# Random things you'd like to buy that are slightly too hard to obtain **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 8, 2007, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/random-things-youd-like-to-buy-that-are-slightly-too-hard-to-obtain/414854 "2007-08-08T13:34:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2007, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/random-things-youd-like-to-buy-that-are-slightly-too-hard-to-obtain/414854/21 "2007-08-08T15:45:36Z")
I would like to find a real Edison Stock Ticker machine. When I was in HS, there was a surplus company selling them for bupkis, now if you can find one it’s $5,000+. ---
**Author:** ![tremorviolet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e47774/32.png) [@tremorviolet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tremorviolet)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2007, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/random-things-youd-like-to-buy-that-are-slightly-too-hard-to-obtain/414854/22 "2007-08-08T15:49:30Z")
Kinda random, but I’ve always wanted a mini-display tent, one of those little tiny copies of real tents that you used to see at Sears. But they only occasionally come up on ebay and are usually bid up too high. ---
**Author:** ![Phlosphr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c68b51/32.png) [@Phlosphr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Phlosphr)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2007, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/random-things-youd-like-to-buy-that-are-slightly-too-hard-to-obtain/414854/23 "2007-08-08T16:15:55Z")
[QUOTE=tremorviolet] Kinda random, but I’ve always wanted a mini-display tent, one of those little tiny copies of real tents that you used to see at Sears. But they only occasionally come up on ebay and are usually bid up too high. [/QUOTE] For your G.I. Joes or??? Incidentally, ask your local Target for one, or where to get them. Sometimes those Eddie Bauer ones go off their catalogue and they have to get rid of them. ---
**Author:** ![McDeath\_the\_Mad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a3d4f5/32.png) [@McDeath\_the\_Mad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/McDeath_the_Mad)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2007, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/random-things-youd-like-to-buy-that-are-slightly-too-hard-to-obtain/414854/24 "2007-08-08T16:17:31Z")
I want a orange faced Dirk Pitt style Doxa diving watch. They come-up on eBay every once and a while. They usually go for about $1,200US. I just can’t justify spending that on a watch right now. But one day I will have one! MtM ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2007, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/random-things-youd-like-to-buy-that-are-slightly-too-hard-to-obtain/414854/25 "2007-08-08T16:22:59Z")
Ebay is the obscure-object-lovers dream. I had always wanted one the the sandblasted-glass edge-lit Macintosh signs that were given to Apple dealers when the 128K came out. When I discovered ebay, I did a search and soon enough one came up. Now I have one of these relatively rare Mac collectables… ---
**Author:** ![gotpasswords](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c57346/32.png) [@gotpasswords](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gotpasswords)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2007, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/random-things-youd-like-to-buy-that-are-slightly-too-hard-to-obtain/414854/26 "2007-08-08T16:47:21Z")
Liquid nitrogen. The air we breathe is what, 75% or so nitrogen? Why is it so hard to find the liquid form? I just want to be able to go somewhere convenient, have them pour a few ounces into the Thermos so I can go back home and lay siege on warts. That “Wartner” stuff at the drugstore is just not cold enough to be actually useful, and it’s not worth taking a couple hours off from work and a $20 copay to see my primary care doc to get a referral slip to a dermatologist, which will be another couple of hours off from work and another $20 copay on another day. ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2007, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/random-things-youd-like-to-buy-that-are-slightly-too-hard-to-obtain/414854/27 "2007-08-08T16:54:10Z")
[QUOTE=gotpasswords] Liquid nitrogen. The air we breathe is what, 75% or so nitrogen? Why is it so hard to find the liquid form? I just want to be able to go somewhere convenient, have them pour a few ounces into the Thermos so I can go back home and lay siege on warts. That “Wartner” stuff at the drugstore is just not cold enough to be actually useful, and it’s not worth taking a couple hours off from work and a $20 copay to see my primary care doc to get a referral slip to a dermatologist, which will be another couple of hours off from work and another $20 copay on another day. [/QUOTE] You can buy it by the gallon, at your local “Air Products” location. You need to have a real Dewar, though. They won’t just fill a Thermos. ---
**Author:** ![Nanoda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ce73a5/32.png) [@Nanoda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nanoda)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2007, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/random-things-youd-like-to-buy-that-are-slightly-too-hard-to-obtain/414854/28 "2007-08-08T17:45:37Z")
Or you could buy some canned air and use it upside-down. I’m sure I’d _like_ lots of stuff, but all I can think of right now is the Apple Mac, but it would have to be at a garage sale or in a garbage bin or something, as I’m far too cheap to pay good $$$ for it. When I was younger, I wanted one of the old chemistry kits from before they were neutered. The ones with actually useful chemicals and radioactive stuff and everything. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2007, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/random-things-youd-like-to-buy-that-are-slightly-too-hard-to-obtain/414854/29 "2007-08-08T17:50:50Z")
Yeah, liquid N[sub]2[/sub] is cool. (Well, obviously). You have to be careful not to spill too much of it in a confined area, though, cos a small volume of liquid turns into a honking big volume of nitrogen gas, which can displace your actual air. In oxygen-breathing circles this is considered a Bad Thing. (Can’t agree with you about Wartner, though. That stuff worked like a charm for me, first time I used it on a couple of warts that had been hanging around for years.) ---
**Author:** ![vetbridge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b5e925/32.png) [@vetbridge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vetbridge)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2007, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/random-things-youd-like-to-buy-that-are-slightly-too-hard-to-obtain/414854/30 "2007-08-08T17:53:08Z")
[QUOTE=beowulff] You can buy it by the gallon, at your local “Air Products” location. You need to have a real Dewar, though. They won’t just fill a Thermos. [/QUOTE] I have a seldom (never) used Dewar I’ll sell you. Cryosurgery was once popular in veterinary medicine, alas no more. I last bought liquid nitrogen about 5 years ago, and that was to do a demonstration for my kids. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2007, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/random-things-youd-like-to-buy-that-are-slightly-too-hard-to-obtain/414854/31 "2007-08-08T18:32:19Z")
[QUOTE=Martini Enfield] Then I realised something: You never see people wearing Monocles anymore. Which means I have to go and find one so I can wear it. 😃 But do you think I can find one? Noooo. I even asked a friend of ours who works at an opticians, and after she’d finished laughing she said “Oh God, you’re serious, aren’t you? No, I don’t know where you could get one, and even if I did, I wouldn’t tell you because you’d actually wear it in public or at work or something just as embarrassing.” Now, I’m sure that I can track one down, but it would require a lot of effort (and probably expense) to track one down- and it wouldn’t get a lot of use. Having said that, it would also be incredibly cool to have one; but not _quite_ cool enough to justify putting vast amounts of time, effort, and cash into getting. And it would also be pretty funky to have a Smoking Jacket. No, I don’t smoke, but they are very cool. They’re also very hard to find, and are in much the same category as a monocle; very cool but not quite worth the effort and expense. [/QUOTE] Found like 20 monocles on eBay, as low as $2.99. Found 60 smoking jackets, as cheap as $6.00. \*\*twickster \*\*"\*I’ve always wanted an opera hat (collapsible top hat). \*"I found onlyone. But I didn’t screw around with variations on search terms. \*\*Jayn\_Newell \*\*\*Personally, I’d like to get a sextant - I found over 150 on eBay, many as low as $30, and they have them retail in the Lilliput catalog (cool vintage toys, watches and “toys for grown up boys”) for $59. I also saw one in the Major Surplus and Survival Catalog (a very cool store in Gardena CA) **Robot Arm** : two Curta’s on eBay. Hope that helps. I like Vintage Fedora’s in my size= 7 1/2 or 7 5/8’s. Hard to find that big. ---
**Author:** ![gfloyd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/d2c977/32.png) [@gfloyd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gfloyd)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2007, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/random-things-youd-like-to-buy-that-are-slightly-too-hard-to-obtain/414854/32 "2007-08-08T18:34:42Z")
[QUOTE=tremorviolet] Kinda random, but I’ve always wanted a mini-display tent, one of those little tiny copies of real tents that you used to see at Sears. But they only occasionally come up on ebay and are usually bid up too high. [/QUOTE] You mean I’m not the only one … I’ve wanted one of those for my entire life. ---
**Author:** ![SurrenderDorothy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/surrenderdorothy/32/1221_2.png) [@SurrenderDorothy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SurrenderDorothy)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2007, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/random-things-youd-like-to-buy-that-are-slightly-too-hard-to-obtain/414854/33 "2007-08-08T19:20:38Z")
for a couple months or so, I’ve wanted a M_A_S_H 4077th shirt like they wear on the show. The olive green with the faded brown print and nothing else. I’ve found some that say “medic” or have a red cross or whatever on them, but I want one that just says M_A_S_H 4077th (or 4077th M_A_S\*H. I don’t remember.) ---
**Author:** ![Phlosphr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c68b51/32.png) [@Phlosphr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Phlosphr)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2007, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/random-things-youd-like-to-buy-that-are-slightly-too-hard-to-obtain/414854/34 "2007-08-08T20:15:01Z")
[QUOTE=DrDeth] \*\*Jayn\_Newell \*\*\*Personally, I’d like to get a sextant - I found over 150 on eBay, many as low as $30, and they have them retail in the Lilliput catalog (cool vintage toys, watches and “toys for grown up boys”) for $59. I also saw one in the Major Surplus and Survival Catalog (a very cool store in Gardena CA) [/QUOTE] I just ordered a Lilliput Catalog…never new it existed. Thanks a lot! BTW - if my wife comes in and yells at you, it’s not my fault…reallyl! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![dangermom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e274bd/32.png) [@dangermom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dangermom)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2007, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/random-things-youd-like-to-buy-that-are-slightly-too-hard-to-obtain/414854/35 "2007-08-08T20:40:11Z")
My current coveting item is a Russian lacquer box, preferably from Palekh and with a fairy-tale on it. [Something like this, maybe.](http://www.tradestonegallery.com/cgi-bin/htmlos.cgi/003701.6.3439745034138884358) ---
**Author:** ![Gala\_Matrix\_Fire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/4da419/32.png) [@Gala\_Matrix\_Fire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gala_Matrix_Fire)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2007, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/random-things-youd-like-to-buy-that-are-slightly-too-hard-to-obtain/414854/36 "2007-08-08T21:59:46Z")
I want one of those magnifying glass bars that libraries used to have for reading newspapers. It’s the width of a newpaper page, sits directly on the paper, and flat on the bottom with a curved top. If I knew what they’re called, I’d look for them online. So far no luck. ---
**Author:** ![TLDRIDKJKLOLFTW](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/51bf81/32.png) [@TLDRIDKJKLOLFTW](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TLDRIDKJKLOLFTW)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2007, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/random-things-youd-like-to-buy-that-are-slightly-too-hard-to-obtain/414854/37 "2007-08-08T22:40:24Z")
I really want an [orrery](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orrery), just a small and decorative tabletop one like the first one pictured at that link, but nobody seems to make them. You’d think that someone like Sharper Image or something like that would have them available. I’d also really like a cheap reproduction of the [curta mechanical calculator](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curta), as they’re expensive collector’s items. I’m also after a Tascam 388 tape machine, which only go for a few hundred dollars, but are huge enough and old/fragile enough that they’re basically unshippable. I keep waiting for one to pop up on ebay or craiglist within a few hours of me, and it’s alllll mine. ---
**Author:** ![Phlosphr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c68b51/32.png) [@Phlosphr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Phlosphr)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2007, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/random-things-youd-like-to-buy-that-are-slightly-too-hard-to-obtain/414854/38 "2007-08-08T22:42:32Z")
[QUOTE=bluethree] I want one of those magnifying glass bars that libraries used to have for reading newspapers. It’s the width of a newpaper page, sits directly on the paper, and flat on the bottom with a curved top. If I knew what they’re called, I’d look for them online. So far no luck. [/QUOTE] Simple, it’s called a [handheld bar magnifier](http://www.cleansweepsupply.com/pages/skugroup16495.html) ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2007, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/random-things-youd-like-to-buy-that-are-slightly-too-hard-to-obtain/414854/39 "2007-08-08T23:01:43Z")
[QUOTE=tremorviolet] Kinda random, but I’ve always wanted a mini-display tent, one of those little tiny copies of real tents that you used to see at Sears. But they only occasionally come up on ebay and are usually bid up too high. [/QUOTE] Oh, I desperately wanted one of those when I was little! **Phlosphr** , they’re Barbie size, which is why I wanted one at least. What I want now is an unused Sunbeam Coney Island Hotdog Steamer. I don’t know if they made them past the early 80s, which is probably why I only saw one on ebay back in April when I was looking for it. ---
**Author:** ![Enola\_Straight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dec6dc/32.png) [@Enola\_Straight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enola_Straight)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2007, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/random-things-youd-like-to-buy-that-are-slightly-too-hard-to-obtain/414854/40 "2007-08-09T00:28:54Z")
A long, jet-black cigarette holder. > **[TobaccoMkt.com is for sale | HugeDomains](https://www.hugedomains.com/domain_profile.cfm?d=tobaccomkt.com)** > > The leading source brandable domain names. Competitive prices. Excellent service. Get your domain name today. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/random-things-youd-like-to-buy-that-are-slightly-too-hard-to-obtain/414854.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/random-things-youd-like-to-buy-that-are-slightly-too-hard-to-obtain/414854.md?page=3)