What hobbies seem crazy to you?

For me one is model trains. That is costly, and the trains only actually go so far. I have seen the most elaborate collections from collectors at the train museum. Still seems pointless and boring.

I don't get the fascination with coin collecting. Whenever my mother comes across some misshapen 50cent piece, she wants to hold onto it like a lucky rabbits foot.

I actually collect the rare and foreign and bent coins.


I don't get people who collect stamps, do people seriously do this?

I wonder about stamp collecting too...If I ever did that I know they can always still be used, but to me, it is pointless if they don't leave the sticky backs on them.

Really hard core mountain climbing, where they just climb crazy steep things with no ropes or anything. No freaking way would I do that if scary monsters with guns weren't chasing me and even then I might just try to play dead or something! I don't see myself walking up to a cliff and thinking "I can't go around it, I'll just go up it."

Same with people who do things in swamps, like collecting frogs or bugs or whatever. I've got no desire to get swamp goo that is teeming with bacteria all over me.

Stamp collecting seems like more of an odd compulsion than an actual hobby. I don't find the idea of it the least bit interesting. Another one I don't get is skydiving.

Chris wrote:

Stamp collecting seems like more of an odd compulsion than an actual hobby. I don't find the idea of it the least bit interesting. Another one I don't get is skydiving.

I don't get that either, although like the ones I mentioned, I'm sure it's fun for adrenaline junkies...I just am so not that way.

thepossiblepolice wrote:

Chris wrote:

Stamp collecting seems like more of an odd compulsion than an actual hobby. I don't find the idea of it the least bit interesting. Another one I don't get is skydiving.

I don't get that either, although like the ones I mentioned, I'm sure it's fun for adrenaline junkies...I just am so not that way.

I think it's for people who have some sort of chronological order, or 'series,' fetish. The same people who collect collect stamps probably have every episode of all the Star Trek series, and listed by production date.

Chris wrote:

Stamp collecting seems like more of an odd compulsion than an actual hobby. I don't find the idea of it the least bit interesting. ...

I think it's for people who have some sort of chronological order, or 'series,' fetish. The same people who collect collect stamps probably have every episode of all the Star Trek series, and listed by production date.

OK, now y've done it.

I was just keeping quiet while everyone here was dissin' my hobbies of coin and stamp collecting, but my Star Trek collection?

DO NOT GO THERE!

Shale wrote:

Chris wrote:

Stamp collecting seems like more of an odd compulsion than an actual hobby. I don't find the idea of it the least bit interesting. ...

I think it's for people who have some sort of chronological order, or 'series,' fetish. The same people who collect collect stamps probably have every episode of all the Star Trek series, and listed by production date.

OK, now y've done it.

I was just keeping quiet while everyone here was dissin' my hobbies of coin and stamp collecting, but my Star Trek collection?

DO NOT GO THERE!

Ahh, but I was right!

They don't much do this anymore....but remember when fast food places used to have those promotions where they would give away collectors glasses? Every week there was a different one. My mother used to be big on shit like that. I never got the fascination.

Things that seem more like work than like fun. We used to say that my (late) father-in-law only wanted to do things that were a lot of fuss, and preparation. Things that require a license, a lot of expensive gear, getting up at an ungodly hour of the morning and traveling a long distance. Like fishing and hunting. You also come home very dirty.

And as the other poster said, rock-climbing and mountain climbing. Doesn't seem like fun to me!

Supernova wrote:

I actually collect the rare and foreign and bent coins.


I don't get people who collect stamps, do people seriously do this?

Come on Supernova. Are you really going to say you collect bent coins and then ask if people are serious about stamp collecting? I'm not writing this to put down what you collect, to each their own but as the saying goes, people who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones.

To answer the question, I've toyed with the idea of brewing my own beer but haven't taken that first step.

alan smithee wrote:

Supernova wrote:

I actually collect the rare and foreign and bent coins.


I don't get people who collect stamps, do people seriously do this?

Come on Supernova. Are you really going to say you collect bent coins and then ask if people are serious about stamp collecting? I'm not writing this to put down what you collect, to each their own but as the saying goes, people who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones.

To answer the question, I've toyed with the idea of brewing my own beer but haven't taken that first step.

Personally I think collecting ANYTHING is kind of weird. When people found out I liked elephants, they started buying them for me and I ended up with a huge collection of them. I finally had to tell people NO MORE ELEPHANTS unless it's something that I otherwise like/use like clothing or something. No more elephant statues or knick knacks.

My husband is going to brew his own beer, I bought him a book and all the stuff already

thepossiblepolice wrote:

When people found out I liked elephants, they started buying them for me and I ended up with a huge collection of them. I finally had to tell people NO MORE ELEPHANTS

The trick is to collect something small and difficult to find. My wife collects miniature crocodiles. Not many of those around. Of course that's only one of the things we both collect. She has about 150 ducks, lots of Indian art pottery and a hippo. I collect strange and colorful birds as well as Indian art. My son swears he will have the words largest yard sale when we are gone so he will hasve room for his collections.

thepossiblepolice wrote:

alan smithee wrote:

Come on Supernova. Are you really going to say you collect bent coins and then ask if people are serious about stamp collecting? I'm not writing this to put down what you collect, to each their own but as the saying goes, people who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones.

To answer the question, I've toyed with the idea of brewing my own beer but haven't taken that first step.

Personally I think collecting ANYTHING is kind of weird. When people found out I liked elephants, they started buying them for me and I ended up with a huge collection of them. I finally had to tell people NO MORE ELEPHANTS unless it's something that I otherwise like/use like clothing or something. No more elephant statues or knick knacks.

My husband is going to brew his own beer, I bought him a book and all the stuff already

I don't know, I think it depends on what you collect. My mother, well she doesn't COLLECT, but we buy Coca Cola dishes whenever we find any that look good and yeah we do have a bit of a 'collection' of the Coke glasses, they're the right size and not that heavy awkward glass like other kinds. My mother also collects things with butterflies on them because she likes butterflies. And when my brother was a kid, he used to collect all the red caps off the milk jugs, he would have large popcorn canisters full of them, hundreds of milk caps, and to this day I don't know why he did it but he had fun doing it.

Supernova wrote:

thepossiblepolice wrote:

Personally I think collecting ANYTHING is kind of weird. When people found out I liked elephants, they started buying them for me and I ended up with a huge collection of them. I finally had to tell people NO MORE ELEPHANTS unless it's something that I otherwise like/use like clothing or something. No more elephant statues or knick knacks.

My husband is going to brew his own beer, I bought him a book and all the stuff already

I don't know, I think it depends on what you collect. My mother, well she doesn't COLLECT, but we buy Coca Cola dishes whenever we find any that look good and yeah we do have a bit of a 'collection' of the Coke glasses, they're the right size and not that heavy awkward glass like other kinds. My mother also collects things with butterflies on them because she likes butterflies. And when my brother was a kid, he used to collect all the red caps off the milk jugs, he would have large popcorn canisters full of them, hundreds of milk caps, and to this day I don't know why he did it but he had fun doing it.

I understand liking things and wanting the things that you have to be things that you like. I DON'T understand just collecting them indefinitely when you don't have any place to put them and you never use them though. At first I liked my elephant collection, but then it got to a point where every one I knew was buying them for me when they saw them and I was like "What am I going to do with all these?" lol. Even the neighbor kid found one at a yard sale and gave it to me!

I never saw the excitement in bird watching.

alan smithee wrote:

Supernova wrote:

I actually collect the rare and foreign and bent coins.


I don't get people who collect stamps, do people seriously do this?

Come on Supernova. Are you really going to say you collect bent coins and then ask if people are serious about stamp collecting? I'm not writing this to put down what you collect, to each their own but as the saying goes, people who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones.

To answer the question, I've toyed with the idea of brewing my own beer but haven't taken that first step.

I thought I would re-energize this old thread since there are newer members now.

Mountain-climbing.
Curling.
Frisbee.
Teddybears. And the only reason I add this is because I know an older woman who has collected teddybears for decades and I've been told by a few people that being inside her house is a creepy experience because of all the bears crammed all over the place. And I do not understand the appeal.

I used to collect stamps as a kid. And while I stopped decades ago, I still have the collection. And I save $2 bills and wheat pennies.

Shale wrote:

When I was an adolescent I collected coins and stamps. It started from art appreciation.

Had a 2K year old Roman copper coin.

Stamp and coin collecting can be quite interesting. I gave away both by 1970 but still have a type collection of coins from the late 19th to mid 20th century (my birth year). It could be a compulsion for order in collecting anything. A focus on one specific item that can make a little order in an otherwise chaotic world. Or, just a fascination with the art.

I once had a small gun collection. Had a flint lock pistol, cap & ball revolver, .44 magnum and .22 cal. matching Western style revolvers, .22 automatic that looked like the old .45 auto. Got rid of those by 1970.

Now I collect DVD's - Got about 600. I know if I watched movies for 8 hours a day it would take me half a year to see them all - so why do I hang on to all of them? Guess just to have them available IF I wanted to see them. Why do ppl keep libraries of books that would take more than a lifetime to read them all?

My sister collected elephant knick-knacks. I even bought her a couple. My wife was into butterflies so we had that motiff in our house. Collecting is so common that it probably suits some psych need in humans that goes back to putting the environment in order.

You gave away the old Roman coin?? Oh, nooooooo. . . . ..!!!

I collect cds and have around 800 of them. And, yes, I do listen to music a lot. I don't like ipods and mp3s. I've tried a couple that were given to me and they were a failure.

I used to collect elephants, too, and now have a curio cabinet full of them. I'd like to get rid of most of them now and am not sure how to do it but I'll deal with it when the time is right. Did you place one of the butterflies with your wife before she was cremated? That explains the buttefly motif on that little jar you have of hers.

I used to collect art deco "things" ~ still do if I can find it, but they've become very hard to find in antique stores. I love art deco designs and art and that is why I started. I alternate the top of my sideboard with art deco and Oriental stuff by the year. (But this year I did something different and placed my husband's wizard-Merlin stuff on it. . . interesting.)

I will never understand anyone wanting to jump out of a perfectly good airplane.

My son is a coin collector, amazing from the time he was a little boy he could tell you all about any coin you might mention, but pass an English test? Forget about it. He too has 4 old roman coins, the value is very little. He uses foreign coins in grocery store carts often leaving them in the cart thinking it might encourage someone to want to learn more about coins. Personally I find coins boring but he loves them.

Texting and just a general obsession with their mobile phones, it has to be a hobby or there are a lot of insane people out there!