Saturday Night’s Alright For Commenting: 12/5/2020

The weirdness that is collecting creates an anti-evolution argument that few can overcome. When researching why humans do what they do, the WIIFM (what’s in it for me) matrix, combined with survival instincts, resource conservation and other motivational paradigms, there’s simply no room to explain the collector mindset.

Yet there are entire multi-million dollar industries built on selling collectibles. From stamps, to porcelain dolls, to comic books, to trendy sneakers to even vinyl toys that aren’t meant for play, collecting is a huge economic engine that supports millions of families.

Where does it come from? Is there some sort of hoarder gene that kicks in? Is it greed? According to the truly authoritative, ever-factual, sophisticated website ha.com [/sc], here are some reasons:

Ha.com:

...the most common reasons people collect things include:

Knowledge and learning

Relaxation and stress reduction

Personal pleasure (including appreciation of beauty, and pride of ownership)

Social interaction with fellow collectors and others (i.e. the sharing of pleasure and knowledge)

Competitive challenge

Recognition by fellow collectors and perhaps even non-collectors

Altruism (since many great collections are ultimately donated to museums and learning institutions)

The desire to control, possess and bring order to a small (or even a massive) part of the world

Nostalgia and/or a connection to history

Accumulation and diversification of wealth (which can ultimately provide a measure of security and freedom)

So maybe one of those is the magic bullet that shows exactly why you, or I, collect stuff. But who knows, really?

All this leads up to the cool news that Funko Pop, the leader in the aforementioned “vinyl toys that aren’t meant for play” recently announced plans for a “Build Your Own Pop-People” line.

Why is this important news for Texans fans, you ask? Well, for those who haven’t gotten there already, this means you can make your own Bill O’Brien pop vinyl, strap it to the largest bottle rocket you can find, and fire him into the Gulf (or whatever destination you choose).

Meanwhile, me and my Funko Deshaun Watson will be over here looking for ways to lure the Funko DeAndre Hopkins back to H-Town. Then I might hunt down one of the special edition J.J. Watt ones too.

Either way, it’s Saturday night and off-topic is alright!