The Navigator: One Man's Hobby . . . By Linton Weeks Washington Post Staff Writer Thursday, April 16, 1998

On the Internet, collectors of just about anything – stamps, coins, Beanie Babies – are discovering that there are folks with similar loony leanings. Because of the Net, eccentrics can band together to create tiny little mass movements. The other day I searched the Web for sidewalk sulky enthusiasts. To no avail. But I did stumble on some zany collections.

Modern Moist Towelette Collecting. Michael Lewis of Mount Dora, Fla., has created a shrine to little alcohol-treated wipes. In his gallery, Lewis displays nearly 50 varieties. China Northwest Airlines distributes a medicated pad said to kill all kinds of deadly bacteria. The design of Shout wipes from Johnson Wax, in Lewis's opinion, "is simply breath-taking." But for our money, the Red Lobster Wet-Nap is the most magnificent of moistenettes.

The Sugar Packet Collectors Page. If you're wondering how they package sugar in Washington D.C. or Florida, you can find photos of commemorative packets here. And you can find links to serious collectors, known as sucrologists. They have worldwide organizations and elaborate swap meets. They're even gearing up for a June sugar festival in Lyons, France, where "over 150,000 sugar packets will be available for trading." That should be sweet.

The Burlingame Museum of Pez Memorabilia. This San Francisco homage to the kitschy candy dispensers displays nearly 200 different models and provides information to Pez collectors. Here you can buy the most recent dispensers and supplies for them. The entire Star Wars set, for instance, sells for $10. Or you can pop out $250 for the rare "elephant with green hair" dispenser.

Pencil Sharpener Club. The brainchild of Gemma Dickmann, who lives in Holland and has more than 5,000 sharpeners, the club was founded in 1987 and now has about 125 members. Dickmann's sharpest sharpeners include an Asterix model, an Easter Bunny and a Batman.

From the Glass Insulators' web site. (John Smith/The Washington Post)

Glass Insulators. According to one Web page, more than 2,000 folks collect the pretty colored-glass insulators once used on telegraph and telephone poles. The objects can sell for a few dollars apiece to more than $2,000.

Tire Company Promotional Ashtrays. Jeff Koenker not only shows off his collection, but he gives us a ride through the history of tire-shaped ashtrays – the first ones showed up circa 1915.

The underlying theme of Koenker's site, and many collection pages, is that the objects of fascination represent extremely personal moments in the lives of the collectors. For Koenker, the tire and the ashtray symbolized adulthood and freedom.

In answer to the question, Why do you choose to collect such strange things?, Michael Lewis probably speaks for most amassers of arcana when he writes: "To be different, perhaps? Well, I must admit that at first that was part of the appeal, but I have since become aware of the strong movement of Moist Towelette enthusiasts, and accepted that I am not alone."

That's the frightfulness and the promise of the Web. A person often discovers he's not the only one.

Linton Weeks can be reached at weeksl@washpost.com

Click: Meet Professor Nanweep and his assistant Mr. Furd. Every two weeks in "Yuk Yuk," an interactive Web cartoon that redefines the genre of "bizarre and stupid," they explore a new corner of the unpredictable universe. You must download the free Shockwave plug-in to play, but that's a small price to pay for tours of the phallic "monoliths of sog" and the musical lava flutes of Bo-Bol. Stay away from the zen cat box if you're at all squeamish. Yuk Yuk Toons —Dan Pacheco panchecod@futureforecast.com

Surfing: Perturbations, pleasures and predicaments on the I-way

Flowers for the One You Love
This sound file – which has been making the e-mail rounds for some weeks but has only now been posted to the Web – is one of the funniest things we've ever received off the Net (ranks right up there with the UNABOMberhaiku). We hate to ruin the surprise, but since the file is so big, a brief summary: It's a clip from a radio station in Minneapolis, 93.7 ("the Edge"), in which a female caller plays a game called "He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not." With the woman listening in but not saying anything, the DJ calls the woman's boyfriend (whom she's been seeing on the weekends for about a year – it's a long-distance relationship) and tells him that he's the winner of a special drawing. As part of this drawing, the radio station will send a dozen roses to the person of his choice – all they need from him is a name and an address. The idea is to test the man to see if he gives them the name of his girlfriend – or the name of someone else (i.e., he's cheating on her).

Maybe we've already given away the punchline, but it's still worth listening to because the guy is such a weasel. You'll be amused, fascinated and horrified by what you hear. It's like watching a car accident happen – it appeals to the rubbernecker in all of us. Andy Savage, the disc jockey, who is now on KNDD-FM in Seattle, confirms that this little morality play on the Internet is all too real. Savage says he has no idea how this fleeting bit of broadcast radio has suddenly achieved immortality and worldwide renown on the Net, but "I'm getting e-mail about it all the time. It's amazing."

— Nancy Hwa and Robert Thomason