People love to keep memorabilia that reminds them of sweet moments or helps them relive places they visited once upon a time. But while it’s human nature to become attached to objects, some people take it a little too far by building big collections that make them more than simple collectors. They take pride in their rare findings, and for those lucky enough to see them, they’re quite a sight. Whether they’re organized in rooms, boxes, and even large fields, personal collections can be as valuable as museum exhibits for those that create and adore them. If you are curious about strange personal collections, here’s a top ten list that will blow your mind.

10 Do Not Disturb Signs

The Do Not Disturb sign is popular in hotels and motels where guests use them to tell visitors or cleaners that they don’t need any interruptions. But did you know that one man from Germany became famous for his impressive collection of 11,570 Do Not Disturb signs?

Wherever you go, these signs guide people to maintain privacy and respect. Rainer Weichert is probably the only man on earth who recognizes the value of these signs. His weird obsession with Do Not Disturb signs made him a world record holder in 2014. Since 1990, Rainer has traveled to 188 countries. And on each of his trips, he collected signs of all shapes and designs.

From modern signs in English to sign language, Rainer’s collection offers great insights into world culture. Some of the most interesting signs in his collection include a wooden statue from a Bali beach resort, a 1936 piece from the Berlin Olympic Village, and a 1910 sign from the Canadian General Brock Hotel.

9span> Miniature Chairs

How big is your favorite chair at home? From the United States, Barbara Hartsfield has the largest collection of miniature chairs in the world, with no one to sit on them! In 2008, Barbara had about 3,000 chairs that she had collected over 10 years, an impressive achievement that made her a Guinness World Record Holder.

But once you know the story behind the chairs, it’s clear that Barbara had a good reason for getting into her passion. Working as a psychiatric nurse, Barbara had to write nursing articles. To get herself into the “writing zone,” she decided to purchase a small chair and a little doll to help her focus. While shopping for her miniature chair, she saw other collections, and in no time, it became a hobby.

In 2009, Barbara opened the Collectible & Antique Chair Gallery, a museum that featured her impressive collection. People travel from all over America to see her tiny functional chairs designed as lamps, clocks, salt shakers, and cookie jars. Who knew a strange hobby like that could turn into a business?

8 Air Sickness Bags

For most of us, airplane travel is the best opportunity to check out pictures of scenic landscapes or connect with strangers. But for Niek Vermeulen from the Netherlands, traveling can also be an opportunity to collect airsickness bags!

Niek Vermeulen’s passion for collecting barf bags was born when he made a bet with a friend to see who would collect the most. Since 1986, when Niek set out to build the greatest collection of airsickness bags, his collection grew exponentially, and 26 years later, he set a world record. In 2012, Niek Vermeulen won the bet when he made it into the Guinness Book with 6,290 barf bags collected from 1,191 airlines in at least 200 countries.

Niek’s favorite bag from the collection is a bag that spent 16 days in space while on board the NASA space shuttle, Columbia. For Niek, his sickness bags are more than waste disposables since they carry memories of both good and bad traveling experiences.

7 Hamburger Related Items

Hamburgers are classic, not because they have everything you want on one bite, but because they’re the most versatile meals on the planet. While it’s hard to gauge who loves this meal the most, Harry Sperl, a.k.a. Hamburger Harry, might be hamburger’s number one fan.

Hamburger Harry’s love for hamburger paraphernalia started when he was looking for props to sell a vintage drive-in tray. Purchasing plastic hamburgers that he felt might make the tray look more appealing, Harry felt that they looked incredible, and for the next 26 years, he would do it for fun. In 2014, the Guinness Book recognized Harry Sperl’s collection of hamburger-related objects, featuring 3,724 items.

Among his collection, Harry has multiple collectibles that include a customized burger Harley Davidson and a hamburger waterbed. In the future, Harry hopes to expand his collection by opening a museum that will be shaped like a double bacon cheeseburger.

6 Backscratchers 

Ever felt a little itch on your back and wished you could reach scratch it off as quickly as possible? Well, Manfred S. Rothstein can help you kick that itch with one of his 675 back scratchers from 71 countries.

Manfred Rothstein — a professional dermatologist — developed a fascination for backscratchers when he received a demo plastic scratcher from Atarax just as he was headed for his residency. Since then, Rothstein began to collect scratchers of all ilk on his travels. Later, Manfred even began receiving donations from patients, friends, and donors that learned of his unique obsession.

Some varieties of his back scratchers include an alligator claw, hand-carved rib bones, and kangaroo paws. These backscratchers all have one thing in common; they soothe the hard-to-reach places. Manfred believes that the key to having a big collection is having a unique collection that no one can beat. Despite his success, he has no plans of quitting any time soon.

5 Clocks

Do you ever find yourself staring at the clock at the end of a long day? Jack Schoff from the United States is a man obsessed with time. On his wall, he has the largest collection of clocks in the world. Jack, who started collecting clocks in 2003, made the Guinness World Book of Records in 2010, registering 1,509 functional clocks.

Jack Schoff, who worked as a Naval Shipyard pipefitter, started collecting clocks when health issues forced him to stay home. Back then, he felt that taking apart clocks and putting them back together was a good way to keep himself busy.

Jack’s little distraction turned into an obsessive hobby as he visited yard sales to buy clocks. Even neighbors chipped into his hobby by leaving clocks at his front door, helping him create one of the world’s biggest collections.  If Jack Schoff is ever late to an appointment, it won’t be because he didn’t know what time it was.

4 Pizza Boxes

There’s no doubt that a slice of pizza loaded with toppings is good for both hunger and the soul. But while most of us throw away the pizza boxes after finishing a meal, Scott Wiener from Brooklyn prefers to keep them in his apartment. In 2013, Scott held the world record for his collection of 595 pizza boxes.

But how do you begin collecting pizza boxes as a hobby? On a 2008 trip to Israel, Scott Wiener saw the most artistic pizza box he’d ever seen. It was then that he realized that pizza boxes could be interesting.

Since then, Scott has collected unique pizza boxes from around the world. With help from family, friends, and fans, he grew his collection, one box at a time. Recognizing his celebrity status, Scott even published a book, “Viva La Pizza! The Art of the Pizza Box,” to share his amazing collection with the world. With over 1,500 boxes and counting, Scott loans his boxes to museums and exhibits to share the love of pizza.

3 Celebrity Hair Collection

Many parents keep a little lock of their child’s hair after their first haircut as a memento. Keeping a few small strands is normal, but for John Reznikoff, collecting celebrity hair is even more exciting and valuable.

John Reznikoff has one of the weirdest hobbies on the planet as a collector of hair locks snipped from earth’s most famous heads. Now a world record holder, John has owned shaggy keepsakes from Elvis Presley, Beethoven, Abraham Lincoln, John F. Kennedy, and even Marilyn Monroe.  

The hair collection, which is now insured for $1 million, is John Renzikoff’s pride and joy since they tell important stories about the past. While hair collection seems strange today, it was the equivalent of owning an autograph and a true status symbol several decades ago. Which celebrity’s hair would you pay to keep?

2 Traffic Cones

Traffic cones, also known as safety cones, are important markers that direct road users and redirect traffic at every corner. But in the UK, one man, David Morgan, ignores all the road signs with a traffic cone collection that he swears warms his heart. With 500 traffic cones of all shapes, colors, and sizes, Morgan is one of the most captivating characters you’ll ever meet.

The passion for collecting cones started in 1986. Working for Oxford Plastic Systems,David Morgan was investigating a rival cone company’s claim. While searching for proof that Oxford’s cone was a new design and not a copy of the rival’s product, Morgan fell in love with the marker signs. Since then, he would collect the safety products everywhere he went, adding to his growing collection.

After having 500 cones, you would think Morgan is satisfied with his collection since he has two-thirds of all types ever made! Yet, Morgan is still looking for a rare five-sided cone from Manchester that would make his compilation complete. As far as strange collections go, cones are a winner obsession.

1 Fossilized Dinosaur Poops

The dinosaur is one gigantic museum exhibit that always stands out. While museum collectors prefer to display dinosaur bones, George Frandsen took the study a little further by collecting fossilized poop! 

Bragging ownership to at least 5,000 specimens of coprolite, the fancy name for ancient poop, George is a world record holder.

But how did George Frandsen get hooked on his poop passion?  When he was a young freshman, Frandsen visited a fossil shop in Utah and found an especially impressive specimen. After buying it, Frandsen developed a unique interest in coprolites, collecting different sizes, from tiny specks to samples weighing over 4 pounds!

Today, coprolites are important for scientists since they provide important clues about what the animals ate when they roamed the earth. As a famous collector, Frandsen even lent his collection to the South Florida Museum. It was so popular that it stayed up for over a year. These days, Frandsen runs his online website, Poozeum, which displays nothing but ancient poop!

Where there is a stack of bones, there is a story. Some tales are mysterious, like the walls in Belgium that are made completely out of legs. Others are terrifying. From predators hoarding human bones to warriors abandoned in a field, here are the most bizarre bone collections of all time.

10 Times Bones Gave Rare Glimpses Into The Past

10 Fresh 800-Year-Old Bones

In 2020, scientists came across penguin bones that did not make sense. Found at Cape Irizar near the Antarctic ocean, no penguin had called that spot home since the 1900s. Initially, the remains were thought to belong to an unknown modern colony but when the truth dawned, it was completely unexpected.

The bones—and bodies—were at least 800 years old. At the oldest, the remains were estimated to date back 15,000 years. Over time, generations of penguins had used the site and a lot of bones were collected as some died of natural causes. Others were frozen whole and were only exposed due to fluctuations in the levels of ice cover. They were so well-preserved that they fooled the scientists into thinking that they had just died recently.

9 Giant Lemur Graveyard

Lemurs today are small but 2,000 years ago, they were the size of gorillas. These big guys are now extinct but in 2015, divers discovered a large graveyard of bones inside a cave in Madagascar. Among them were hundreds of giant lemur skeletons.

What made the discovery so unique was both the number of lemurs that were found and their condition. Normally, fossils are scattered or so incomplete that there is just a skull or a few ribs left to study. But some of the lemur skeletons were so perfect and whole that it gave researchers an unprecedented look at their anatomy.

8 Jennifer’s Antler Art

In 2016, many visitors to the Renwick Gallery in Washington, D.C. saw the work of Jennifer Trask for the first time. But she was no noob. Trask has been making the same trademark and beautiful art for over 20 years.

Her art materials might creep some people out, though. They consist of blood, precious metals and bone. Depending on what she’s making, her artwork includes the skeletal remains of deer, snakes, giraffes, camels, chickens, and other creatures. Anything from teeth, ribs, vertebrae to antlers goes.

While the collection sounds gory, it is not. The work has a baroque beauty that many art lovers find appealing. The pieces range from large wall decorations to tiny bones crafted so skillfully that it resembles a real flower, fragile petals and all.

7 The Whale Warehouse

In the middle of Los Angeles is a warehouse. Inside is over 5,000 whale and dolphin skeletons (and countless jars packed with organs and other gory stuff). Owned by the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, the collection is the second largest hoard of its kind. Only the Smithsonian is sitting on more whale bones.

One might wonder why a museum is in the habit of gathering thousands of bones when it has no intention of displaying any of them.

As it were, researchers can learn more about a species when they have numerous individual animals belonging to that group. Another purpose of the warehouse is to solve the enduring mystery of why marine mammals sometimes die off in droves without a clear cause. This is also why all dead dolphins and whales found in the area go to the warehouse for an autopsy.

6 Ancient Tinned Food

Hundreds of thousands of years ago, the fridge was not yet born. For this reason, it was assumed that following a successful hunt, people ate all parts of the animal almost immediately. But in 2019, that view changed.

Near Tel Aviv, around 80,000 animal bones inside Qesem Cave revealed that ancient humans had their own spin on canned foods. They wrapped the leg bones of a deer in the creature’s skin to preserve the marrow for a later time.

Incredibly, when researchers copied this technique they found that wrapping certain bones with deerskin kept the marrow inside fresh and nutritious for weeks.

5 A House Made Of Mammoths

In 2020, a massive trove of bones was found in Russia. Dating back to roughly 20,000 years, the collection was clearly artificial and big enough to suggest that the bones had been used to build a structure. To this day, it remains unclear whether the building was somebody’s home, a storage area or a temple.

All that remains today is a bone circle measuring 36 feet (11 meters) in diameter. The Ice Age builders used bones from at least 60 mammoths and other animals. The latter included foxes, horses, bears, wolves, and reindeer.

One of the weirdest discoveries was that, for some unknown reason, the community constructed the place while the meat was still attached to some of the bones. The place must have reeked six ways to Sunday. One can be forgiven for thinking that this is certainly not the best habit when it comes to real estate. But apparently, it served enough purpose not to be unique. There are 70 similar—and equally enigmatic—structures from the same period across Russia and Ukraine.

4 Belgium’s Bone Walls

Ancient people loved their walls. These structures kept the enemy out and the sheep inside. But a series of nine walls in Belgium was unlike anything that experts have ever seen before in this particular country. Instead of using bricks or normal building materials, the walls were created by stacking human shin and thigh bones together.

No small bones were found. So, body parts like hands, feet and even spines were nowhere to be found. There were also no children. However, the site did contain other body parts. The lanes that ran like rows between the walls were filled with skulls, many of them shattered.

It is believed that a nearby church, Saint Bavo’s Cathedral, emptied its graveyard twice sometime after the 16th century. But nobody is sure why. There are no other human walls in Belgium to help explain why this community felt the need to build walls with their dead instead of placing the bones in a more traditional ossuary (a stone building that houses skulls and long bones near a graveyard).

3 The Hyena Stockpile

In Saudi Arabia, there is a cave with a horrifying carpet. As far as the eye can see, bones are packed tightly together. Numbering in their thousands, the bones belong to humans, camels, horses and roughly 10 other species.

Luckily, this is not the work of a serial psychopath. In 2021, after experts found tooth marks on the bones, it became clear that hyenas have been using the place for thousands of years to stockpile bodies.

There is a chance that the spotty carnivores are still utilizing the cave as a pantry. In the early 2000s, people tried to enter the site but they beat a hasty retreat after hearing what sounded like the snarls of hyenas.

2 A Herd Of Opal Dinosaurs

How Australia discovered its first dinosaur herd remains a remarkable story. In the 1980s, a man called Bob Foster worked at an opal mine in New South Wales when he and several other workers kept finding odd stones that looked like horse hooves.

The other men kept smashing the rocks to look for veins of opals but Foster began to wonder. Why did all the stones have the same shape? His gut instinct told him that the miners were devastating countless dinosaur bones so he scooped up two bags of “hooves” and took them to a local museum.

He was right. Not only did it turn out to be a new species of plant-eating dinosaur but Foster had found a whole herd of them. One animal was nearly entirely intact, making it the world’s most complete opalised dinosaur. The hooves were not really hooves. They were the toe bones of the creatures.

1 A Gruesome Post-Battle Ritual

About 2,000 years ago, a field in Denmark witnessed a bloody battle. On the more mundane side, it was the earliest evidence of large-scale conflict in the area but the thousands of bones also revealed what happened after the fighting was over. More specifically, what the living did to the dead.

Hundreds of men perished at Alken Enge and their bodies were also abandoned there, so to speak. Instead of being given a funeral, animals and the elements were allowed to ravish their corpses for as long as a year.

After that, their bodies were systematically chopped up, scraped clean, and sometimes the same type of bones would be strung together on a stick (for example, a bunch of pelvis bones). Skulls were also crushed. Most of the remains were then thrown into a nearby lake.

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