may also develop an unhealthy attachment to this car. I love it even more than the old one! ---
**Author:** ![Pabitel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/bbce88/32.png) [@Pabitel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pabitel)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2016, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-develop-an-emotional-attachment-to-an-inanimate-object/747121/9 "2016-02-25T20:32:36Z")
I kept the very first warrior I built all the way through a Civ game once. My what that little guy endured. Of course by the end he was a marine or something and his trireme was a transport. But he was still around. ---
**Author:** ![araminty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b5e925/32.png) [@araminty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/araminty)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2016, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-develop-an-emotional-attachment-to-an-inanimate-object/747121/10 "2016-02-25T21:05:26Z")
No. I am pretty much unsentimental about stuff. Probably doesn’t help that I’ve moved a lot, including trans-Pacifically, with only 3 suitcases for my worldly possessions. ---
**Author:** ![Battle\_Pope](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4bbf92/32.png) [@Battle\_Pope](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Battle_Pope)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2016, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-develop-an-emotional-attachment-to-an-inanimate-object/747121/11 "2016-02-25T21:39:12Z")
Oddly enough, a metal tea-spoon. I accidently put it in my top pocket getting a coffee at a café on the first day of my first real job after graduating. 20 years later and it’s gone with me to every place I’ve worked. I plan to retire with that thing still in my coffee cup. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Don\_t\_Panic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/don_t_panic/32/398_2.png) [@Don\_t\_Panic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_t_Panic)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2016, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-develop-an-emotional-attachment-to-an-inanimate-object/747121/12 "2016-02-25T21:41:57Z")
Not really. I don’t care much for material stuff. Although there was this one incident involving a weighted companion cube. That was freaky. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2016, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-develop-an-emotional-attachment-to-an-inanimate-object/747121/13 "2016-02-25T22:35:25Z")
> [@Battle\_Pope](#): > > Oddly enough, a metal tea-spoon. Heh. I treasured this fancy fork my mom used to whip eggs in the bowl before cooking them. It probably was made as a seafood fork but eggs is all she used it for. I panicked a couple of times thinking I had lost it and then was going through stuff and realized there are two of them! So now I can risk using one and still have an egg fork in reserve. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2016, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-develop-an-emotional-attachment-to-an-inanimate-object/747121/14 "2016-02-25T22:40:32Z")
I still have a plush toy I was given as a child over 40 years ago. ---
**Author:** ![dwyr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dwyr/32/363_2.png) [@dwyr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dwyr)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2016, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-develop-an-emotional-attachment-to-an-inanimate-object/747121/15 "2016-02-25T22:45:49Z")
I’m quite attached emotionally to a small ceramic cat that belonged to my grandmother. When I was a little girl I loved being with her and visiting her apartment full of bric–a–brac. I adored the ceramic cats of various sizes that were scattered around the place. I used to pet them when no one else was looking. I have a 1950s snapshot of grandmother and the little cat is sitting on the coffee table in front of her so that makes it even older than me. ---
**Author:** ![lisiate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f05b48/32.png) [@lisiate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lisiate)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2016, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-develop-an-emotional-attachment-to-an-inanimate-object/747121/16 "2016-02-25T23:03:02Z")
I get unreasonably attached to all sorts of little things. Now I’ve got kids my Mum’s being bringing out my old toys for the grandkids to play with and it’s been astounding how affecting it’s been. My strongest attachment is to the guitar I was given when I was ten years old. It’s been everywhere I’ve lived since then and I can’t even imagine not having it around. I’ll go months without even playing it but it’s always in my bedroom. ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2016, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-develop-an-emotional-attachment-to-an-inanimate-object/747121/17 "2016-02-25T23:27:20Z")
My wife says my underwear. I never throw them away. But, she does for me. I got to use all my Dad’s cameras throughout the 1960s. He wasn’t a professional photographer, but he had some great equipment. Rollies and folding 120s, pack film Polaroids, Speed Graflex and extra lenses, Honeywell Pentax with lenses, a variety of meters and flash units (bulb and strobe), and a complete darkroom. Over the years, we both sold or upgraded multiple times. I now run my own successful photography business. I still have the Kodak Pony IV he gave me as mine. Still works, used it just a few weeks ago. Older than me, outlived Dad. Worth next to nothing except for my memories. ---
**Author:** ![Periwinkle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Periwinkle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Periwinkle)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2016, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-develop-an-emotional-attachment-to-an-inanimate-object/747121/18 "2016-02-25T23:44:49Z")
Yes, I am very sentimental about quite a few things. Just one example: I have a set of mugs that belonged to my mother, they have bird pictures on them. Cardinals were her favorite, and she drank her morning coffee every day from the cardinal mug. Sometimes when I know I have a stressful day coming up, I reach past the others for that particular one. It is kind of like a prayer, and it comforts me. ---
**Author:** ![Count\_Blucher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Count\_Blucher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Count_Blucher)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2016, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-develop-an-emotional-attachment-to-an-inanimate-object/747121/19 "2016-02-26T00:19:41Z")
> [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](#): > > The obvious one: a Smokey the Bear teddy. Long ago. _Cough__cleans screen_ OK, from your posts I know you are a guy. But, you wear a Smokey The Bear teddy? And… you’re attached to it? I’m just not sure how to un-read that… ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2016, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-develop-an-emotional-attachment-to-an-inanimate-object/747121/20 "2016-02-26T00:55:29Z")
> [@Count\_Blucher](#): > > _Cough__cleans screen_ > > OK, from your posts I know you are a guy. But, you wear a Smokey The Bear teddy? And… you’re attached to it? > I’m just not sure how to un-read that… Hey, he just didn’t want to be redundant saying “bear” twice. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-develop-an-emotional-attachment-to-an-inanimate-object/747121.md?page=2)