Collecting or Keeping Strange Things: Have you kept odd items that others throw away? (sport, clothes)

[Pierce2011]

What made me think of this topic was the recent hair cut of my teenage son. He had been growing his hair out for a couple of years, when all of a sudden he wanted a mohawk. His hair has been a huge topic of debate and contention in our household because he would adamantly refuse to get a single strand of it trimmed or cut since I can't remember when. Then one day last week, out of the blue, he told me he was going to get it all cut off. So, thinking he'd change his mind, I told him I wanted to be the one to cut his hair before I took him to a pro for his mohawk.

Ever since I was a little kid and saw "16 Candles", I've been wanting to get a big pair of scissors and cut off someone's ponytail! LOL! So that's exactly what I did. And yes, it was awesome! However, I didn't know what to do with this bundled ponytail once I did it. My son actually had several of his girlfriends fighting over it. Each one wanted to keep a lock of his hair and I thought they had lost their minds. I put the hair in a clear sandwich bag and went to throw it away. But I couldn't do it! It was like my trophy or something. I was victorious for finally winning this stupid battle! So, I'm keeping it and that's that.

But it did get me thinking.....
What items or things have you kept that other people may think were "unusual, odd or strange"? It could also be things that you know other people have kept that you thought were questionable. Share your unusual stories with us, so I don't feel like a weird-o for keeping hair.

[Cunucu Beach]

I kept my kids' baby teeth and eventually gave them to them.

Other than that, I'm pretty much on the other end of the spectrum. My older sister got all the pack rat genes and there just weren't many left when I came along.

[packmanbears]

tickets to an ordinary baseball game, or other sporting events.

[asitshouldbe]

Baby teeth, first haircut, tickets, cards, baby outfits, number candles, umbilical cord nub, grandmas clothes after squirting perfume on them, homework, old castand toys, bikes and everything else.....I have to stop saving things, my garage is full and there is no room for our cars.

[pamelaBeurman]

Not that I really WANTED to keep it but:

A skeletal mouse,inside an old glass bleach bottle.

One of my sons found it in our barn. Being a boy, he thought it was one of the coolest things ever. Now his treasure sits in a box of things I plan to give him when he gets married.

[nightcrawler]

I have hair also from my 3 sons when they had their first haircut at the barber, (like big boys do). I have shown then and they laugh, so I have 2 blacks and a light brown, we had trips.

[Dancingearth]

I like to find rusty things or things with interesting shapes when I go for walks. On the way home from one walk I went into a little corner shop and when they asked how I was I said excitedly "I found a treasure" and showed them my rusty gear. They looked like they found me odd. Here is my latest treasure found on top of a mesa on an old discarded door. I love the shape. I'd like to use it in my ceramics--either make a mold or carve it into a piece.