Latest news with #collecting
The Guardian
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Experience: I've made the longest chain of chewing-gum wrappers in the world
I don't know what to put it down to, but I've always been a collector, a completist, a statistician – and maybe a little competitive. As a schoolboy in Canada, I was fascinated by the Guinness Book of Records and Ripley's Believe It Or Not!. I would memorise the records and amaze my friends by quoting them. Little did I know then that in 1994 I would break a world record and feature in the book I adored as a young boy, all thanks to my childhood hobby – making paper chains out of chewing-gum wrappers. I learned how to do it in 1965, aged 14, after seeing the older kids in the playground folding their gum wrappers into neat, long chains. I took to it pretty quickly, and entered a competition to see who could make the longest in the class. I won that, and then I made the longest one in the school. Suddenly, all the kids in my neighbourhood were saving their gum wrappers for me to add to my chain. They even captioned my 1967 yearbook photo: 'Got any gum wrappers?' I never realised how unique my chain was until almost 25 years later. In 1992, my wife, Deborah, and I were visiting the Ripley's museum in Ontario. We saw a giant gum-wrapper chain hanging from the ceiling as part of one of the exhibits. As we stared up at it, we were both thinking the same thing: my chain is much bigger. Deborah nudged me and said: 'You'd better do something about that.' I spoke to the manager, and he put me in touch with Ripley's vice-president of acquisitions. He was impressed by my chain, but told me there was a Guinness World Record holder who had a longer one. My competitive nature kicked in. I went to the Wrigley's purchasing department and asked them to supply me with Juicy Fruit wrappers – my favourite flavour. They gave me 5,000 to begin with, then 10,000 more. Before long, I blew past the 7,400ft (2.25km) record and reached 10,000ft. I became the Guinness World Record holder for the longest gum wrapper chain in the world – at 12,105ft – in March 1994, and I have officially broken my own record eight times since. So far, no one has come close to beating me. The second-longest chain I'm aware of belongs to a fellow in Germany whose chain is 17,000ft. I connect with other chain-makers via my website and I call them my 'chain gang'. There are roughly 50 of us and we share photos of our chains and the lengths we've reached. According to the latest official measurement, my chain is 23.226 miles (37.4km) long. Getting the chain measured is quite an undertaking. Every five years, land surveyors come over, and two witnesses have to independently verify the length. It takes many hours. In March this year, they recorded that my chain was made of 2,963,789 wrappers. There have been plenty of exciting moments since I started 60 years ago. For example, when I reached the 10-mile mark, I was featured in a book called Weird Virginia and they dubbed me the 'World's Greatest Wrap Artist'. That was fabulous. Sign up to Inside Saturday The only way to get a look behind the scenes of the Saturday magazine. Sign up to get the inside story from our top writers as well as all the must-read articles and columns, delivered to your inbox every weekend. after newsletter promotion In 2010, the president of Ripley's Entertainment invited me to New York so he could sign the 3 millionth link to the chain in Times Square in front of the press. It was such a thrilling day. I got my brother-in-law to help me load the chain into a van and drive it all the way to the city, where we set it up in a big auditorium in front of all the cameras. Recently, I learned I was a hit on TikTok – a video about me got 7.5m views. Some people wrote: 'Get a life! What is wrong with you?' To that, I say: I have a life. I'm retired now but I had a successful career as an operations manager of four businesses, which took me all over the world, including to the Philippines, Puerto Rico and Germany. I am a busy and fulfilled person. One day, I'd love to be able to say my chain is as long as a marathon (26.2 miles) – I'm only three miles off. After that, it would be poetic to reach 28 miles, which is the length of Virginia beach in the US, where I've lived with my wife since 2002. It's the largest pleasure beach in the world. The chain will keep growing as long as my hands keep working. To have something to show for your time on this earth is very gratifying. As told to Lara Olszowska Do you have an experience to share? Email experience@
ABC News
17-05-2025
- Entertainment
- ABC News
Why do we love collecting?
Sana Qadar: What do vintage teaspoons, coins, plush toys, handbags, stamps and comic books all have in common? Certain people, for whatever reason, love to collect them. What's the deal with this drive to collect? What about our psychology makes it appealing? Or is it all just clever marketing? Associate Professor Louise Grimmer: Across the board, retailers, manufacturers definitely know that as humans many of us have the desire to collect. Sana Qadar: And what separates collecting from hoarding? Professor Nick Neave: People often conflate hoarding with collecting, but there is quite a clear difference. Sana Qadar: I'm Sana Qadar, this is All in the Mind, and today producer Rose Kerr joins us to explain our love of collecting. Sana Qadar: Hi Rose. Rose Kerr: Hi Sana, I have been dying to ask you, are you a collector? Sana Qadar: Um, no, not as an adult, I'm trying to think. I don't know, I don't really collect anything now. As a kid, you know, I was into collecting stickers and Kinder Surprise toys, weirdly, was a big collecting thing of mine. So I had a bookshelf full of like Kinder Surprise toys in my room. Rose Kerr: Oh, that's so sweet. That is an absolutely classic kids collection. Sana Qadar: What about you? Rose Kerr: Look, I definitely had similar collections as a child, but as an adult, I do have a small collection of Sonny Angels, if you've ever heard of them. Sana Qadar: No, what's that? Rose Kerr: It's like a Japanese figurine, it's about 10 centimetres tall, looks like a little baby angel wearing cutesy hats, so things like fruit or animals. Sana Qadar: Okay, how did you get into collecting that of all things? Rose Kerr: Well, it's a bit of a funny story because I was given one of these figurines about 10 years ago by a family member. And for the last 10 years, it's just sat on my shelf and people would visit my house and they'd be like, oh, that's cute, but a little bit weird that you have this little baby angel. But flash forward 10 years later and Sonny Angels are hugely popular online and in stores. I noticed it online on TikTok and Instagram, people were making unboxing videos. There's this whole resale market. Sana Qadar: What? Okay, so why do people like collecting? What is it about having many of the same object that appeals? Rose Kerr: I have been obsessed with this question for quite some time now. So I thought the best way to start investigating was to talk to a collector. Sam Todd: I wish you guys could see the interview right now because Labubu is here in the room. She is wearing the headphones and she's also wearing a tutu. Rose Kerr: Meet Sam Todd, a content creator based in Brisbane. Sam Todd: I make content about shopping, fashion, travel and shopping and fashion while travelling. Rose Kerr: She's a keen collector of a few things, but her most prized collectible is Labubu, the little elf Sam has brought into the studio. If you've never seen or heard of Labubu before, that is completely understandable. They're still somewhat niche. So here's a description of what they look like. Imagine a plush toy attached to a key chain just shy of 20 centimetres tall. It's got pastel coloured fur, rabbit like ears and a plastic vinyl face with a big toothy grin. In some ways, they're similar to the figurines I collect. They tap into cutesy nostalgia resembling kids toys but marketed towards adults. And you're most likely to spot a Labubu attached to someone's handbag or backpack. Sam's a big fan and she's built an online community that follow her quest to collect them. Sam Todd: (Video audio) I am currently in possession of the hardest to get items in the whole entire world right now, a Labubu V3... Rose Kerr: And these critters have exploded in popularity. That's in part down to their fashion status, worn by the likes of Rihanna, Dua Lipa and Blackpink's Lisa, along with plenty of content creators like Sam. And it's generating a lot of competition to buy them. How far have you gone for a collectible? Sam Todd: Well, I would say we've been talking a lot about Miss Labubu and she has been the hardest one to find. I have gone to so many countries trying to find her. It's almost impossible in Australia. I've gone to Japan, I've gone to America, Paris, London. I have been everywhere and most of my attempts are not success stories. Rose Kerr: But Sam did have one big win. Sam Todd: So the best success story that I've ever had is actually a week-long journey. So very fortunately for me and motivatingly, there is a Pop Mart vending machine around the corner from my gym. So it would motivate me to go to the gym every morning because I knew afterwards I could check the vending machine and see if there is a Labubu in there. And historically there is never a Labubu in there because the second they get restocked, someone takes them all. Rose Kerr: Sam didn't give up. Every day she would go to the gym and check the vending machine for something to add to her collection. Sam Todd: On the seventh day, I arrived at the exact moment that the man who works for Pop Mart was there restocking it. And he had a trolley full of Labubus and he said that I needed to wait for 30 minutes while he restocked it. And I went and I sat far away but then I kept seeing people walk past and I was like, what if they get first in line? Rose Kerr: Finally, her patience paid off. Sam Todd: I was able to be first in line and I got six Labubus (both laugh). Don't tell anyone I got that many. And it was the best day of my life. So I had to walk through the shopping mall holding all these boxes in my arms. And I was like, you know what? This is not a walk of shame. This is a walk of pride. I'd like everybody to see that this time I won. Rose Kerr: The world has seen plenty of collecting crazes. From Pokemon. News archive: Hundreds are queuing for the latest Pokemon game cartridges. Rose Kerr: To sports collecting cards. News archive: Swap meets. Buyer's guides. A whole new language. And sometimes big money. This card is worth $600. Rose Kerr: Even stamps. News archive: Ray, who's now 64, has been collecting stamps since he was nine years old. Rose Kerr: All of this makes me wonder, why do humans like collecting? Professor Nick Neave: Hi, I'm Professor Nick Neve. I'm a psychologist at Northumbria University in the UK. Rose Kerr: Nick says research about collecting is somewhat limited. But we do know a bit about the underlying motivations for the hobby thanks to observations from researchers back in the 90s. Professor Nick Neave: There's been a little bit of work done. There was one survey done in the 90s. A guy called Formanek did a survey of 167 people who collected. And they kind of found five key things which underlie the behaviours. I mean, certainly the first one, the most important, seems to be meanings in relation to the self. You know, your collection is an indication of you. It's an extension of your personality. It brings pleasure. It gives self-fulfilment. It gives you a challenge. You know, there's something to aim for. And it's very, very strongly linked with self-esteem, with positive self-esteem. Rose Kerr: The second motivation is all about a sense of community. Professor Nick Neave: Collectors are very sociable. You form friendship bonds. You share knowledge. You exchange knowledge. You barter. You compete. You know, and it's often there's a little element of competition in there, but it's often a very friendly one. You know, certainly in the old days, people would have to go to collectors' forums. You know, you'd go to an antique and collectors' fair at your local sports centre and you'd meet the same people and you'd share ideas and you'd kind of trade things and whatever. Nowadays, of course, you can go online. You can really be plugged into what's going on all around the world, which is incredibly fascinating. Rose Kerr: People may also be drawn to the financial element. Professor Nick Neave: They may collect wine or whiskey or art or stamps as a possible investment for the future, but these people tend to be quite rare. Most people collect things out of the sheer pleasure. You know, they'll find an object. They'll get very interested in that object. They'll want to know about the kind of history of that object. And there's another element as well, is that some people seem to collect things as a mean of preserving objects and restoring them. You know, they've got a very strong passion for history. They're very sentimental. They kind of have this social duty. And the final thing, really, is that it is addictive. It is exciting to find that last element in your collection. So it is obsessive, it is addictive, but it's pleasurable. Rose Kerr: We've been talking about adult collectors, but collecting as a hobby tends to start in childhood. Professor Nick Neave: And we know, for example, that one of the key elements is that a person will have what's called a seed object. So, for example, a friend or a relative might give you something as a gift. Your granny might give you a little figurine of a fox. And then people get these very strong emotional connections to that because it's been given to them by a loved person. And so they'll then have a real passion then for collecting figurines of foxes. And that might then diversify into figurines of animals or something like that. Rose Kerr: And even as kids, collecting is very social. Sometimes a passion for collecting might come about because of what's trendy on the playground. Think about what was popular when you were a kid. Professor Nick Neave: There are fashions. So at the minute, I think lots of people are collecting jelly cats. That's a big thing. When my daughter was little, there was a real kind of thing in the school for collecting rocks and fossils. You see these kind of crazes, wax and wane. Rose Kerr: But our interest in collecting tends to fade away when we're teenagers. Professor Nick Neave: People get interested in other things, of course, and then as adults, people still remain really quite serious collectors. Rose Kerr: One of the reasons why people get back into collecting as an adult is because usually you have more money. You might also be influenced by other people, like online groups or trends. Professor Nick Neave: You've then got access to a community of people who are incredibly knowledgeable and passionate all around the world. And that can mean that you diversify into collecting different things. One thing is interesting is that while men and women tend to be collectors, there seems to be no big difference in the kind of figures for that. They do tend to collect different things. So men seem to be drawn towards more kind of mechanically type related things. So automobile, military kind of trade numbers, airplane spotting. They might be collecting beer, drinking related things, beer mugs, things like that. Women tend to go for more things like figurines or for shoes or for clothing or for jewelry, items with a more kind of an emotional significance. Rose Kerr: It's really interesting because sometimes when I explain these kinds of items to people who've never heard of them, they almost sound like kids toys, right? So what do you think attracts people like yourself, adults, to these kind of like cutesy, almost childish, nostalgic collectibles? Sam Todd: Well, I think it really comes back to what you liked as a kid, because, you know, we all have certain things that we really loved when we were a kid. Like for me, I love Sylvanian families. Rose Kerr: These are little animal figurines dressed up in clothes. And although Sam happily collects them now, there was a moment when she had no interest in them. Sam Todd: When you become a teenager, you're like, oh, that's so uncool. I want to be grown up. I sell all of my things at the garage sale. What I would give to get the Sylvanian families that I sold for 50 cents at the garage sale back. But once you become an adult and more accepting and understanding of yourself, I think you reintroduce the things that you've always loved all along back into your life. And so for me, that's dolls and collectibles. I was always that girl and now I am accepting that that is who I am, if that makes sense. Rose Kerr: While thinking about collecting as a hobby for this episode, I started to wonder about the difference between collecting and hoarding. Thankfully, Professor Nick Neve, who you've been hearing from, is also the director of the hoarding research group at Northumbria University. I asked him what the difference is between hoarding and collecting. Professor Nick Neave: Yeah, that's a very interesting question. People often conflate hoarding with collecting, but there is quite a clear difference. Hoarding is where people accumulate a large number of kind of unrelated items. They are acquired, they're kind of often free or very cheap to acquire. There's no specific reason for the acquisition. People kind of store them all around the house. Higgledy-piggledy. People don't really know what they've got and how they've got it. It's the getting of something which seems to be important. And then people kind of forget all about it. Collecting is very, very different. It's a very focused way of acquiring a specific set of unique items. And these items are typically non-utilitarian. You don't use them for anything. And very importantly, there's an end point. There's an end goal. So there's a finite collection of these things which you could possibly get. So if you were, for example, collecting train numbers in a certain country, there's only a certain number of trains that you could possibly spot. So you would go out and you would collect them. You would record them. You would have a very clear idea of what you'd got, how you'd got it, when you'd got it. You would have them stored in some way in a little book. So it's much more a very focused endeavour. There are some people, though, where collections can kind of merge. People can collect more things, one or more things, and this can turn into what looks like a hoard. But technically the two things are very different. Rose Kerr: Is there a definition for collecting? Because sometimes I think, you know, to a collector their collection is very special, but to an outsider it just seems like a lot of things. Is there a point where something becomes a collection or someone is called a collector? Professor Nick Neave: It is interesting because when people have tried to ask these questions, well, actually people haven't really. There's still an awful lot that we don't know about collecting and why it starts and how it starts. There was a lot of research done kind of in the 80s and the 90s, and people were looking at collecting really from a kind of alibrarians doing a lot of research, economists doing a lot of research. They were looking at kind of art collectors and people who collected these incredibly expensive things, which is not normal. Most people collect things which aren't really that expensive. And, you know, there's one of the striking questions is, well, if I want to go and measure hoarding behaviours in people, I've got four or five very good questionnaires which enable me to do that, and people can fill them in, and then you can compare between different countries and different people. With collecting, no such questionnaire exists. I mean, it's interesting, we've got an internship student right now who's developing that, and then we're trying to put together a questionnaire to measure it properly so that we can ask these rather more interesting questions about when it starts, when it ends, what's the differences between people, what's the difference between groups of people, say, for example. Rose Kerr: Nick's also interested in the intersection between hoarders and collectors. It's not something he's got any data on yet, but it's an area he wants to explore. Professor Nick Neave: This group in London speculated that people, there might be some people that have elements of both, and these are people who start off as a collector, they collect one thing, but they get distracted, they get sidetracked, they go, oh, I'll get another thing, and suddenly they end up with what looks much more like a hoard, and it takes over their life, and it's cluttered, and then they also start to get these feelings of shame and stigma because they realise that things have gone too far. But exactly what differentiates those people from collectors and from hoarders is something which we don't yet fully understand. What is it about a collector that might turn them into a hoarder, or vice versa? We simply don't know. But as I've said, if we can develop these questionnaires to tap into collecting, then we might be in the early stages of trying to find out. Sana Qadar: You're listening to All In The Mind. I'm Sana Qadar. So, we've heard that collecting usually starts in childhood, and then during adolescence people generally fall out of love with the hobby, because it's not really cool anymore. But lots of adults rediscover collecting, and this is what producer Rose Kerr has been investigating. And Rose, the cynic in me does wonder if collectibles are really just clever marketing? Rose Kerr: (Laughs) I definitely had the same thought. So, I reached out to Louise Grimmer. She's a marketing and retailing researcher interested in consumer behaviour and trends. Associate Professor Louise Grimmer: Hello, I'm Associate Professor Louise Grimmer from the Tasmanian School of Business and Economics at the University of Tasmania. Rose Kerr: How aware are marketers and product designers of the human love of collecting? Associate Professor Louise Grimmer: Oh yes, look, very, very aware. But I think back to when I was a child, and a lot of the food manufacturers were some of the first, I guess, to recognise the power of collecting. In breakfast cereals you would be able to collect a number of different items. If you think back to sort of the 50s, 60s, 70s as well, you would have collector cards for sports teams and movie star collector cards, cigarette cards. There's a real intention behind these collectible items that we see food manufacturers, toy manufacturers, supermarkets, et cetera, bringing out. And it's all about recognising the need that a lot of people have to collect and then really meeting that need by bringing out either things that become trendy to collect or through promotions with things like blind bag collecting. But there's no doubt that across the board retailers, manufacturers, definitely know that as humans many of us have the desire to collect and that's why we see so many toys really aimed a lot of the time at adults and they're all about collecting in a series and then there'll be another series that comes out that has to be collected. It's completely intentional, absolutely. Rose Kerr: There's a bit of a trend in collectibles at the moment with blind bags. You might have also heard them referred to as surprise packs or blind boxes. Basically, you buy a toy that's in some kind of sealed package and what's inside is a mystery to you. Sonny Angels, my favourite collectible, comes in one, as well as Sam's fave, Labubu. Associate Professor Louise Grimmer: I find blind bags absolutely fascinating. Listeners will be familiar with them because they're pretty ubiquitous and you see them at the checkout often. They are often bought out by toy manufacturers, but most of these are relatively cheap and they really tap into a few different trends that we see in consumer behaviour. One is around the need to collect the entire series and then you've got the little bit of dopamine rush when you're opening the blind bag because you don't know what you're going to get. Then, of course, you've got this element of surprise. So you've got the pleasure of getting a reward with an element of surprise. That's very compelling and it's very addictive. Rose Kerr: Louise says this taps into some of the psychological mechanisms behind gambling, in particular, intermittent reinforcement. Associate Professor Louise Grimmer: So the reason intermittent reinforcement is so powerful is that you don't know what you're going to get. You know you're going to get something, but you might be getting something that you've already got five of. So that's what leads people to keep on purchasing these blind bags. Once you start collecting them, you're really going through some of these processes that can get you a bit addicted to them, I guess. That's certainly what manufacturers and retailers are very aware of, the consumer behaviour behind this phenomenal growth and profitability of blind bags. Rose Kerr: Do you find it has that kind of rush and do you feel like it's a little bit addictive? Sam Todd: Oh, absolutely. Because especially even if you lose and you don't get the one you wanted, then you're like, oh my God, now I have to go back and get another one immediately to rectify this situation. And then if you did get the one you wanted, you're like, oh my God, that's amazing. I should try again because I have such good luck. So you know what? I've got to give it to them. It's a fabulous marketing and sales tactic. They got me good. Rose Kerr: In Australia, there was one really popular blind bag collectible that you might remember. Associate Professor Louise Grimmer: The Little Shop Collectibles was possibly one of the most successful of these kinds of promotions that we've seen in Australia for quite some time. And basically it was that you spent a certain amount of money at the supermarket and you got a blind bag with a little collectible in it. Now the collectible was a very tiny, cute version of different branded, nationally branded products that are sold in the supermarket. So this is a beautiful sort of holistic promotion, I guess, because you've got well-known national brands paying money to be a part of this promotion. You've got the blind bag part of the promotion. And we saw that it actually really ended up appealing to a lot of adults. So whilst it was probably much more aimed at children, what we saw was it was so successful that it actually cut across different age groups. And there were lots of videos of people unboxing their blind bags, talking about their collections. There were swap days. It really was one of the most successful promotions we've seen. Rose Kerr: And when it comes to the power of a promotion like this one, Louise says marketers are hoping it'll hook you in for the longer term. Associate Professor Louise Grimmer: It's very hard to get people to swap brands, and that's what these blind bag promotions in supermarkets are doing. There's something in these cute little plastic things that people just couldn't get enough of, which is really quite shocking when we think about the drive for sustainability and recycling and repurposing and all those things. So it's a very complex thing, I think, that taps into lots of different consumer psychology. Sam Todd: I really liken the recent rise of collectibles to â€' have you heard of the lipstick effect before? Rose Kerr: No. Sam Todd: It originated in around like the 1990s when there was a recession. Research around the global financial crisis, and it was women buying lipsticks, and an enormous rise in sales of makeup and lipsticks because of the financial crisis. They couldn't afford to buy big things, but that's like a little treat that you can have that makes you feel good. I'm no economics professor, but I feel like the upturn in collectibles is a little bit like that. It's just bringing a little bit of joy into your everyday life in an achievable way. Rose Kerr: I put this idea to Louise. Associate Professor Louise Grimmer: There's no doubt that a lot of Australians are doing it pretty tough at the moment because the cost of living is, you know, it's pretty dire for a lot of people. We still want to treat ourselves, and so what happens is that we tend to cut back on more expensive purchases or big purchases, and we say, I really need a new washing machine or I really need a new fridge, but look, I really just can't afford it at the moment. But a lot of us still want to treat ourselves, and so what they'd sort of found historically, and I think this term was coined by Leonard Lauder. Rose Kerr: That's the former CEO of Estée Lauder. Associate Professor Louise Grimmer: Because during the 2001 recession, their sales in lipsticks rose substantially, and it's happened, I think it's happened earlier than that as well. What it really represents is that even though times are tough, female consumers particularly, they still want a little treat, and so something like a new lipstick is a little treat that you can afford. It makes you feel good. It doesn't have to be lipstick. You know, if you are a collector, you don't really want anything to get in the way of your, you know, adding to your collection, and so we find that if you are collecting small sort of reasonably priced things, people will still keep adding to their collection even when, you know, budgets are tight. Rose Kerr: Collecting can be a lot of fun. It can help you express yourself, and it might connect you with new people. But Associate Professor Louise Grimmer does have a little word of warning. Associate Professor Louise Grimmer: I guess just a sort of cautionary word is around thinking about are you collecting things because they really bring you joy and you actually really enjoy it, or are you collecting these things because they're in fashion at the moment or they're trendy or your friendship group is collecting these things and you're trying to sort of keep up and be part of it? It does pay to understand the way that marketing and promotion works, to understand how fear of missing out works, and if you really like something, that's totally great. But if it's just collecting for collecting's sake, then, you know, you could probably save your money. Rose Kerr: Do you feel proud of your collections? Sam Todd: Absolutely! I have had to hunt so hard around the world to get these Labubus. They are very proudly displayed in the background of my videos that I film at home. Each day I choose whatever one matches my outfit to take out with me. I kind of liken the Purse Pals to wearing a band T-shirt. Like, you know how you can immediately know a little bit about someone and what they're into when you see that they're wearing, I don't know, a Green Day T-shirt? So you can tell a little bit about someone by the band t-shirt that they have, which I really like. And I've always perceived fashion as that way. The way that I dress tells the world exactly who I am without me having to say anything. Rose Kerr: Do you see yourself ever feeling like you've got, yeah, everything that you need? Sam Todd: Well, maybe if these brands stopped releasing things (both laugh). It feels personally targeted towards me. Honestly, I'm a sucker and I'll admit it. Constantly new things are released and I'm like, oh my God, I love it. I am a marketer's dream. Sana Qadar: That's Brisbane-based content creator Sam Todd. You also heard from Professor Nick Neave from Northumbria University and Associate Professor Louise Grimmer from the University of Tasmania. This episode was reported and produced by Rose Kerr. Thanks for joining me, Rose. Rose Kerr: Thanks to you, Sana. Sana Qadar: And our Senior Producer is James Bullen. Our Sound Engineer this week was Micky Grossman. I'm Sana Qadar. I host and produce All in the Mind. Thank you for listening. I will catch you next time.
Times
13-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Times
The Times Daily Quiz: Wednesday May 14, 2025
1 The Royal Philatelic Society London brings together 'like-minded folk' who collect what items? 2 In 1985, which Australian TV soap's first episode introduced the characters Jim Robinson and Shane Ramsay? 3 Bushido was the code of conduct of which warrior class of premodern Japan? 4 Which town on the Isle of Man was awarded city status in 2022? 5 Daniel Day-Lewis won his third Best Actor Oscar for playing which US president? 6 Which prince completed his second tour of Afghanistan in 2013? 7 Which U-shaped bone is the largest bone in the human skull? 8 In which city was the Liszt Ferenc Academy of Music founded by Franz Liszt in 1875? 9 Twitching is the pursuit and observation of rare what? 10 The
New York Times
07-05-2025
- Health
- New York Times
This Patron of the Arts in Denver Was ‘Saved by Collecting'
Some collectors buy art because they enjoy it, some do it to show off and some simply want to fill their walls. For others, collecting is a true lifeline, and Amanda Precourt falls into that category. Precourt, a real estate developer who lives in Denver, is also a mental health advocate and philanthropist who has been frank about her own struggles. She and her father, Jay Precourt, were the lead funders of the Precourt Healing Center, an inpatient behavioral health facility in Edwards, Colo. — opening this week near the Vail ski resort — where she also has a home. 'I've been speaking out about it for seven or eight years,' said Precourt, 51. 'I've always struggled with anxiety and depression. Eventually, I just said, 'This is who I am, I don't want to hide it anymore.'' Her openness and advocacy has overlapped with, and informed, a burst of serious art buying. Collecting, she said, is one of 'the myriad ways that art has saved me.'
