what's the weirdest thing you've ever seen in a thrift store?

[genuineimitation]

what's the weirdest thing you've ever seen in a thrift store? I started thinking about that today: i was at my favorite shop, and there was this sort of shadow box framed thing.. it was a schmaltzy poem written up in memory of someone who had passed away. you know, one of those things that are supposed to bring comfort to the family during a funeral. it was kind of spooky but, here's the rub, there was no photo in the photo space above the poem. so, did grandma pass on and no one wanted to release her photo but it was worth donating to the thrift shop??? it was kind of creepy. major bad karma vibe eminating from the weird framed thing.

[Mattie]

The family probably removed the photo before donating the tacky thing.  (Although it sounds like the kind of thing I'd buy!)

The weirdest thing I ever saw in a thrift was a used toothbrush. 

[Tammy]

I'll have to give thought to it but my very first thought was the cockatiels.  A year ago while in SA, I heard birds chirping.  Having different kinds at home I knew they were cockatiels.  Finally knocked at the back doors and asked and yup, some jerk had overnight dropped off 2 cages - 1 with 2 birds in it and the other cage held a breeding pair that had a nest box with 2 brand new babies in it at SA's back door.  This location is at the end of a farmer's field and those birds had risked either A. the cold or B. coyotees.  2 employees decided to keep them, but then I later ended up with the 2 birds because the one guy decided they were too much. 

[Good Buddy]

In a great thrift in Central Phoenix called Chic and Cheap I saw two very weird things both in the front display cases.
One was an inflatable female. (no other comments)
The second was a vibrating massager. (again no comment)

I saw each on separate occasions.

I think pure ignorance led both items to be put out for sale and to be touched by anything less than radiation proof gloves.

[superiorgirl]

Good question! First, this was my doing. I had an antique store for 10 years. I bought an estate and one of the items was a large braid of human hair. Victorians used to make a lot of cool things out of hair and they are now very expensive. Anyway, I thought what the heck, slapped a rather hefty price on it, put it in a display case and thought that if nothing else, it would be a conversation generator. Wrong. The braid sold, for asking price, the very first day!

Someone brought a puppy to St. Vinnies. They told the store that if it was still there at the end of the day they would pick it back up. A lady I know took it home and named it Vinny. He was a sweet dog and lived a long life.

[genuineimitation]

The weirdest thing I ever saw in a thrift was a used toothbrush. 

eek.

[MrsGoodwill]

Today I saw a weird kind of mask that had these brass pins inside it. So the outside looked like a mask of a face, but the inside had these brass things all over! And it had big velcro straps to hold it on your head. At first I thought it might be some kind of cosmetic type mask to help massage the face, but then I noticed it had a place where you could plug in a phone! (The phone jack thing was right under the chin of the mask.)

Pardon my language, but what the hell was that thing???

A couple of other strange things: One tatty old shoe (no mate) and a plastic bag full of napkins from Wendy's restaurant.

And I am forever coming across (hideous) Dollar Store figurines that make no sense! I once saw one that had an elephant with teddy bears dressed up as clowns riding on its back. Okay, I get that it's supposed to be circus-y, but I just wonder WHY anyone would go to the trouble to make something so awful. WHY?!?!

[adapt]

a lot of heart monitors, pulse monitors, and other various health items use phone wire to connect to their central modules. i'm sure it was something akin to that.

either way, at the goodwill outlet, you'll see anything.

i've found
- a beer (which they wouldnt sell to me)
- a plastic tub full of noodles
- a marriage license
- a half-empty box of crackers

in other stores, ive seen pregnancy tests, some of those photo charts that have your kids pictures from every grade (full of photos), a single can of soda on the shelf; amongst others.

[Cookie]

Today I saw a weird kind of mask that had these brass pins inside it. So the outside looked like a mask of a face, but the inside had these brass things all over! And it had big velcro straps to hold it on your head. At first I thought it might be some kind of cosmetic type mask to help massage the face, but then I noticed it had a place where you could plug in a phone! (The phone jack thing was right under the chin of the mask.)

Pardon my language, but what the hell was that thing???

I love to multitask with a good brass pin massage when I'm on the phone.

[Cookie]

- a beer (which they wouldnt sell to me)

They should have called the manager over to get a price on that thing.  I'm sure it would have been delicious.

[SecondhandSophisticate]

Perhaps not the weirdest to some--but weird to me, and certainly sad:

Actual framed photos of families and kids! From the 60s, 70s, 80s.  Remember those hideous school photos and family potraits that were  "hand-tinted" and now have faded to shades of sepia?  I saw one of a little girl last week--she still had some of her baby teeth and those short-short bangs. The thrift had it posed on a shelf, like it was meant to be there, like you were in somebody's living room.  Creepy-weird!

But, that does open a new avenue of collecting:  Thrift-store families! Don't like the family the hand of the gods has dealt you? Create your own! Want a bigger family?  Do-it-yourself for mere pennies on the dollar, and avoid long-term debt, the teen years, and college loans.

Thrift-store families:  when your own just isn't enough or too much

SeSo, who vows to burn all her personal effects before her body is turned over to the birds to pick clean...

[ChrisMiss]

SeSo, wasn't that in some movie?  The guy didn't actually have a family he bought the pictures and had them displayed so that people would think he had a family.

These have been some pretty weird things you all have found.  The weirdest that I saw was rain chimes.  I had no idea what it was and had to ask the woman buying it what it was.  Once I knew what it was I was wishing I had found it and bought it.  I don't think I've seen any since.

[SecondhandSophisticate]

You know, Chrismiss, you may be right---was it with Robin Williams? Something like "60 minute Photo"  or something?

If Insta-family doesn't work, how about a new form of Thrift-store art collecting?You know-the evolution (or de-evolution) of the American family as defined by thrift-store donations. It could be a Ph.D. dissertation for a Cultural Anthropology major.

 

[Mattie]

a large braid of human hair. 

I would've snapped this up in a heartbeat.  I love Victorian hair jewelry but can't afford it.  I use my own hair in my artwork.  I have a thing for hair...

Someone brought a puppy to St. Vinnies. They told the store that if it was still there at the end of the day they would pick it back up. A lady I know took it home and named it Vinny. He was a sweet dog and lived a long life.

This is just plain wrong.  If I ran that store I would've told the person who dropped him off that he certainly could NOT have him back at the end of the day.  What kind of loser does that to a puppy?  At the very least, he could've taken him to an animal shelter.  I'm glad Vinny found a good home with the nice lady. 
[/quote]

Actual framed photos of families and kids!

SeSo, I collect other people's family photos!  I prefer pre-1950s black and white photos.  I buy single snapshots, bags of photos, framed photos, even entire photo albums.  Antique stores often have boxes of old photos labeled "instant relatives."  It's sad that they were discarded by their original owners (or descendants) but I'm happy to give them a home.

[Big Daddy Audio]

Odd, Weird, useful - call it what you like.

a partially used box of tampons.

That is all.