I recently got the idea that it would be cool to own a large black glass ball. It would look like a Palantir you see. 
Anyone else have useless things you’d like to get simply to look at? (excluding shelf-queen items that are otherwise useful)
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I’ve got a weird thing that’s fascinating. It’s a bit of an avocado tree that was growing near the volcano in Guatemala. The wood kind of explodes into a flower shape. If you didn’t know how it was formed you’d think it was carved, but the real story is just amazing.
This is going to be a poor picture straight from iPad camera, but you can see it must have just gone pop!
The natives use them to start a little cooking fire in, but someone I knew used to go over and buy them from the local people.
I reckon having one of those crystalline metal meteorite things would be cool. Forget the name of them but they’re real wonders.
Not sure these count as useless, but they’re curios nevertheless, Tibetan tingsha bells. They look like flying saucers and produce a wonderful long tone. I don’t ring them often, I just really like them, people always ask what they are, and they’re for cleaning spaces spiritually. I took a phone vid a while ago.
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Pyrite, a few clumps but one almost perfect cube.
Geodes, a few cut flat and polished, 1-2 just cracked open.
Various other sparklies.
Vases. Not my thing, more “inherited”, like from florists’ arrangements after the flowers croke.
Crystal. Cube, pyramid, ball, heart (gift, hung w/ fishing line from my car’s mirror), “disco ball” also from the mirror. Nice rainbowy colors on interior facets from sunlight.
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I used to have a large thyratron that had come out of an x-ray machine, it looked very interesting but I knocked it over one day and broke it. 
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I wouldn’t mind owning a Chris Bathgate desk piece. However i wouldn’t pay that kinda coin nor do i have a setting to place it.
IIRC his philosophy goes something like ; I like to design and build things that look like they have a use (…but don’t).
I can definitely appreciate this kind of art
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I have enjoyed those round sandscape disc things. They produce a changed landscape each time they are flipped around. Sometimes the sand just stays on the upside and you have to bap 'em or shake 'em to get it to drop. It seems the size of the air bubbles effects the end result. Kinetic art things are cool but i only have this thing…
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- refrigerator magnets. we buy one at every vacation destination. most made in China, anyway,
- pith helmet. the real deal…Bombay Bowler. the leather has seen better days, though.
- jade frog sculpture about 5x7x5 inches. bought on a trip. shipped home.
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I just had a thought, how doesn’t the sand end up mixed together eventually? Are they very different densities?
I’m not really sure, but I think it is density and maybe size?