Think collecting is limited to coins or baseball cards? Think again. People worldwide are obsessed with saving some truly unexpected things—and it’s not about price tags or prestige. It’s about personal meaning and, sometimes, a little weirdness. These 20 oddball collections prove that if it exists, someone’s probably collecting it.
Hot Sauce
With over 10,000 bottles of hot sauce in his Arizona home, Vic Clinco’s got everything from rare blends to the infamous Blair’s 16 Million Reserve. That one’s so spicy it’s practically toxic. Vic’s collection even includes bottles made with ants. He proudly shares them on social media.
Toothbrushes
Grigori Fleicher began collecting toothbrushes to document the evolution of oral hygiene. His record-setting stash reached 1,320 brushes, including early electrics, character-themed brushes, and vintage designs. To outsiders, it might look quirky—but to collectors, it’s a timeline of something everyone uses but rarely studies.
Pizza Boxes
Scott Wiener has turned his pizza obsession into a cardboard museum. With over 1,750 pizza boxes from more than 120 countries, his collection started with a particularly artistic one from Israel. He even wrote a book, “Viva La Pizza,” that dives into the history and creativity behind these grease-stained gems.
Coca-Cola Cans
Italian collector Davide Andreani started hoarding Coca-Cola cans at 15. Now, he’s racked up more than 10,000 unique cans from 87 different countries. He has a knack for finding commemorative editions and limited releases. The Guinness World Records confirmed it—he owns the most Coca-Cola cans worldwide.
Airline Barf Bags
Most avoid airsick bags at all costs, but Dutch collector Niek Vermeulen made it into the Guinness Book of World Records for them. Since 1986, he’s collected 6,290 bags from airlines operating in nearly 200 countries. His weirdest find? A bag that went to space on a NASA mission.
Erasers
At 9 years old, Petra Engels started becoming obsessed with erasers. From ice-cream-shaped to miniature furniture, Petra’s erasers are more colorful than most people’s entire school memories. What began with a few scented erasers from a stationery store has grown into a collection of 19,571 erasers from 112 countries.
Banana Stickers
Since 1991, Becky Martz has been collecting banana stickers. Her stash includes over 21,000 labels from all over the world. She’s even attended international banana label conventions, her first being a Chiquita. Now, her collection includes limited-edition and misprinted designs that most folks would peel off and toss out.
Coprolites (Dinosaur Poop)
Fossilized feces, officially known as coprolites, have fascinated George Frandsen enough to build a 5,000-piece collection. His favorite specimen? A 4-pound chunk of dino droppings. He even launched a virtual and a separate physical museum called “Poozeum” to showcase it and educate people on what these ancient leftovers reveal about extinct creatures.
Rubber Ducks
Charlotte Lee didn’t plan to break records when she bought her first rubber duck in 1996 to decorate her bathroom. Nearly 30 years later, she’s got over 5,600 of them. Her duck collection now holds the Guinness World Record; each one is different, from cowboy ducks to ninja ones.
Traffic Cones
David Morgan, who helped popularize the modern traffic cone, is also its biggest fan. His collection includes around 137 cones—about two-thirds of all known types. From a rare black funeral cone to a 1956 rubber model from Scotland, it’s basically a personal museum of global road safety design.
Table Napkins
Napkins don’t usually stick around after a meal, but that hasn’t stopped Martina Schellenberg from saving over 125,000 pieces. Her themed storage system includes categories like holidays, brands, and love notes. There’s another collector named Antonia Kozakova, who has over 80,000 napkins and wishes to get one signed by Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Hotel Do Not Disturb Signs
Jean-Francois Vernetti doesn’t leave hotels without snagging their “Do Not Disturb” signs. Over the years, he’s gathered more than 11,000 from 189 countries. It started when he noticed one with a spelling error. Today, it’s the world’s largest DND collection—funny, artistic, weird, and more.
McDonald’s Memorabilia
Mike Fountaine took a job at McDonald’s at 15. That was 55 years and 75,000 items ago. Now, his 7,000-square-foot home is filled with Happy Meal toys, packaging, signs, and even uniforms. He started with a single pin, and now his collection is the world’s largest McDonald’s memorabilia.
Soap
Scented, unscented, hotel-branded, novelty-shaped—you name it. Carol Vaughan keeps them stored by category and even holds a world record. She’s collected more than 5,000 bars of soap since 1991 and says she’s never used one from her collection. They’re displayed, admired, and occasionally sniffed—not scrubbed.
Celebrity Hair
John Reznikoff collects celebrity hair—lots of it. He’s got strands from Abraham Lincoln, Marilyn Monroe, Beethoven, and Elvis. He even had his $1 million hair collection insured. Paul Fraser owns Justin Bieber’s locks, which he bought for over $40,000. Apparently, some strands are worth framing.
Barbie Dolls
Germany’s Bettina Dorfmann has over 15,000 Barbie dolls. She even runs a “Barbie hospital,” where she fixes damaged dolls sent in from all around the globe. Some of her oldest dolls date back to the 1960s. Her house is basically Barbie’s dream house but with way less space.
Back Scratchers
Dermatologist Manfred S. Rothstein started collecting back scratchers after a pharmaceutical rep gave him one shaped like an alligator claw. Today, he has 675 of them from 71 countries, including ones made of ivory, wood, and kangaroo bone. All of them are housed in his dermatology clinic in North Carolina.
Cell Phones
Ekrem Karagudekoglu has kept up with every generation of mobile phones—literally. His collection in Turkey features 2,779 phones, from chunky early models to sleek smartphones. His goal is to showcase the timeline of mobile tech, including rare monochrome-display phones that some Gen Z folks have never even seen.
Joker Cards
Each deck of playing cards includes a Joker or two, and Tony De Santis has hunted down over 8,520 unique ones. This Italian magician by trade says the Joker card is the most creative in the deck. His oldest cards date back decades, with artwork you won’t see twice.
Dalmatians
Karen Ferrier turned her obsession with Dalmatians into a collection of over 1,100 spotted items. From plush toys to collectibles tied to Dodie Smith, the author of “101 Dalmatians,” her collection even includes a Dalmatian-themed car. Her dedication began in the early ’90s, and it hasn’t slowed down since.
