My grandma collected rubber bands on door knobs. She had a drawer of paper bags she’d saved from the grocery and a drawer with string saved from meat wrappers. People often think our grandparents and parents collected things because of the Great Depression. I also think they saved things they couldn’t buy in stores.
I thought of collecting crazy things the other day when I poured the coffee grounds from the Dunkin’ Donuts bag into the coffee canister and automatically ripped the tin tie off the top. (1) It’s a habit from the Covid days when I saved the ties for making face masks. At first, I used 16 gauge craft wire, but it was cumbersome. I had to cut the wire and bend the ends into little loops. The tin ties were easier to use and fit around the nose better. Now I buy aluminum strips specifically made for masks. But I’ve still saved the wire and tin ties. You never know.
I also have a collection of over 500 license plate photos. One day when sitting in stop-and-go traffic I spotted a funny license plate and grabbed my phone to get a picture. I continued the habit. Some of my favorites are PEGISUE on a 57 Chevy, MR BUD LIT, OKY DOKY, WEMET B 4, LV2DANC, B KND TOO, 4 BNBAD on a Chevy 396 super sport, WE WALK 2 on a Toyota Solara convertible, FN RYD on a red Honda convertible and RED PONY on a red mustang convertible. But my favorite is AT88MPH on a DeLorean, a reference to the DeLorean in Back to the Future that was fitted with a flux capacitor allowing for time travel when the speedometer hits 88 miles per hour. See Wikipedia DeLorean Time Machine.
On the other hand, you see a lot of vanity plates that you can’t figure out which makes you wonder why the owner paid for a vanity plate. Here’s some for you to figure out: NON 1917 on a Nissan Ohio plate, THKS GMH on a NY Chrysler Town and Country, BUY HOM on a golf plate, and VDR ZANE* on a BMW,
I collected the license plate pictures for fun. But my days of driving in rush hour traffic are over and now I’d get a $30 ticket for using my cell phone while driving. So I no longer take license plate photos unless I happen to walk by a fascinating plate in the parking lot. Old habits die hard. At least this collection isn't jamming my drawers and cramming my closets.
Love the John Lennon Imagine plate GET BAK on the Bentley
My utensil drawer contains a collection of plastic pizza tables, sometimes called pizza chairs or pizza nipples (no kidding (2)). When I gardened, they separated the wire racks I used to dry out the coffee grounds in used coffee filters. I split the filter so it was flat and laid it on the wire racks to dry.
Designer Pizza Chairs, toxel.com (5)
I poured the dried grounds into a coffee can and when the can was filled, I worked the dried grounds into the soil to acidify my hydrangeas in the hopes of making them blue. The hydrangeas were pale purple at best. Years after I started this practice, I discovered the spent grounds had little or no acid. (3) The brewing process eliminated it. Oh well! I thought that at least the grounds have organic matter. But an expert gardener said there might be more cons to adding the grounds to my garden. (4) It appears the grounds increase water retention in the soil and our soil was already super-saturated, non-draining clay. Good intentions, bad result.
My hydrangeas were only blue when I first bought them.
I should have saved the coffee can. Someone is selling a ‘vintage’ 39 oz Folgers Mountain Grown Coffee can on eBay for $25. Selling things on eBay spawns a new world of crazy collecting. Among crazy things, eBay has Newspapers from a flying saucer crash in Roswell, NM, and five vintage skull dice. Was this person a dice collector or a collector of the macabre?
Vintage Folgers Coffee Can for $25, Roswell Flying Saucer Capture, and skull dice on eBay
One intriguing eBay sale item was a Personal Letter for $4. The letter pictured below was from Glinda – Somewhere Over the Rainbow. Reading the details, the seller will write the buyer a handwritten letter on almost any subject. What’s unbelievable is that seven of these letters have sold. This could be a nice retirement career – writing fake letters from movie characters and selling them on eBay. You could be a real competitor to this eBay seller if you use nice stationary and are good at English. The seller wrote her letters on plain white paper with white envelopes and had several grammar errors in the posting. With those improvements, you might even charge $5 per letter.
Hand-written personal letter from a character of your choice - $4
Speaking of coffee cans, one thing I don’t save is bacon grease like my Mom and Grandma did. It seems our generation is divided on saving and using bacon grease in cooking. I think it’s yucky and so does Mr. Boomer:
“Even as a young child, the whole idea grossed out Mister Boomer. He especially did not want to be around when his mother dipped into the can to make eggs for breakfast or to start onions and liver or other dishes that weren’t high on Mister B’s list of favorites.” (6)
I agree with Mr. Boomer. I cringed when mom used bacon grease for cooking and hated liver and onions. On the other hand, I have friends who love them both.
What things do you collect that other people might think are crazy? The next time someone makes fun of something you save, tell them about the crazy person who collects coffee tin ties, pizza tables, and coffee grounds. Or mention the man who found just found one million copper pennies in his crawl space. Tell them your collection just might be worth something one day. (7)
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* hubby pointed out that VDR ZANE is an abbreviation of weidersehen, for the German auf weidersehen for good bye (or literally until I see you again). Duh, I should have realized that – I took German.
References
Josh, How to properly seal a coffee bag, YouTube. Watch this cute, funny video made by a kid in a tie-die t-shirt. Production technique 2 stars. Entertainment and informational value 5 stars. At least he makes his own coffee. Josh has more followers than me.
Pizza saver Wikipedia, Googled June 11, 2023 A pizza saver (sometimes referred to as pizza table, pizza stool, pizza bone, pizza chair, pizza nipple, pizza lofter, package saver, pizza tripod, or pizza ottoman) is an object used to prevent the top of a food container, such as a pizza box or cake box, from collapsing in at the center and touching the food inside.[3]
Jill Drago, Myth or Fact: Can Coffee Grounds Turn Hydrangeas Blue?, allaboutgardening.com, Feb 18, 2023
Jeff Schalau, Using Coffee Grounds in the Garden, University of Arizona, October 31, 2018
Pizza chairs, Toxel.com, June 27, 2018 - Detailed replicas of 3D-printed patio chairs out will be delivered with pizza orders from select Boston Pizza locations in Canada. Fascinating designs for household items including pizza chairs, a recliner, and bun packaging. Browse the entire site for fascinating designs. Nike sneaker chair - https://www.toxel.com/inspiration/2023/06/02/nike-sneaker-chair/ Six-pack buns - https://www.toxel.com/design/2023/02/12/six-pack-buns/
MisterB, Boomers Knew About the Bacon Grease Can, misterboomer.com, October 15, 2015CALIFORNIA
Travis Schlepp, Family finds 1 million copper pennies while cleaning out Los Angeles home, KTLA.com, June 8, 2023
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