The internet has shown people that they are never alone in the world. There are thriving communities that collect the most unusual stuff ever, with dedicated forums and websites bringing them all together. Today, we’re bringing you the 9 strangest collector communities that prove there’s a spot for everyone.
9. Hot Sauce Collector
Believe it or not, there are people collecting your favorite spiced condiment. In fact, Vic Clinco owns the largest hot sauce collection in the world. He owns more than 6,000 bottles of it, including the rare Blair’s 16 Million Reserve, the world’s hottest hot sauce. He shows his deep love for it on social media to connect with other hot sauce enthusiasts worldwide.
8. Soap Bar Collector
Collector Carol Vaughn from England boasts a collection of 5,000 bars of soap. She’s been growing them since 1991. Her entire collection features soaps in various shapes, sizes, and scents from both local and international sources. She also reserved a special spot for unusual soaps, such as a cheesecake-shaped one that her friend had gifted her.
7. Eraser Collector
Petra Engels from Germany has been collecting erasers since she was 9 years old. Today, her collection has grown to over 19,000 designs, shapes, and sizes. They were all collected between 1981 and 2006, and 22 glass cupboards were dedicated to displaying them. Yip, your fun erasers that you put on your pencil case are a treasure to some.
6. Monopoly Board Game Collector
Neil Scallan owns the largest collection of Monopoly games, comprising more than 3,000 boxes. But the catch? He doesn’t like playing the board game; he only collects it. He keeps them under seal and has no intentions of opening them, as he believes they would lose their value.
5. Traffic Cone Collector
David Morgan from Oxford, England, is a traffic cone collector owning over 500 cones. His rare ones come from Malaysia and Finland. The oldest item from his collection was a 1956 Lynvale rubber cone from Scotland. He even keeps a rare black funeral cone and stores 50 in his car for swapping.
4. Celebrity Hair Lock Collectors
John Reznikoff has a bizarre yet most expansive collection of celebrity hair locks in the world. In his collection, he owns strands from Edgar Allan Poe, Albert Einstein, Abraham Lincoln, Marilyn Monroe, and Ludwig van Beethoven. Yup, they’re either bought from celebrity hair suppliers who sell it to them for a fortune.
3. Banana Sticker Collector
Becky Martz collected more than 21,000 banana labels over the course of 30 years, categorized by brand and design. Her curiosity about the labels led her to discover that Dole bananas came from different regions, each with its own label. Martz even branched out to collecting asparagus and broccoli bands. She travelled from Germany, Costa Rica, and Ecuador to complete her collection. Her dedication extends to joining the Banana Sticker Collection Conventions.
2. Chewed Gum Collector
Yup, there are chewed gum collectors who preserve the remains of gum and organize them in a display. They take pride in showcasing their colorful, sticky displays, such as those of a 34-year collection from Ripley’s Believe It or Not.
1. Airline Barf Bag Collector
Niek Vermeulen from the Netherlands has collected more than 6,000 airsick bags from 1,191 airlines across 200 countries. This earned him a Guinness World Record. His collection began in 1986 when a bet from a friend sparked his interest in collecting. Vermeulen’s collection features various airlines, including those from the past, with graphics and airline branding.