What is the weirdest thing you own?

[Wriggle]

Ooh can you use it practically? Like, I imagine hanging a coat off its snout, or maybe putting my scarves around its neck

Nope.
It's a total folly, bought for me because I prod prezzies and guess them - mostly successfully, too.

I did not guess this one.

 

[PantsAndPencils]

I collect hand blown bottles from the 1800s and very early turn of the century (1900-1905). Used to dig old privys and dumps. Soda and mineral waters, beers, whiskeys, apothecaries and druggists (quack medicine era), Jamaica gingers, other types. Mostly buy and trade these days. It’s an expensive habit.

Interesting!! I’m a “collect to keep” type of person, so the people who trade their stuff seem so… so strange, but like, I mean that as a positive thing. Like, I’m curious about the motivation to do it.

I once spent a few months living with some folks, staying in what they called their “tractor room.” They collected and traded model tractors, and they used this spare room to store them all. Shelves upon shelves of tractors still in their boxes, surrounding me as I slept I couldn’t wrap my head around how they cared enough for these objects to buy so many, but didn’t care enough to be bothered when they gave up one to exchange for another

 

[PantsAndPencils]

i use to have a lighter my FIL gave me as a wedding gift. it was a figurine of a man nude made of pewter and in front he was genitaled correctly and quite hung. you simply pushed down on his pointer upper and the flame came out the top of his head' unfortunately one of the famous kitchen drawer catch alls ate him!

Lol wonderful

 

[PantsAndPencils]

I have a collection of uranium glass.

okay same question for you as I had for willl—does it carry any safety hazards with it? Can it be used, or just displayed—and does it need a special display to protect you from, like… its uranium-ness?

 

[PantsAndPencils]

Nope.
It's a total folly, bought for me because I prod prezzies and guess them - mostly successfully, too.

I did not guess this one.

Prod prezzies?

 

[Wriggle]

Sorry - UKism

Poke and try to guess what is wrapped up as presents for Christmas.

 

[PantsAndPencils]

Sorry - UKism

Poke and try to guess what is wrapped up as presents for Christmas.

Ohhhh, hahaha that’s wonderful! Nice that they finally stumped you

 

[Lumiere_Amie]

okay same question for you as I had for willl—does it carry any safety hazards with it? Can it be used, or just displayed—and does it need a special display to protect you from, like… its uranium-ness?

Uranium emits what is called alpha radiation. It can be blocked by a common sheet of paper. Mine is in a curio cabinet, so the glass and wood block any radiation. Entire table settings were made of it, plates, glasses, cups, etc. I won't say that there is NO hazard, but it is minimal. Some people will take broken pieces and shape them with a grinding stone. That is dangerous. You should read the story of the Radium Girls. Radium is dangerous and I'd absorbed by the body.

 

[PantsAndPencils]

Uranium emits what is called alpha radiation. It can be blocked by a common sheet of paper. Mine is in a curio cabinet, so the glass and wood block any radiation. Entire table settings were made of it, plates, glasses, cups, etc. I won't say that there is NO hazard, but it is minimal. Some people will take broken pieces and shape them with a grinding stone. That is dangerous. You should read the story of the Radium Girls. Radium is dangerous and I'd absorbed by the body.

Radium Girls!!! Yes, I know about them!! Actually did an assignment on them back in school iirc. So tragic but also iconic in a way?

 

[PicassosPleasure]

Omg I totally feel that. I helped each of my parents move in the past, and I found a bunch of old love letters they exchanged and forgot about, some of it I quickly realized was explicit and stopped reading before I could be scarred for life

They’re long divorced. Neither really care what happens to the letters. *I* sure don’t wanna read my parents’ old intimate stuff. But like… I can’t bring myself to throw it out? I keep thinking that maybe one day I’ll go through and try to sort the regular letters from the saucy ones.

I will say, their correspondence game was on point. They’d write stuff in code for one another to puzzle out, stuff like that to keeping interesting while they were long-distance. So for that reason I do wanna try to keep the regular stuff because they make for really sweet family mementos imo

Your mention of writing in code brought up some memories. As a U.S. Navy Submariner in the 1980s, the only communication I had with my now ex-wife was through receiving 10 "Familygrams" during a 3 month patrol. Each was only 17 words long. Since radiomen on each side of the communique had to read them, and the Captain if it could upset the sailor receiving it, my wife had to use coded language for the sexy talk. No, I did not save the printed copies we got them in.

 

[BabyBoomer50s]

Interesting!! I’m a “collect to keep” type of person, so the people who trade their stuff seem so… so strange, but like, I mean that as a positive thing. Like, I’m curious about the motivation to do it.

I once spent a few months living with some folks, staying in what they called their “tractor room.” They collected and traded model tractors, and they used this spare room to store them all. Shelves upon shelves of tractors still in their boxes, surrounding me as I slept I couldn’t wrap my head around how they cared enough for these objects to buy so many, but didn’t care enough to be bothered when they gave up one to exchange for another

I rarely trade unless it’s for a piece I really, really need for my collection. What drew me into the antique bottle collecting hobby is what they reveal about daily life and commerce in the 1800s. Most of the bottles from my home town have the names of the proprietors and in some cases, even the street addresses embossed in the glass. So you learn where the saloons were, the druggists, the breweries, the quack medicines, the springs where water was bottled for medicinal purposes…all that stuff. As a teenager, my buddy and I used to sneak into urban renewal construction sites where old buildings were being torn down, find where the outhouses had been located, and would dig all night.

 

[Rob_Royale]

My goats. Damn strange critters.

 

[SofiaLaFrench]

My goats. Damn strange critters.

Their eyes freak me out!

 

[Goldenfinger]

….yours? Inside you, currently? Or just…around the house?

Mine, inside a specimen jar. In a jar. Oh I also have a IVC Filter. Its not mine, it to is in a specimen jar.

 

[butters]

Oh cool!! Have you ever thought of getting the missing portion made, like via 3D printing or something?

no, never considered it.

there are a lot of odd and ancient things here, but the oldest is no doubt the coffee can full of corals formed during the Paleozoic period (ranges from 538.8 million years ago-251 MA)

we're always coming across it as we garden and have often give bits away to family interested in the geology.

the limestone stream bed that runs across our land is also dotted with numerous fossil imprints. always fascinating.

 

[Doodledude]

…how? And how is it displayed?

It’s on a shelf with a framed picture of the ship above it. And I knew where the superstructure was.

 

[Ssbbw4u1974]

It may be weird , it maybe the coolest thing I own..
A vintage, original strawberry shortcake doll from 1984..
Bought it from eBay about 5 years ago.. but I was OBSESSED with strawberry shortcake when I was little.. I once had pink carpet in my bedroom, a strawberry shortcake sleeping bag, and lunch box.. lol

 

[Trubbycat]

I have a Star Trek TOS communicator.

 

[NightOfPassion2]

A piece of plastic that was hit with an electron beam

 

[Wonderer67]

Check the seam on each side. If they run all the way to the lip, they are machine made after 1903 and generally not considered “antique” by collectors. If the seams taper off at the shoulder, it means they were hand blown into a hinged mold and fall into the category of “antique bottles.”

I have a number of blob tops and older ones from the 1800s. Mostly beer bottles.

Soda bottles from the 40-60s.

Couple of prohibition era whiskey bottles (with prescriptions on it!) and tons of milk bottles and the little diner creamers.

Nearly all of them are local.

 

[BabyBoomer50s]

It may be weird , it maybe the coolest thing I own..
A vintage, original strawberry shortcake doll from 1984..
Bought it from eBay about 5 years ago.. but I was OBSESSED with strawberry shortcake when I was little.. I once had pink carpet in my bedroom, a strawberry shortcake sleeping bag, and lunch box.. lol

I still have my Zippy doll (monkey) that was given to me as a baby.

 

[Wonderer67]

no, never considered it.

there are a lot of odd and ancient things here, but the oldest is no doubt the coffee can full of corals formed during the Paleozoic period (ranges from 538.8 million years ago-251 MA)

we're always coming across it as we garden and have often give bits away to family interested in the geology.

the limestone stream bed that runs across our land is also dotted with numerous fossil imprints. always fascinating.

We have found a number of fossils on our property too. a number of small shells, nothing all that great, but cool.

Several years ago we found a rock with what we found out was called a croinid.

I asked someone at the New Jersey State Museum what it might be and they said it was probably a plant stem from when New Jersey was a shallow sea about 400 million years ago.

 

[live4thebj]

Grateful Dead Rubiks Cube.

 

[unhappyhubby80]

Weirdest thing I own is an old bayonet from, my grandpa says the civil war. I have no idea why he gave it to me and not my older brother lol

When you and your brother were younger maybe you were more interested in it or maybe your Grandpa knew you would take care of it better.

 

[disturbedagain]

A mesolithic stone axe.