"Whats the most suspicious thing you own?"
You may never want to upset these people if you know what's good for you.
Bold Bling
"Brass knuckles I found on the ground behind a baseball field in high school."
– andrewmmmmm
Explosive Present
"Friend of mine owns a gun range and gave me a stun grenade as a gift I keep it in my wardrobe with the pin and handle secured with duct tape."
– Much_Committee_9355
A Dangerous Game
"A kids atomic kit with actual Uranium 238."
– TheSkinCollector65
These sharp objects are not limited to what you can find in the kitchen.
The Write Weapon
"A pen knife. It's basically a normal pen but the top part can be removed to reveal a small blade. A friend gave it to me after I told him I take night walks very often."
– anorangeladybug
The Real Deal
"A short sword, meant to get it as a cosplay sword that was two handed for a Crusader cosplay. When I first got it I opened it up and was immediately disappointed by the size (that's what she said) and noted it had a sheath. I unsheathed it and hear that shing come from it and went 'oh this sh*t real.'"
– ravengbl
Cuts So Deep
"A knife collection started by my dad in the 1950s and added to over my lifetime. Most are touristy pocketknives from gas stations, flea markets, and auctions. Some are high-end collectables, and scary-looking mall-ninja weapons."
"Telling people I have 100+ knives usually raises and eyebrow or two."
– Shawaii
Handle With Caution
"I bought a replica of the blade movie sword, honestly thought it was going to be some fake or cheap metal blade, nope it's a real fucking sword and nearly cut my hand taking it out of the box because it doesn't have a sheath, still awesome but since I have little kids now I gave it to my dad to display, he loves it"
– Bigbadbobbyc
These people had some macabre belongings.
Ancient Ancestor
"A human skull? Pretty sure it is from some early middle aged female. No idea. But it's an anatomical model so I'm a bit ashamed I don't know."
– DeluxeWafer
Human Samples
"I did a high school externship my senior year with the county medical examiner, attending several autopsies as well as assisting in the pathology lab. As a parting gift, the deputy ME prepared for me a complete histological slides set from every human organ. Being a science nerd with a professional microscope, it honestly might be the coolest thing I own."
"Where did all of these come from, you ask? Evidently, he prepared them for me from a set of preserved samples collected during the autopsy of an 18-year-old girl who died suddenly and mysteriously, in a case that was never solved. The idea, of course, being that this is a set of healthy human samples, which would be most useful to learn from."
"Still, it does give me pause to examine them. These were, after all, part of a person once. A living being, and someone's daughter."
"Also, being able to say 'Yeah, so I've got a bunch of chopped-up pieces of a dead girl in my closet...' definitely makes it the most suspicious thing I own, by a wide margin."
– havron
Now we're getting kinky.
Key Collection
"Several dozen handcuff keys laying around my house. I swear I'm not some psycho I just keep losing them."
– spade13F
A Literal "Gag" Gift
"A foot-long rubber dildo. My wife received it as a gag gift and now that she's gone it's in the filing cabinet full of her stuff I don't want to touch but don't want to throw out."
– TheBelhade
Slap-Happy Weapon
"When I was in the Marines, I drunkenly bought a two foot jelly dildo and my Platoon Sgt. and I set up ambushes to beat the hell out of our buddies with it. A floppy dildo makes a fine melee weapon."
– The_Brain_Fuckler
These random assortment of items couldn't be confined to specific classifications.
A Grave Tome
"A book called 'unusual deaths'. My sister received it as a gift from a friend when she was a teen. She never cared to read it but I thought it was interesting and she gave it to me. I was about 8 at the time but I still have it."
– aniacret
Ultimate Safe House
"15 generators 12 full sized solar panels that all power a bunker I own."
– Wolferus20000
A co-worker had a collection that raised a red flag and made me question the kind of person he was.
On the surface, this guy was affable, very kind, generous, and had an accessible sense of humor.
When I went to visit his apartment to "get to know him better," he divulged more information about himself that elicited nervous laughter when he showed me what was in his closet.
Being a history nerd, this guy had a collection of WWII gas masks and authentic Third Reich collectibles–including an assortment of Nazi uniforms.
He claimed he wasn't a White supremacist. He was just really fascinated about that era in history.
Whatever, buddy. I nope'd my way outta there so fast.
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Instead of purchasing these items, some of the most unique treasures can be passed down through the family, or keepsakes from various life circumstances.
Having something that no one else might have makes it priceless.
It also makes for good stories.
Curious to hear about the precious belongings from strangers on the internet, Redditor Prestigious_Pass9599 asked:
"What is something you have, that your pretty sure no one else has?"
Items passed down from generation to generation can make the most unique treasures.
A Royal Mark
"I have my great-great grandparents passports. They're handwritten on a single piece of paper and signed by Queen Victoria."
A Sailor's Book
"My grandfather was on the USS Indianapolis during WWII and was transferred off of it before they delivered the bombs and it sank … he happened to take a book from the ship's library and never returned it. I inherited all of his books and happened to stumble across it while going through them… it's stamped with the ship's library stamp. So unless any other sailor took a book from the library of the USS Indianapolis before it sank and then held onto it all these years, this may be the only one in the world."
A Lead Engineer's Proof Of Concept
"My grandfather was one of the lead engineers on the Oxcart/Blackbird project for Lockheed. He engineered the pressure lock system for the cabin for high altitudes. I'm in possession of a miniature proof-of-concept he made for the lock!"
Adrift At Sea
"My grandfather's diary when he was lost at sea during ww2. Records deaths and a few comments about raging hunger. 6 weeks adrift."
"Heres the backstory, he was serving in the merchant navy on a ship in the south Atlantic, they got torpedoed by a u boat and came under fire, his cousin took a shell to the chest, killing him instantly in front of him, they scrambled to the lifeboats and got into one."
"The ship went down."
"After all the commotion the u-boat resurfaced and the german captain spoke to them, the merchants were unarmed. He explained that they were at war and attempted to give the sailors bread and potatoes, fearful that they were poisoned the food was thrown overboard."
"They were adrift miles from land, unable to see the shore or any landmarks to navigate to. Over the coming weeks they collected rainwater and tried to fish as best they could but they were starving."
"The entries in the diary are brief but concise, people were dying of their injuries and dehydration."
"After roughly six weeks they were spotted by another merchant ship and rescued."
"When they returned to the uk they were awarded medals but they refused them, turning their merchant navy pins upside down (MN to NW) to represent NOT WANTED."
"He never spoke about this to me directly as after the war he did not want to relive the experience."
"He had 2 children and 5 grandchildren and passed away in 1995."
"Vivian (Ted) Fowler."
"Rip."
"Nb: other family members have requested reading it but its in such bad condition, 77 years old, that i refuse to let it out of my sight. Its kept in a plastic bag in a drawer away from harm."
– South5
It doesn't get more unique than these items personalized with an autograph.
Autographed Run-And-Shooter Game
"A 'Contra' NES cartridge autographed by Billy Dee Williams."
Phantom Masters & A Personally Engraved Silver Cup
"The master recording of the Phantom of the Opera (or, part of it, anyway). My dad was the recording engineer so he had the tape from when they made an album of the show with the original cast."
"Edit: bonus item… a silver Tiffany's cup and spoon that was given to me when I was born by Phyllis Diller. She also had it engraved 'love, Phyllis Diller.'"
"Edit 2: My parents were friends with her, so she gave them an engraved silver Tiffany's cup and spoon when I was born. She was in no way involved in the birth."
– hotarume
Not all possessions can be bought. Sometimes we simply acquire things under various circumstances.
Saving A Bone
"A human atlas bone from the site of a medieval prison. 25yrs ago my then bf was working as the lowest ranked barrow pusher on a building site. Foreman knew that ancient bones may turn up and knew he was supposed to send for the archaeologists if so. Bones turned up, foreman said f'k that, we're filling in, not getting behind schedule for some old sh**ty prisoner bones. BF tried to say something but would have been fired if he pushed it. He was pretty horrified but couldn't lose his job, and crept back to take a bone after the site closed. In his mind it was a way of saying we'll remember you, even if you're under concrete. We were only teenagers, so didn't really know what to do with it for the best. I have kept it in a box ever since. I know I should do something with it."
– alancake
Conductive Retainer
"Up until a week ago, a mouth that picked up radio stations."
"I play in bands, and for years couldn't figure out why whenever I would get close to the microphone, the PA system would pick up local radio stations. I always assumed it was due to crappy unshielded mic cables."
"Well, I went to the dentist and decided to get my permanent retainer removed. I scheduled an appointment and that night had band practice. I got close to the mic and picked up a radio station."
"It occurred to me that my retainer (if you're unfamiliar, a permanent one is basically just a steel wire glued in your mouth) was slightly bent and conductive."
"Sure enough, the next week I got it removed and now I don't pick up radio stations anymore near microphones. 😟"
Key To The Past
"A key to unlock the B6 level on an elevator in the World Trade Center along with a matching Port Authority issued ID card."
Salvaged From The Wreckage
"A piece of a turbine from a crashed Airbus A300."
"I was in charge of the environmental cleanup following the crash. We removed some 6,000 yards of contaminated soil. When we were loading one of the trucks the NTSB guy spotted it in the dirt and said something to the effect of 'That's a really valuable piece of metal, I wouldn't let it go to the landfill', so I grabbed it and threw it in my truck. It's fairly large. I had planned to do something cool with it, but it turns out it's too hard of a metal alloy for anyone to work with without specialized tools. So now it sits in my garage. The crash was in 2013, it was a cargo plane, the pilots died."
My unique item is a vintage steamer trunk that belonged to my great aunt and uncle who lived in a Japanese internment camp as a result of President Roosevelt's Executive Order 9066, which was issued on February 19, 1942.
But I didn't learn of the trunk's history until recently.
My great aunt and uncle brought their trunk with them when they were cruelly evicted from their home in California to live in barracks at Heart Mountain in NW Wyoming.
My father acquired the trunk after my great aunt and uncle passed away and we sold their house in Pomona, California.
It sat neglected in our garage for years, and when it was time to sell our home, my brother and I considered getting rid of it without consulting our father first. It wasn't until our neighbor saw my brother and me putting the worn and dusty trunk out on the street for people to take when he apprised us of its presumptive value.
After my dad found out what we were attempting, he told us about the trunk's history.
This led to my decision to keep the trunk, not only for its monetary value but because of its role in our family history.
I can't believe I almost willingly parted with a unique treasure.
The usual suspects like the Bose speakers from your home theater system or expensive family heirlooms could be likely targets.
But there must be something you place much value on that you know the thieves aren't likely to pilfer.
Curious to hear from strangers on the internet about what those might be, Redditor woomy-jpg asked:
"Someone breaks into your house, what are they definitely NOT stealing?"
If it's part of the home, it's probably staying that way.
Custom Built Fixtures
"My game table. My friend built-in in the room and we realized it won't fit through any doors."
– kw5112
Used For Getting In
"Probably wouldn't bother stealing my spare house keys, they clearly already have a better way in."
Doorknob, Duh
"my F'KING DOORKNOB."
"They cant get your fingerprints if theres nothing left to get fingerprints from."
alice in wonderland doorknob GIFGiphyPets or things having to do with furry companions are better left at home.
Four-Legged Guard
"my dog. He's 95 lbs and draws blood on strangers coming into the house. Also my couch. I love it but it's been destroyed by the cat."
Skittish Kitty
"My cat would be kind of difficult to steal since she is very afraid of strangers and no one would need that useless furball anyway."
No, Thanks
"Cat litter boxes (although it would be nice if they at least cleaned them.)"
"Protip if you package cat litter and leave it on your porch, it's very likely a porch pirate will steal it without thinking."
– Daiguey
The following are specific honorable mentions.
smash laid to rest GIF by ShudderGiphyThe Stiff
"My old deer head from when they, I don't know who first learned taxidermy."
https://imgur.com/gallery/zaaAAXD
"Look at the mouth."
My prized possessions are my framed photographs.
They are glimpses of all facets of my life, including family, career, and travels around the world.
Other than printing costs and the frames that are both standalone and hung on walls, my pictures hold no value other than being sentimental.
I have a pretty good feeling those won't be going anywhere.