# What are the most unusual thing(s) you've ever heard of anyone collecting? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 28, 2009, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-most-unusual-thing-s-youve-ever-heard-of-anyone-collecting/501218 "2009-06-28T00:10:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2009, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-most-unusual-thing-s-youve-ever-heard-of-anyone-collecting/501218/61 "2009-06-29T19:57:18Z")
Ooof… Mason Dickin’. ---
**Author:** ![Floppy\_Joe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3bc359/32.png) [@Floppy\_Joe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Floppy_Joe)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2009, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-most-unusual-thing-s-youve-ever-heard-of-anyone-collecting/501218/62 "2009-06-29T21:03:43Z")
Collector of underground comix, myself. One fellow I knew had a collection of those cheap plaster animals that he would buy from shops in Tijuana. I was just sure his taste was shot off in the war. ---
**Author:** ![Unintentionally\_Blank](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/unintentionally_blank/32/5418_2.png) [@Unintentionally\_Blank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Unintentionally_Blank)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2009, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-most-unusual-thing-s-youve-ever-heard-of-anyone-collecting/501218/63 "2009-06-29T21:10:36Z")
> [@Anaamika](#): > > I know someone who collected semen (his own). I saw the jar. Where’s the barf smiley when you need it? ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2009, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-most-unusual-thing-s-youve-ever-heard-of-anyone-collecting/501218/64 "2009-06-29T21:28:50Z")
I collect [photographs of lost gloves](http://www.atomicshrimp.com/st/content/lost_gloves) - including a few that have been contributed by Dopers. I’ve got over 400 of them now. I know someone who has a freezer containing a good assortment of dead small animals she collected (good condition roadkill, etc) ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2009, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-most-unusual-thing-s-youve-ever-heard-of-anyone-collecting/501218/65 "2009-06-29T21:51:15Z")
> [@Meeko](#): > > All of sudden, my collection of foreign language bibles doesn’t seem that bad, at all. - The rationale here, is that I could compare the foreign version to the English version and eke out what a few words mean. I’ve got German, Italian [Vatican City], and most recently Greek, from a monastery founded where John received the Revelation [Patmos]. > > I was preparing to go to Germany, and I wanted to know the German for “King James Version”. > > :smack: > > If the bible is in German, it of course wouldn’t care what a King of England had to say about an English collection of the same texts. > > Yeah. Thankfully, I realized that about 5 minutes later. > > I plan to get one in Japanese. - I also want a copy of “Ender’s Game” in Japanese. But, I think that is a tall order. Wow, I thought I was the only luatic who does this. I have everything from Kikuyu to Chichewa to Gaeilge, but strangely haven’t picked up French or Spanish yet. ?!? I also collect annotated version in english. It’s quite interesting to point out the differences to literalists. ---
**Author:** ![Icarus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/icarus/32/72_2.png) [@Icarus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Icarus)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2009, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-most-unusual-thing-s-youve-ever-heard-of-anyone-collecting/501218/66 "2009-06-29T22:08:27Z")
My recently deceased grandfather had a collection of promotional blotter paper. Back in the days of fountain pens and ink wells, one would use a rectangular shaped soft piece of thin cardboard to blot excess ink. You can still buy these from calligraphy suppliers. When they were in common use, companies would print them up with advertisements on them and hand them out. Grandad kept a lot from that time, I have them now. ---
**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2009, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-most-unusual-thing-s-youve-ever-heard-of-anyone-collecting/501218/67 "2009-06-29T23:04:58Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > For the record, title to my soul is held by Michael Barrows of Solihull, England. > > I have no idea where the Monster(s) In My Pocket I received in exchange are. If you find 'em, I’m interested. I love Monster In My Pocket and hope to have one of every variety. So far, I’m about a third of the way there. Re Electrical Insulators You see a few of these at pretty much every antique show. ---
**Author:** ![UncleBill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/d26b3c/32.png) [@UncleBill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleBill)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2009, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-most-unusual-thing-s-youve-ever-heard-of-anyone-collecting/501218/68 "2009-06-30T00:18:29Z")
> [@HelloKitty](#): > > There used to be this cool little collector’s show on A&E hosted by John Laroquette (can’t remember the name of it) that showcased unusual collections. > > The weirdest one I remember was a guy who collected different designs of carrot bags. The plastic bags that carrots come in. He had thousands of them, stacked up, stapled to the walls, etc. , all of them different. I came here to mention a guy I knew in college who collected carrot bags. From Texas. Name escapes me, but it wasn’t [this guy](http://www.carrotmuseum.co.uk/carrotking.html). ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2009, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-most-unusual-thing-s-youve-ever-heard-of-anyone-collecting/501218/69 "2009-06-30T01:05:59Z")
> [@Unintentionally\_Blank](#): > > Where’s the barf smiley when you need it? I was at his _house_. He was a friend of a friend. He took it out of his…freezer? I think that’s where he kept it. I don’t remember the details, I was too horrified. And yes that was the last time I was ever at his house. How he thought I \*wouldn’t \*be horrified I don’t know. ---
**Author:** ![thirdwarning](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecccb3/32.png) [@thirdwarning](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thirdwarning)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2009, 5:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-most-unusual-thing-s-youve-ever-heard-of-anyone-collecting/501218/70 "2009-06-30T05:22:03Z")
I just realized what I would like to collect, but probably never will. Funeral home and church fans. I remember some of them from my childhood, but I think even then they were falling by the wayside. I’d bet they’re not only hard to find, but a bit pricey now. At least for a hunk of cardboard with a stick. ---
**Author:** ![Marconi\_Schmeese](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ea666f/32.png) [@Marconi\_Schmeese](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marconi_Schmeese)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2009, 6:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-most-unusual-thing-s-youve-ever-heard-of-anyone-collecting/501218/71 "2009-06-30T06:01:20Z")
I collect eyeball-related stuff, which isn’t so weird. But the pride of my collection: real, used, old glass eyes. I have four or five now. My aunt collects pigs. And my mother in law - she collects whatever my husband and I decide at the time. Right now it’s Vera Bradley. Before it was crystal and glass fish. ---
**Author:** ![Olentzero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/90ced4/32.png) [@Olentzero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Olentzero)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2009, 7:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-most-unusual-thing-s-youve-ever-heard-of-anyone-collecting/501218/72 "2009-06-30T07:15:38Z")
> [@Meeko](#): > > All of sudden, my collection of foreign language bibles doesn’t seem that bad, at all. After I got a copy of the Communist Manifesto in Turkish, I started thinking about a similar collection. > [@SmashTheState](#): > > Not as many as you might think. Even aggressively atheist materialists became reticent when it came time to put their name on the dotted line. In our hearts we are all superstitious cave dwellers, trembling in fear at the sound of thunder. Sez you. I wouldn’t sell for less than $50, but you meet that price and I’ll sign. Huh… wonder if I could get away with it on eBay? ---
**Author:** ![cosmosdan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a6a055/32.png) [@cosmosdan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cosmosdan)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2009, 11:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-most-unusual-thing-s-youve-ever-heard-of-anyone-collecting/501218/73 "2009-06-30T11:48:55Z")
> [@AHunter3](#): > > My girlfriend from back when I was an undergrad swore she had a friend who collected guys’ pubic hairs. That’s funny, when I saw the thread title I thought of an old friend of mine who used to collect girls pubic hairs. He claimed he would bite off a few and tuck them in his cheek so later he could put them in cigar tubes and label them. Eventually he got serious with a girl and had to get rid of them. ---
**Author:** ![Meeko](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e495f1/32.png) [@Meeko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meeko)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2009, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-most-unusual-thing-s-youve-ever-heard-of-anyone-collecting/501218/74 "2009-06-30T15:17:17Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > I collect [photographs of lost gloves](http://www.atomicshrimp.com/st/content/lost_gloves) - including a few that have been contributed by Dopers. > > I’ve got over 400 of them now. > > I know someone who has a freezer containing a good assortment of dead small animals she collected (good condition roadkill, etc) Didn’t you use to have a signature that posted a link to your collection, Mangetout? 🙂 Yeah. Then one day, you stopped including your signature. ---
**Author:** ![SmashTheState](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@SmashTheState](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmashTheState)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2009, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-most-unusual-thing-s-youve-ever-heard-of-anyone-collecting/501218/75 "2009-06-30T17:05:07Z")
> [@Olentzero](#): > > Sez you. I wouldn’t sell for less than $50, but you meet that price and I’ll sign. Why not 50 cents? If you’re sure there’s either no such thing as an immortal soul or that such a soul can’t be bought and sold, then it’s just free money for you, right? Unless you have that little niggling doubt down there in the darkened, superstitious corners of your mind’s unconscious cellar… > [@Olentzero](#): > > Huh… wonder if I could get away with it on eBay? Been done. I seem to recall they now have a specific rule against selling of souls after it got a lot of media attention. ---
**Author:** ![Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de053/32.png) [@Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackknifed_Juggernaut)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2009, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-most-unusual-thing-s-youve-ever-heard-of-anyone-collecting/501218/76 "2009-06-30T17:58:35Z")
A girl in college took me back to her room. Over her roommate’s bed was some weird looking art collection on construction paper. I asked what it was. Apparently, the roommate loved her boyfriend so much that she would pick his boogers for him, and save them for eternity. It was quite a collection. ---
**Author:** ![Olentzero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/90ced4/32.png) [@Olentzero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Olentzero)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2009, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-most-unusual-thing-s-youve-ever-heard-of-anyone-collecting/501218/77 "2009-06-30T18:57:51Z")
> [@SmashTheState](#): > > Why not 50 cents? If you’re sure there’s either no such thing as an immortal soul or that such a soul can’t be bought and sold, then it’s just free money for you, right? Ezzackly. If I’m gonna get free money out of the deal, why settle for a pittance instead of an amount I could actually use? ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2009, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-most-unusual-thing-s-youve-ever-heard-of-anyone-collecting/501218/78 "2009-06-30T19:10:38Z")
the caps from champagne corks. I have hundreds. So day I’ll think of something cool to do with them. ---
**Author:** ![cmkeller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmkeller/32/118_2.png) [@cmkeller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmkeller)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2009, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-most-unusual-thing-s-youve-ever-heard-of-anyone-collecting/501218/79 "2009-06-30T19:23:43Z")
> [@](#): > > My grandmother once knew a man who collected paper towels. Last she heard, he wanted to start a museum. I don’t want to imagine the flood insurance premiums for that place. ---
**Author:** ![dwc1970](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a183cd/32.png) [@dwc1970](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dwc1970)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2009, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-most-unusual-thing-s-youve-ever-heard-of-anyone-collecting/501218/80 "2009-06-30T19:44:51Z")
> [@Lady\_Venom](#): > > A girl I went to grade/high school with collected erasers. :dubious: If she was from England she might have offered to show you her collection of _rubbers_. 😃 I used to collect matchbooks, but I got burned out (hah!) on it after awhile. I also had started collecting burned out Christmas ligh bulbs (C-7 and C-9) thinking that someday I might create a mosaic of some sort with them, but that never came to be, so one day just for fun I threw them all at the concrete and broke them, videotaping the whole thing (sorry, it’s not on Youtube… yet). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-most-unusual-thing-s-youve-ever-heard-of-anyone-collecting/501218.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-most-unusual-thing-s-youve-ever-heard-of-anyone-collecting/501218.md?page=5)