40+ Out Of The Ordinary Things That People Collect
By Bruna L
Collecting stuff is as much part of human nature as living in society and walking upright. No matter how far back you look, there’s always going to be a human somewhere collecting something. Psychologists say there are multiple reasons for that – For example, when humans were just starting to leave the nomadic life behind, collecting scarce objects could’ve been the difference between surviving the winter or not. Nowadays, collecting is less about survival and more about nostalgia, the thrill of the hunt, or even a coping mechanism for stress and anxiety! There are negative sides to collecting, too, when the hobby becomes an obsession, and you end up as a hoarder, but despite what some TV shows would have us believe, hoarders are not as common as we think. Either way, did you know people collect not only coins or stamps but all sorts of unusual things? That’s right! Here are 40+ Weirdly Wonderful Things That People Collect!
The tire sticker ball
Sometimes a collection can sprout out of the weirdest things. Just take a look at the picture below, and you’ll understand what we mean! That’s right, that’s no average ball – that’s a tire sticker ball! And a quick google search shows us that’s not the only one around!
According to the owner of this ball, in particular, it all started when they saw a rubber band ball they had lying around and decided to do the same using leftover tire stickers. Now they’re aiming at breaking the world record!
Don’t eat that!
Everybody knows kids can be extremely curious and stubborn creatures. If something catches their attention, there’s almost nothing in this world that can dissuade them from getting whatever they want, even if it’s dangerous. That’s why parents need to pay attention to what their kids are doing!
Otherwise, their kids’ activities will end up in a collection like the one above! We all know kids love putting weird stuff up their mouths, and sometimes they end up swallowing them. Weirdly enough, someone decided to collect those objects that doctors had to remove from kids’ tummies! So many coins!
The keys to a great collection
A common object people love collecting is keys. Sometimes, they are collected because they look cool, they hold historical value or have an emotional connection to the owner of the collection. To the person below, the latter is certainly true.
Apparently, this man worked as a salesman traveling across the country, often staying in motels and hotels. He amassed a huge collection of keys from the rooms he had stayed in throughout the years and now displays them as an incredible USA map!
Coca-Cola fanatic
How much do you love Coca-Cola? Do you think you could have a world record collection of coke cans if you saved every single one you have ever had? Well, that’s sort of how the collection below came into existence!
It belongs to Davide Andreani, and he started it when he was only 15 years old. His father would travel for business a lot and would bring cans of coke home as mementos. Today Davide has over 10 thousand cans in his collection from 87 countries!
Trash or treasure?
Sometimes the line between trash or treasure can be quite thin, especially when it comes to collecting things. Just take a look at the collection below! This is a pile of staples collected over the years in an office building.
It all began as a joke, but as more and more people started contributing, the pile grew larger, and the whole thing got out of control. Now, this big bucket of used staples is a landmark inside the office, and no one wants to get rid of it anymore!
Kids’ drawings
We all have heard horror stories from hospitals and the health care field about doctors who didn’t care much about their patients. Unfortunately, this is pretty common in our society, where healthcare is seen only as a business and not as a way to make life better for their patients.
That’s why it is so refreshing to see a doctor that cares so much about the people in his care! The man above is a pediatrician who has kept every single drawing he has ever received from the kids he has treated over the years! Such a heart-warming collection!
Pebbles collection
Pareidolia is an extremely interesting feature of our brains. That’s what allows us to see shapes in clouds and faces in water stains, for example. And that’s also what makes us see the pebbles below as the letters from the alphabet!
These are most likely unique items, of course, and that’s what makes them so special. That’s probably why Clotilde Olyff, a Belgian type designer, started collecting them in the first place. Just imagine how long it took her to find all the letters!
Lost heritage apples
In the past, certain agricultures were tied to specific areas of the US. Take the Appalachia’s, for example. Orchards were essential to the survival of families in the region, with over 7 thousand different apple varieties in the Shenandoah Valley alone!
Unfortunately, with the agricultural changes that have occurred throughout the 20th century, almost all of them are believed to have become extinct. That’s where Tom Brown’s collection comes into play! He travels around the country collecting rare heritage apple trees’ samples and plants them to make sure they don’t disappear forever!
Yeah! Science!
The collection below is the dream of every science teacher out there! After all, it’s easy to teach a bunch of curious kids about the periodic table when all the elements are displayed right in front of their eyes!
The little jars are organized exactly as the periodic table in the books, which allows the appreciation of the similarities, differences, and unique attributes of each element! Really cool! Besides, a teeny tiny amount of nuclear material has never hurt anyone, right?
Lucky clovers everywhere
No matter where you live in the world, you are probably familiar with the concept of four-leaf clovers being a sign of good luck. They are really hard to find, though, and that’s probably why the person below started their collection!
Who wouldn’t want to have eternal good luck, right? The owner of this beautiful collection probably never had a bad day ever since they started this hobby. Hopefully, all those clovers are kept somewhere safe and can be passed down from generation to generation!
Medal collection
Encouraging your kids to learn how to play chess is a great way to strengthen their brains while still having fun! Chess engages the brain and allows kids to learn important life skills such as problem-solving, patience, sportsmanship, and strategic thinking!
If they’re good at it, they can even start competing and winning medals like in any other sport! That’s exactly what happened to the boy above, who is only 14 years old and already has an incredible collection of chess medals! Unbelievable!
Heroes, assemble!
Sometimes, people start collecting things out of nostalgia. A TV show they enjoyed as a kid, cartoons, comic books, the list goes on. According to psychologists, these people are trying to bring some of their childhood back by surrounding themselves with good memories from that time. And can we really blame them?
Of course not! Especially when their nostalgia culminates in such a great collection! The guy above has multiple toys of superheroes, vehicles, and action figures from old TV shows and cartoons and even a bunch of video game collectibles! What a dream!
A monopoly on Monopoly games
If you like having traditional game nights with your family or friends, then you’re probably familiar with Monopoly and have played dozens of times already, even if you don’t like it that much. It is the most popular board game out there, after all!
We don’t know how or why this girl started her collection, but it sure is big! According to her boyfriend, she has over 600 boxes – Some of them are duplicates, but most are still sealed, the oldest one being from the 1940s! She even has a Harley Davidson edition that weighs about 20 pounds!
Hair strands
While most collections are absolutely harmless, some of them can get quite freaky, especially when they entail dead celebrities and their body parts. Yes, it may be only hair we’re talking about here, but that doesn’t make it any less weird.
Paul Fraser is a collector and supplier of celebrity hair. He has strands from the heads of everyone from Elvis Presley to Justin Bieber – even George Washington himself! Most of the strands are sold at around $500, but those are the cheap ones. A lock of Marilyn Monroe’s hair, for example, costs around $332,000!
Ugly golf balls
Not many people would like to collect something that’s ugly or has been damaged. Most collections out there are composed of items in mint condition, still sealed in their original packets. That’s definitely not the case of the collection below, though!
According to his son, the owner of this collection would play golf, and after putting his shot, he would go looking around for lost balls. He found plenty of good ones, but the ones he was proudest to find were the damaged ones. Those he kept in his private collection!
Shark teeth collection
Sharks are fascinating, albeit scary, creatures. Did you know they are really, really old? That’s right! Scientists say the first species of shark to swim in our oceans appeared about 455 million years ago! Just imagine how big they must have been!
Nowadays, sharks are probably smaller than their prehistoric ancestors, but they are definitely still really scary. Some people are not bothered by them, though, going as far as collecting their teeth! If you consider sharks never stop growing their teeth and some species can live up to 500 years, that’s a lot to collect!
Food-shaped erasers
Stationery items such as erasers are very popular among office workers and students alike. They usually are cheap, brightly colored, and small enough that anyone has access to them, so it’s not really that hard to find someone who likes to collect them all!
That’s the case of the person above. They not only collect stationery items but particular ones at that. If you pay attention, you’ll notice that the food above is not really food, but actually erasers! How neat is that?
Beach souvenirs
If you travel a lot, you probably have your own small collection of things acquired in the countries you have visited—mementos of your trips that you can keep for the rest of your life. Keychains and photos are common, but the person below went above and beyond!
They have an entire cabinet dedicated to small glass bottles filled with beach sand and dirt from the places they have visited! All the bottles are labeled, and each has its own little nook. Beautiful decoration and a fantastic idea!
Vintage camera collection
Nowadays, cell phones are the go-to if you need some quick photos taken, but back in the day things weren’t so easy. Cameras needed to have spools of film that had to be developed in dark rooms, so you had no idea if the snap you just took was any good till a good while later!
Since the vintage fever that’s been happening for the past couple of years, though, old cameras are coming back into fashion again! That’s probably how the collection above came into existence – People simply can’t get enough of that old-school look on their photos!
A collection of metal items
If you think about it, collecting metal stuff is basically the joining of two distinct hobbies – Metal detection and collecting things. It’s not hard to find people on beaches with big metal detectors looking for old coins or buried treasure!
Some of them do that for the curiosity of what they may find, some do for monetary gains, but the person above does it to add more and more stuff to their personal collection! Coins were expected, of course, but forks and spoons? Clean up after yourselves, people!
The biggest tool box
If you enjoy improving your house and getting rid of its problems, such as leaking pipes and rotten roof tiles, then this collection must look like a dream to you! That’s right! The person below collects all the tools needed to keep the house in tip-top shape and more!
Apparently, they have all the different types of pliers, screwdrivers, saws, hammers, and wrenches available! We believe there’s not a single bit of DIY work this person cannot do, although we think maybe all these items are only for show, considering their pristine appearance!
Medieval arms and armor
Let’s be honest; everybody likes good medieval armor (especially after watching Game of Thrones)! No matter how cool and futuristic some of our modern guns and bulletproof vests look, nothing will ever beat the chain mail, swords, and shield combos of battles past! That’s why the collection below is so impressive!
It doesn’t belong to a single individual, though. This collection is displayed in The Royal Armouries in Leeds, United Kingdom, and can be visited all year long! Now when your favorite medieval TV show ends, you still have a way to sate your cravings!
Oh, Australia… why?
Insect collecting is a very common hobby. Practiced by both serious university students, natural history museum researchers, and amateur entomologists alike, insect collecting is a great way to learn more about all the little creatures we share the world with!
If you plan on starting your own insect collection, you don’t need to look further than the insects that come into your house – That’s how the owner of the collection above became an amateur entomologist anyway. Yes, she is Australian. What gave it away?
Egg-shaped rocks
This collection here may not have cost thousands of dollars to assemble, but it still is invaluable! Not only was it collected with love, but it’s also extremely adorable! Who would have thought people would collect rocks that look like eggs?
These rocks are probably extrusive igneous rocks that got smoothed down and shaped after spending thousands of years in a river. Apparently, the owner’s goal is perfection – He said he only keeps about a dozen around, and when he finds a better one, he removes one that looks a little less than perfect from the bunch!
Dice for days
If you are an imaginative person and have a good group of friends, then you probably have heard of role-playing games. If you’re like most of us, then you even got to play one a couple of times before your friends lost interest and moved on to something else!
Sometimes, though, people don’t really lose interest, quite the opposite! It’s easy to fall in love with RPGs, and this love can translate in a multitude of ways. The dice collection above is proof of that! Now there’s no excuse not to play anymore!
Best anniversary gift ever
Who doesn’t love video games? Unless you think they cause violence, which has been proved false by science, you probably have played at least once in your life! Some people love video games so much they even start collecting them!
That’s the case of the collector above! His wife surprised him by putting up shelves for all the games he has collected over the years. You can see gems from the DS, PS2, and 360 eras, among many others! That wife is definitely a keeper!
Fancy spoon collection
When you think about spoons, you rarely think of them besides from their obvious role, right? We use spoons every day for stiring our coffee or cooking, but that’s pretty much it. Sometimes, though, some spoons are so pretty one can’t help but want to collect and display them for all to see!
Just look at the image above, and you’ll understand! These antique spoons are the definition of fancy! From all the details on the handles to the beautiful engraving on the bowl, these are works of art that have probably stayed in the family for generations now!
Old school sharpeners
Sharpeners are a big part of our school life when we are young children. Since we usually only use pencils at that age, sharpeners played an importaint role in our education. But when we think about them, most of the time we think about flimsy, plastic ones!
But did you know there are incredibly beautiful sharpeners out there? That’s right! They are so detailed they look more like art pieces than stationery objects! We don’t know about you, but we could never use one of them to sharpen our pencils!
Customized coins
If you pay attention, you can learn a lot about the history of a country only by looking at their coins. Usually, each coin has a unique insignia and more often than not commemorative coins are also made and put into circulation by the government!
The US treasury is no exception! The person above is not only an avid coin collector but also an artist! Not only does he gather coins from each State, but he also removes the flat parts to reveal only the insignia. What a unique collection!
Bowling ball pyramid
No matter how much you enjoy bowling, you will never love it as much as the dad below! All it took for him to decide to start his collection was seeing a bowling ball pyramid in 2001, and the seed was planted!
This pyramid is made out of 1,785 bowling balls and took 15 years to be built. Most of the balls were donated by friends, some were acquired from bowling alleys that were closing down, and some were surplus material from nearby military bases!
Vintage matchbook collection
Matchbooks were very popular throughout the ’40s, ’50s and ’60s, during times when you could still smoke inside restaurants and diners. Not only did they hold your matchsticks, but they also had advertisements of pretty much anything on their covers!
The collection above features hundreds of vintage matchbooks and must have taken years to assemble! Matchbooks from everywhere from hotels to nightclubs, it has it all! Nowadays, matchbooks are rare since laws regarding smoking in public places became more strict, but that only makes this collection even more impressive!
A collection of rubber duckies
Ever since she was little, Charlotte Lee loved rubber duckies. That’s why she decided to start collecting them in 1996! She didn’t know then, but her obsession with these toys would lead her to world fame! She was entered into the Guinness World Record book in 2003, with a collection of over 6000 rubber ducks!
Now, the entire basement of her house has been adapted to hold her collection. A bunch of them were gifted to her by her friends! From duckies that smell like strawberries to ones that glow in the dark and even ones so big that a kid can sit on it, she has them all!
A collection from a galaxy far, far away
Star Wars has been a hit ever since its debut all the way back in 1977. Millions of related merchandise has been made so far, from clothing items and LEGO sets to video games and other toys. The franchise even has its own park inside Disneyland!
That’s why it’s so common for people to collect things from this blockbuster, just like the person above did! They have an assortment of lightsabers, costumes, toys, and ships of all sizes! Definitely, a collection to be the envy of most fans out there!
Used pencils
We have mentioned before how some people love collecting stationery items. Post-its, erasers, pencil sharpeners, there’s always someone somewhere out there who is in love with office supplies. Most of the time, though, people collect new stuff, which is not the case here!
That’s right! The person above collects pencils, but not fancy, brand-new ones. Instead, they prefer pencils that have been used to exhaustion, with not much left besides its tip and the eraser! Crazy, right? But maybe it has a connection we just cannot see!
Good old Hot Wheels
If you think about it, diecast cars are the first contact many people had with collectible items! Some parents start gifting these cars to their children from a very young age, and sometimes the love for their toys follows the kid into adulthood!
That’s probably what happened here. This person has a pretty extensive collection of Hot Wheels cars, including trucks, busses, and even something that looks like old-school toolboxes. All in all, an amazing collection thats probably worth a pretty penny too!
Bird apartment complex
There is no denying that birds are amazing creatures! Some people love to observe and catalog them as a hobby, while others enjoy hearing their singing, but the grandma below took it a step further! She loves birds so much she has an entire wall covered in birdhouses!
According to her grandson, only four to five houses get occupied at a time since birds don’t really like to nest too close to each other. But that’s fine! Imagine five bird families living around you in your yard! That is just fantastic!
No one loves McDonalds more than him!
Ever since McDonald’s was founded in 1940, it has never stopped growing, and now it is considered the biggest fast-food franchise in the world! And if you think you love McDonald’s, well, know that you don’t love it as nearly as much as the man below!
Mike Fountaine is the owner of this unbelievable collection! He has been collecting McDonald’s memorabilia since he started working in the franchise when he was 15! Nowadays, he has over 75 thousand related items – His collection is so big it takes about three kilometers of shelves to organize and display it all!
Reference seeds
Ever since big corporations took over food manufacturing, humanity has lost many different species of plants, fruits, and vegetables. Fortunately, there still are people trying to keep some rare variants alive, working on heritage projects like the apple one we’ve already seen.
For these people, the collection above is probably a gold mine! As you can see, it is a catalog of seeds distributed by the government of Canada for farmers and seed merchants in 1929! We can’t say these seeds would still germinate, but the historical value alone makes this collection worth having!
Bowl ties are cool
If you have ever watched Doctor Who, then you know our favorite time lord loves his bow ties! But we bet not even the Doctor himself has a collection as impressive as the one below! If our math is correct, that’s over 200 different colorful ties to choose from!
According to the owner of this marvelous collection, it all started ten years ago, when he bought his first three ties. Now he even has custom ties made specially for him by a friend! After all, who wouldn’t want a tie in any color of the rainbow to fit your mood and suit every day?
More sand!
Apparently, collecting sand is not as uncommon as we may have thought! Take this person, for example; they also have their own private collection of sand from all the different places they have visited! This collection here doesn’t even take up that much space!
If you thought this was just another sand art made inside a glass bottle, you’re not completely wrong! Just because it isn’t the primary intent of the collector, it doesn’t mean it can’t be art as well! Just look at how colorful each layer is, and you’ll see!
Transformers collection
Probably every kid from 1984 and forward knows about Transformers. This super-popular franchise started with toys, but soon it got its own comic book series and cartoon! Robots that can become cars, planes, and even dinosaurs? Yes, please!
Many different robot toys were manufactured over the years, and, taking into consideration how passionate the fans are; we’re not really surprised to see the collection above. It has both the heroes and villains of the franchise, and better yet: They seem to be from back in the ’80s or ’90s!
Bricks and books about bricks
It’s amazing what some people enjoy collecting, don’t you think? Will Quam is an architecture photographer and researcher who lives in Chicago. He loves his bricks so much he keeps them on shelves, together with books about, you’ve guessed it, bricks!
His passion started a few years ago when he decided to photograph all the different brickworks around Chicago. Since then, he became a brick aficionado, collecting all sorts of bricks, both old and new, and even giving tours around the city!
Tire go pop
No matter how safe your car may be, driving still can be pretty dangerous; everybody knows that. That’s why it’s so important to keep your car in top shape all the time! Sometimes, though, accidents can still happen, and your tire may burst unexpectedly!
Of course, very rarely does a tire pop for no reason. That’s why this car repair shop decided to display the most unusual items they have pulled from other people’s tires. Screws seem to be the biggest villains here, but we also have a security tag from an item of clothing and even a brake pad!
Pokemania
We all know and love Pokémon, right? This beloved franchise started in 1996, and ever since then, it has amassed millions of fans around the world – There are both cards and electronic games, cartoons, and a multitude of toys out there for all of them to enjoy!
Thinking about that, Lissa Courtney decided to catch ‘em all and now holds the Guinness Book world record for the biggest collection of Pokémon items. She has over 16 thousand Pokémon-themed memorabilia and spends up to 7 hours a day on the internet looking for new pieces to add to her collection. Now that’s dedication!