Is there anything that you collect that others may find odd (perhaps, offensive)

I collect grudges. Lol. Not really.

I don’t collect anything unusual, but I just thought I would let you know a friend of mine collects black santa clauses.

My husband would love to collect cars. He sort of does, we own 5 vehicles and it is just the two of us. A lot of people think it is extremely extravagant. I think it is.

@JLeslie It may sound crazy but I have this fascination with cultures that were repressed, somehow. Jewish, Black and here, our natives Canadians. I’m rather involved in Idle No More (here for our Native Canadians).

Idle No More

Doesn’t sound crazy since you are a part of a couple minority classes. Woman and homosexual. You have an empathy for their experience I would think it’s why Jews came out strongly for black Americans in America during the Civil Rights movement.

Snot. (Not really but I couldn’t resist.)

I like to collect excessively tacky things, but my wife holds me back on that.
I do have some cigarette lighters with images of the World Trade Center on them, so when it is lit, it looks very tacky.

I collect dragons, which really bothers a friend of mine, who believes them to be evil.

Nothing odd or offensive, besides my uterus jars.

Horror movies, and porcelain dolls. I’m also a bit of a rare video game amateur, but these are pricey, hard to find and lately I’ve sort of lost that passion. I also loooove Halloween decorations. I don’t make it a point to collect them…but somehow I always end up with a whole bunch.

@Symbeline I thought that maybe you’d appreciate this (NSFW). Do you like chocolate? XD

life size chocolate baby head, anyone?

WHOA. Okay, those are awesome lol. I especially like the chocolate crow skull, the lung cancer cookies and the edible ashtray. That kicks ass, I have to shake the hand of whoever makes those.

The only thing I intentionally collect is library cards. You know, the ones they stuck in the back pocket of the books before computerized catalogs. They’ve usually got the names and dates for past borrowers. I love it. They aren’t offensive so much as stolen.

I’m particularly proud of my cards for Dalton Trumbo’s letters and Stanley Milgram’s Obedience to Authority.

Bad @fundevogel – bad, bad, bad!

No. You actually inspired me to consider collecting Victorian death photos. They are macabre but fascinating to me. I haven’t got around to it though. So no, I can’t think of anything I collect that might offend.

@Bella, you can always tell by the stiffness of their hands.

Yes. I remember you saying that in a post ages ago. I told my husband I fancied collecting some and having them framed and he gave me a seriously ‘you are weird’ look :D Then he already knows that for sure! Do you collect them or was it something you were thinking about @Mama_Cakes?

I don’t collect them, but I am fascinated by them. I love macabre. Putting them on my wall would freak out. haha

I have a collection of 1970s era European toilet paper.

Waiting for the obvious comments.

Not sure if this is obvious or not @Wunday, but what is different about ‘European’ and ‘1970s’ bog roll? Do you collect sheets or whole rolls and how do you display them?

@Bellatrix You have had me looking at your site for ½ hour. Thanks for sharing!

@Bellatrix No, that wasn’t obvious. Kudos. I would take a few sheets from the roll. Just enough so the color and texture were apparent. I do not currently display it, but I will take it out on occasion, when it comes up in conversation. Each piece is labeled with the date and place where it was collected.

You would be surprised at how much is different, at least compared to American toilet paper. Unfortunately, I don’t have a sample of my favorite—British publc WC “paper” which was all printed with “Property of her Majesty’s Government.” It was waxed paper, actually. Not very absorbent. If anyone else has some, I’d love to add to my collection.

You are welcome @Mama_Cakes. They seem to have some good offerings on ebay. I have resisted buying since my husband seems to think the whole idea is unsavoury. Like you I find them fascinating! I am loving the book @Syz recommended too. Mary Roach’s Stiff. Well worth reading if you haven’t already.

@Wunday – so your collection is about where you have been as much as the loo paper? It’s the memory of the place you were in? Sort of Great toilets I have visited as much as the paper?

I know the paper you mention well. Not so much with the ‘Property of Her Majesty’s Government’ but the brand. I wonder what she would have done if people started returning it to her used! The toilet paper brand I am familiar with is Izal. I well remember sitting down in public toilets and having the feeling of horror when I noticed the available loo paper. For the life of me I cannot understand why public loos often had this stuff as their preferred loo roll. It was pointless stuff. Totally nonabsorbent. Scratchy. Slippage was a problem at most inconvenient and unsavoury times. I can only assume the purpose was to deter people from going to ‘spend a penny’ in the hope of cutting public toilet cleaning costs. It’s still out there too. Evil stuff. It even had a funny smell. Definitely falls under the banner of “Ministry of Crap Design” technology (See Ben Elton’s Man from Aunty program for more examples).

Sorry @mama_cakes. It is on topic to @Wunday’s bog roll collection!

No, @Bellatrix, it wasn’t so much places I’d been as that the paper was all different. Different textures and different colors. It was fascinating to me that something I had only ever really seen one color of (white) and felt a limited range of textures of, could come in such a wide variety of colors and textures. I don’t know if they were related to local manufacturers, local customs or just somehow random. But I’m glad I have them. And they are memory objects, now. Like all collections, I think.

I have a friend that collects the tins (yes, little tin boxes) that rubbers (condoms) used to come in.

They’re high $$!