14 DAY TRIAL // It's often said that it's good for your average Joe or Jane to have a hobby. You know, something to help them relax and pass the time. Luckily for weird stuff enthusiasts worldwide, some hobbies are downright bizarre.
Take 58-year-old Richard Gibson for example. This man has been collecting his nail clippings for well over three decades, and has absolutely no intention to stop doing it anytime soon.
Even weirder, it looks like this man, who has made a career as an oil investor, does not collect just any kind of nail clippings. On the contrary, it's toenail clippings that he is surprisingly fond of and likes to keep in a jar.
The first set of toenails that this man decided to keep rather than throw away parted with his feet back in February, 1978. Since then (that's 36 years, for those of you who don't want to do the math), Richard Gibson has saved hundreds of other clippings.
The 58-year-old oil investor says that, when he decided to keep this first set of nail clippings, he had no idea that he would end up having an entire collection of them. In fact, he's not even sure why he put them in a manicure box instead of in the trash.
Richard Gibson further explains that, over the years, he kept putting his toenails in the box. At one point, he found that he had too many of them to continue using the manicure set, and switched to using a jar, which is now nearly full.
The man appears to be well aware of just how bizarre his passion for collecting nail clippings is. Hence the fact that, over the years, he did his best to keep his collection a secret from family, friends, and even his wife, whom he divorced a while ago.
However, now that this story and pictures of this jar of nails are to be published in a book by Ripley’s Believe It Or Not, i.e. “Reality Shock,” the secret is pretty much out. The man says that he cannot wait to show his ex-wife the book.
More so since, by the looks of it, she was not exactly pleased when she finally learned about her former husband's off collection. “I’m waiting until I can show her the book. She’s always been annoyed by them,” he said in a statement, as cited by Oddity Central.
Not at all surprisingly, it looks like this 58-year-old is no stranger to Ripley's Believe It Or Not. He has worked with the franchise several times in the past, and hopes to do it again in the future. What's more, he's quite happy about the fact that he is to be featured in “Reality Shock.” As he put it, “It’s not like winning the Oscar, but I’m proud.”