Buzz
From coins and stamps to baseball cards and comic books, individuals gather a wide range of items for various purposes. However, the collections featured here go beyond the ordinary, venturing into the realm of the truly unusual.
10. A Little Light Reading
Jozsef Tari boasts a collection of more than 5,200 books, but his library is the world’s 'smallest.' This is because every book on his shelf is a miniature, making him the proud owner of the largest collection of tiny books globally.
Tari started gathering these miniature books in 1972. His collection includes one of the tiniest books in the world, measuring just 19 by 26 millimeters (0.74 by 1 inch), alongside other rare finds. Some books feature hand-painted porcelain or intricately carved wooden covers, while others are bound in artistic leather. Many are limited editions, with the oldest exceeding 100 years in age. All are under 76 millimeters (3 inches) in height.
“My fascination with miniature books began during my time at printer school,” he shared. “Initially, I stored them in a simple paper box, but later I installed shelves to showcase them properly. I always aim to acquire multiple copies of each book so I can trade with fellow collectors.”
9. Crazy About Bin Laden
Martin Parr from the UK admits to having a 'strong collecting gene.' In the 1980s, he amassed a trove of Margaret Thatcher memorabilia, but later shifted his focus to Osama Bin Laden. His unsettling assortment now includes coffee mugs, squeaky toys, kulfa balls, watches, and even Osama-themed toilet paper.
Following Osama’s demise, a surge of 'Bin Laden Is Dead' merchandise hit the market, allowing Parr to complete his unusual collection.
“These dictators, with their inflated egos, permitted the production of such items,” he remarks. “It reveals a lot about their character.”
8. Silicone Companions
Known as the 'Hugh Hefner of the Love Doll community,' Bob Gibbins from the UK holds the title for the largest collection of silicone companions. He has invested over $100,000 to amass 240 Love Dolls, surpassing the previous record held by a Japanese collector with 100 dolls.
A mechanic by profession, Gibbins acknowledges spending considerable time grooming, styling, and dressing his life-sized dolls, though not for conventional purposes. The 61-year-old is famous in his area for taking the dolls on car rides and organizing photo sessions in scenic mountain locations.
Interestingly, Bob is married. His wife, Elizabeth, claims she has no issue with his peculiar pastime. In fact, she loves picking out outfits for the dolls and believes the collection has strengthened her bond with her husband.
“We’ve likely spent more time together since he started collecting these dolls than we did before,” she mentioned. “If he didn’t have them, he’d probably be occupied with something else, like building a car or similar projects.”
7. Rubber Duckies Galore
Do you recall being a child and playing with a rubber ducky in the bathtub? Honestly, neither do I. But you’d surely remember splashing around in a collection as vast as Charlotte Lee’s—one that would require a sizable swimming pool to hold it all.
The 42-year-old Seattle resident has gathered over 5,000 of these rubber bath companions. Her collection started in 1996 when friends began gifting them to her.
With her husband’s assistance, she built an extraordinary assortment—squeaky ducks, scented ducks, glow-in-the-dark ducks, and ducks in almost every conceivable design. This achievement earned her a place in the Guinness World Records for owning the 'largest collection of rubber ducks' in 2003, 2007, and 2011.
Now using her entire condo basement to store the ducks, Lee hopes a museum will take on part of her collection. Due to space limitations, she’s become more selective, though it’s often her husband who brings new additions home.
“I love the ducks, and he loves the thrill of finding them,” she said. “It’s a perfect team effort.”
6. Obsessed with Miley
Calr McCoid boasts a unique assortment of Miley Cyrus memorabilia—most notably, 21 tribute tattoos covering his upper body. These include song titles, album names, and various portraits of the pop star, making it the largest known collection of its kind.
The 39-year-old has each of his 10 knuckles tattooed with letters that collectively spell out Miley Cyrus’s full name. His latest tattoo features a playful, tongue-wagging Miley, inspired by her controversial VMA performance.
“Many people get various tattoos, like Chinese characters or cartoon images,” the British man explains. “So why shouldn’t I be able to have numerous Miley Cyrus tattoos?”
While “Liberty Walk” and “Can’t Be Tamed” are inked on the insides of his arms, it’s the tattoo of another Miley Cyrus song title on his right forearm that truly sums it up. It says: OBSESSED.
5. Barbie Extravaganza
Jian Yang owns a Barbie collection so vast it would make any young girl envious. He started collecting Barbies at age 13 and now possesses over 6,000 of them.
His initial doll was a “Great Shape” Barbie dressed in a spandex workout outfit. Two decades later, the Singaporean estimates he has spent a staggering $392,000 on his passion.
“When you meet me outside of this hobby, I’m not what you’d imagine,” Yang says. “I don’t fit the stereotype of a man who collects dolls.”
His collection now occupies a floor-to-ceiling glass display in a room painted in vibrant “Barbie Pink.” Interestingly, women who see the dolls often react with envy.
“They see the dolls and think, ‘Okay, that’s the competition,’” Yang explains. “It’s a bit unsettling, but it’s the truth.”
4. Mercedes “Pens”
While many struggle to find a reliable ink pen, Costas Schuler from California will never face that issue. By day, he’s a graphic designer, but in his free time, he collects ink pens—10,000 of which now adorn the exterior of his 1981 Mercedes. Using silicone glue, he attached them to the car, and this barely scratches the surface of his vast collection. Before donating 30,000 pens recently, he had amassed 70,000. His ultimate aim is to reach one million.
“It takes courage to decorate your car like this and drive it around,” he remarked. “Not many people do that... I see my car as a representation of what it looks like when God smiles.”
Schuler also crafts artistic pieces called “Pentings,” which he donates to schools and other institutions to inspire and uplift others through art.
3. The Airplane Spoon Enthusiast
Dieter Kapsch is eager to showcase his impressive spoon collection, which could make anyone’s head spin.
Over 13 years, he has gathered 1,760 spoons from 447 different airlines, including rare pieces from the now-defunct Imperial Airways and a Pan Am flying boat spoon dating back to the 1930s.
His collection started during a vacation in Spain with his sister, who suggested keeping a spoon from their flight as a memento.
“After we returned home, she left the spoon with me, and I began using it,” he recalled. “That’s when I decided to collect spoons from every airline I flew with, and eventually, I aimed to own them all.”
Dieter has also photographed each spoon and organized them on Flickr for everyone to explore.
2. Game Ball Enthusiast
Zack Hample is known as the “King of the Ballhawks.” Since starting in 1991, the Guilford College graduate has collected 7,100 game balls from 50 different stadiums. His achievements have earned him features in Sports Illustrated, Playboy magazine, the Associated Press, and numerous other media platforms.
Hample has authored three books, including How To Snag Major League Baseballs, and even appeared on The Tonight Show to discuss his impressive collection. His assortment includes commemorative balls, standard balls, and rare finds. Some balls are uniquely deformed from gameplay, which Hample simply calls “weird.”
1. Bananas Over Bananas
Becky Martz is passionate about collecting what many might consider trash but what she describes as “miniature masterpieces.” She gathers the peel-off stickers from supermarket bananas and has amassed nearly 8,000 of them to date.
Martz visits as many as 25 different grocery stores each week in search of these labels. This habit has led her to find creative ways to incorporate bananas into her meals.
“I bake a lot of banana bread,” she admits. “But sometimes I just buy the bananas, remove the labels, and return the bananas directly to the store clerk.”
Her most prized possession is also her oldest: a 1960s label from Sweden featuring the image of a cherubic blond boy. After collecting the labels, she removes their original adhesive using paint thinner and carefully organizes them on graph paper in a collection of notebooks.
