It’s possible that this lighter is actually meant to symbolize the flame of wisdom that burns away mortal ignorance—at least that’s what the package said. But was hard to take Nick Flinhaven’s short-lived Everyday Idols series of “spirtitually-themed appliances that will bring some holiness into your day”—which also included Jesus bottle openers and Mohammad night lights—too seriously when the man himself was an avowed atheist.

The Winstrop twins, Annalise and Isabel, were raised to be horse riders. They never particularly liked horses, but it came with the family. Their father, Angus Winstrop III, had competed with his brother, and their grandfather with his brother. Being that they were twins, and being that Angus was far more concerned with prize horses than his daughters, the true sport for them was tricking him into never quite knowing which of the two of them which one was actually the faster racer.

A bit down the trolley tracks from the Land of Make-Pretend was the estate of Count Jumbug and Lady Merrybell. They seemed nice enough when they came over for dinner and Queen Lucy liked them, but King Monday got skeevy vibes from them. Swinger vibes. And he heard from Music Man Marty they were into some pretty weird stuff with the Tigers, too.

Known in the collecting world as “the Miró of waterfowl decoys,” the methods of T E Abbots of Old Groton, Vermont were unconventional to be sure. But his eccentric decoys were not just for show: he had discovered that, far from preferring staid, realistically-styled replicas, most ducks were actually down to party.

Don’t worry. Mr Hootly will keep you safe. He’ll watch you all night long. All. Night. Long.

The Clawsons' kaiju lawn gnome collection was great, and Burt Merrill's alligator-shaped birdhouse was impeccably crafted. But Ms. VanDerweifen's panther head mailbox was widely regarded as the decisive finishing stroke in the long war of attrition with the homeowners association's Yard Standarization Committee.

Since high school, Bob Morill and Jack Barry had been at it, each competing with the other to win the affection of Delilah Rhodes with the most beautiful and skillfully sculpted bird. Thirty years later they were still at it, and she had acquired quite a menagerie.

Alcira Amorosa, née Alice Bonns, was the burlesque queen of Markus and Bentham's Travelling Vaudeville Cavalcade. The show was a "one night only" operation so she had to travel light: her mother's hairbrush and hand mirror; some French perfume her ex-husband bought her on their honeymoon; and a little something to slip in the drinks of men who got too handsy for her comfort.

Research and/or verification in process for this curiosity - check back soon!

A shipping container full of these bok choy statuettes was all that was salvaged from the sinking of the Lucky Free cargo ship during a freak typhoon. The ship’s owner claimed an insurance windfall, and the container eventually made it to port, where it was loaded on a truck. The truck’s driver was distracted by his discovery of a winning coffee cup promotional peel-off, causing an eight-car pileup on the freeway. Miraculously, no one was injured because the other seven vehicles were armored cars transporting a combined $18 million dollars, which were blown across several square miles by an unexpected windstorm.