# Strange Collections people have **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 13, 2022, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-collections-people-have/976464 "2022-12-13T17:04:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Zyada](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zyada/32/3028_2.png) [@Zyada](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zyada)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2022, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-collections-people-have/976464/41 "2022-12-15T04:18:52Z")
I’ve seen a lot of collections at estate sales. The one that stands out in my mind was the person who collected alphabets. Mostly the posters where you would have each letter next to something that started by that letter, and books that did likewise. I collect dragons, blue and white pottery, and teeny tiny things ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2022, 6:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-collections-people-have/976464/42 "2022-12-15T06:08:00Z")
I’ve got a growing collection of oddball shit I find in junk cars at the Pick’n’Pull and out in the desert. Totally random shit. Barbie Heads, Bike Club patches, funky gearshift knobs, employee badges, rubber ducks, lots of old rusty cans. One of my favorite is a tiny little Christmas figurine, maybe about 1/48 of a woman in a hoop skirt singing Carols. But she is headless. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2022, 6:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-collections-people-have/976464/43 "2022-12-15T06:16:25Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > May I ask why you frequently purchase 5,000 pennies? Work. Gotta keep the cash registers stocked. I probably buy about 5000 quarters in a month as well. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2022, 6:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-collections-people-have/976464/44 "2022-12-15T06:53:50Z")
That’s what I thought, and it makes sense. ---
**Author:** ![Eclipse\_Chaser](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@Eclipse\_Chaser](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eclipse_Chaser)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2022, 8:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-collections-people-have/976464/45 "2022-12-15T08:55:43Z")
When I worked in UK aviation I had a colleague who collected sick bags (empty!) from the various airlines. Colleagues all travelled world wide a lot and used to bring him back a bag stamped with the airline name from all over. ---
**Author:** ![bob\_2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bob_2/32/3341_2.png) [@bob\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bob_2)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2022, 9:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-collections-people-have/976464/46 "2022-12-15T09:52:11Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > The guy’s grandmother collected nutcrackers her whole life and he loved them. He bought his grandma a new one for every birthday she celebrated. When she died she left them for him. My immediate thought was that Gran actually hated the damn things, but didn’t want to hurt his feelings. She made sure that he got them all back when she went. My stepmother had a modest collection of red glass figures. he made it clear that she did NOT want red glass as presents. It’s hard to find presents for people who already have the things they want. ---
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2022, 12:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-collections-people-have/976464/47 "2022-12-15T12:02:32Z")
> [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > > [@kenobi\_65](#): > > > > That sounds a little bit like House on the Rock, in southwestern Wisconsin. Beyond the house itself (which was apparently inspired by Frank Lloyd Wright’s architecture) > > The creator of the House on the Rock aspired to be the anti-Frank Lloyd Wright. Years ago I spent the morning at Wright’s studio and on a tour of his local creations. I spent the afternoon at HotR. I came down with a severe case of cognitive dissonance as a result. The House on the Rock is strange as hell. Alex Jordan created it to spite Wright who told him he wouldn’t hire him to design a cheese crate. Speaking if Wright, as in Steven Wright, I too have a large sea shell collection which I keep scattered on beaches all over the world. I always thought stamp collecting was plenty strange and the most boring hobby In existence. Made no more sense to me than collecting the little stickers they put on fruit in the produce section of the grocery store. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2022, 12:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-collections-people-have/976464/48 "2022-12-15T12:07:45Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > That’s what I thought, and it makes sense. Cents…it makes cents. ---
**Author:** ![Ziberian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/919ad9/32.png) [@Ziberian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ziberian)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2022, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-collections-people-have/976464/49 "2022-12-15T13:16:14Z")
> [@Bootb](#): > > I collect pennies. > > Now, this might not seem like a strange or rare collection, but I’m going to say that it is. Not because of the dates of the pennies, or anything like that, but rather because of my motive. > > Quite simply, I want to see how many pennies, in raw numbers, I can amass over the course of my lifetime simply through normal living–i.e., no extreme measures. > > Unfortunately, I don’t actually know how many I have, because I have rolls of pennies scattered around in multiple places. My best guess is “somewhere between 1,000 and 10,000.” You are not alone. I used to have a neighbor in his early 60s who had not spent a penny since he was 12. Like you, all acquired through daily living, no purchasing of rolls or other measures. He didn’t even have them all in rolls, just many random containers filled with pennies. And he didn’t do anything with them, didn’t view them under a magnifier, or look for valuable coins, he just collected them. Strange but interesting. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2022, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-collections-people-have/976464/50 "2022-12-15T15:19:35Z")
> [@pkbites](#): > > Made no more sense to me than collecting the little stickers they put on fruit in the produce section of the grocery store. When I was in college, I knew a girl who collected stickers from Chiquita bananas. (She was pretty quirky.) ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2022, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-collections-people-have/976464/51 "2022-12-15T16:13:31Z")
Working in produce, we occasionally have employees that will have little collections of them. It’s not uncommon to see a random piece of equipment or spot or door frame with a a 20 or 30 stickers on it. One guy collected just stickers from bananas. There was probably a hundred different stickers stuck to [whatever he was sticking them on] at one point. Also, I saw this in a court room. I can only assume the judge/court commissioner was the one doing it. If you’ve been divorced in Milwaukee County, you may have seen this as well. [![](https://i.imgur.com/FhyftCN.jpg) ](https://i.imgur.com/FhyftCN.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2022, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-collections-people-have/976464/52 "2022-12-15T17:06:24Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > The guy’s grandmother collected nutcrackers her whole life and he loved them. He bought his grandma a new one for every birthday she celebrated. This is my psychotic sister’s gift-giving strategy. Take an idea and drive it into the ground. Mom got a ceramic Zebra long ago. My sister decided that one Zebra is okay, so two must be better. The next logical step in her drug-addled mind is 14,000 Zebras is what Mom needed. Her house is festooned with fucking Zebras. Mom couldn’t get rid of them fast enough, and sadly the attempt put her in her grave. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2022, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-collections-people-have/976464/53 "2022-12-15T23:12:59Z")
Do you live in an area where earthquakes are uncommon? If not, he really should have been more careful in displaying them IMNSHO. That’s just me, however. Anyway, a local retired librarian died within the past year or so, and because she never married or had children and really didn’t have any other heirs, her estate is in the process of being liquidated and the money given to various organizations and charities she supported. I was told that she was “a big doll collector” and apparently, people who are into that traveled from long distances to come to her estate sale, which was run by a local company. The first one(s), anyway. I’m on a self-imposed moratorium myself, but I broke that a couple weeks ago to go to Sale #4, just to see what was left. That’s right, sale #4. (It also wasn’t very far from where I live.) There were still dolls and other items displayed, although nothing that was very valuable. I picked up some romance novels for my antique-mall booth, and the sale coordinator told me that they aren’t finished. They still haven’t gotten to the basement yet, and will have THAT sale, the first one/fifth one, anyway, in early January. He also said that she was NOT a hoarder, because everything was proudly displayed in china cabinets along the walls, and in excellent condition. ---
**Author:** ![Briny\_Deep](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/briny_deep/32/17188_2.png) [@Briny\_Deep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Briny_Deep)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2022, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-collections-people-have/976464/54 "2022-12-15T23:49:15Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > Do you live in an area where earthquakes are uncommon? If not, he really should have been more careful in displaying them IMNSHO. That’s just me, however. SoCal – this was Northridge – but I doubt he could have done too much. Walls came down; bolted-to-wall display cases came right off the walls that remained. It looked like it had been bombed. I don’t think his building was redlined, but it was a close thing. Now that I’m posting again in this thread, I’m recalling my own beloved Fiestaware collection, not a very nice one, but it was most of my everyday dishes. (I do mean the antique stuff, not the new stuff.) In that same earthquake, not quite so near the epicenter, every bit of it came right off the cabinet shelves and smashed. I never had the heart to collect the stuff again. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2022, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-collections-people-have/976464/55 "2022-12-15T23:53:07Z")
Briny, that makes sense. My earthquake experience is limited to rattling windows. My grandmother had Fiestaware, and I’m pretty sure she even had the burnt orange, which used paint that contained uranium. I think she sold it when she moved into a retirement village in 1975. ---
**Author:** ![elbows](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b3f665/32.png) [@elbows](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elbows)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2022, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-collections-people-have/976464/56 "2022-12-16T00:28:20Z")
I have a large collection of pieces of coral, in the shapes of letters. Which I accumulated while walking lots of beaches, situated just off coral reefs. They’re fun, I spell out greetings to guests, use to send birthday wishes, etc. I fancy I might be the only person with such a collection. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2022, 5:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-collections-people-have/976464/57 "2022-12-16T05:14:42Z")
Hey, I like her and I don’t even know her. 🙃 ---
**Author:** ![mordecaiB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mordecaib/32/7725_2.png) [@mordecaiB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mordecaiB)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2022, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-collections-people-have/976464/58 "2022-12-26T23:55:59Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#): > > Work. Gotta keep the cash registers stocked. I probably buy about 5000 quarters in a month as well. Sorry to bump a dead subject with a slightly off topic post. I used to own retail stores and I remember lugging change orders around almost every day. Now that debit cards are replacing cash, do you order less change from the bank than you used to? IIRC, you have a family run market, which always had a lot of cash business back in my days. Has that changed? > [@elbows](#): > > I have a large collection of pieces of coral, in the shapes of letters. Which I accumulated while walking lots of beaches, situated just off coral reefs. > > They’re fun, I spell out greetings to guests, use to send birthday wishes, etc. > > I fancy I might be the only person with such a collection. I fancy you are right. What a cool idea, I’ve never heard of that before. If you have a picture you could post, I’d really like to see them. How many do you have all together? ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2022, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-collections-people-have/976464/59 "2022-12-27T00:47:17Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#): > > Cite: I buy 5000 pennies every week or two. I was hoping you were going to tile your floor… > **[This Woman DIY'ed a Floor Out of 7,500 Pennies and It’s Stunning](https://www.housebeautiful.com/design-inspiration/a32407534/how-to-make-penny-floor/)** > > Priceless. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2022, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-collections-people-have/976464/60 "2022-12-27T02:15:37Z")
> [@mordecaiB](#): > > Now that debit cards are replacing cash, do you order less change from the bank than you used to? IIRC, you have a family run market, which always had a lot of cash business back in my days. Has that changed? I think I go through about the same amount of change. We certainly bring in a lot less cash than we used to, but about the same amount of change goes back out. Or at least that’s what I would guess is the case, but those aren’t metrics I’ve ever paid a whole lot of attention to. > [@digs](#): > > I was hoping you were going to tile your floor… Nah, I did mine with AOL CDs. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-collections-people-have/976464.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-collections-people-have/976464.md?page=4)