The Atlas Obscura Podcast What You Collect
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Sep 29, 2025 Listeners share heartwarming tales of their cherished collections. One mom collects postcards filled with memories for her kids, while a nine-year-old finds joy in old soda bottles. A man restores his father's cameras, creating a vivid connection to the past. Vinyl records spark a bonding experience between a mother and daughter. Plus, a dad treasures crayon packs and childhood memorabilia. The host encourages stories about memorable family trips, creating a call for adventures shared.
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Postcards As Shared Family Memory
- Mary Beth collects postcards on trips and writes dates, people, and brief descriptions on the back for each of her children.
- She stores each child's postcards in a shoebox so the collection is compact, meaningful, and easy for descendants to keep.
Kid Discovers Vintage Soda Bottles
- Roscoe, nine, describes finding soda bottles while helping clean a school built on an old junkyard and keeping rare bottles like an intact Dr. Pepper bottle.
- He collects both found vintage bottles and contemporary restaurant bottles to compare old and new designs.
Enamel Pins As Tiny Memory Markers
- Drew accidentally amassed around a thousand enamel pins from work, merch, and travel, then began making his own to share the joy.
- Each pin triggers specific memories of places, people, and moments, making the collection deeply personal.