My collection of fridge magnets
Several years ago I started collecting fridge magnets. From all places I visited.
The rules
I decided to have some kind of rules to not buy just any random magnet:
- if it is a city then I have to stay for a night, eat something
- unless I went there for one day sightseeing
- or asked someone to bring me a magnet from there
- a magnet has to be nice or weird
- ceramic, clay, metal preferred
- a picture on a magnetic foil is the last resort
- magnets can be upgraded (new ones replace old ones)
The story
In 2011 I was in Orland, Florida, USA and had no idea what to buy as a souvenir for my wife. She got fridge magnet with “Someone went to Florida and all I got was this lousy magnet” written on it.
Some time later I started buying fridge magnets for myself.
Soon there were tens of them. I was arranging them chronologically — by the time I visited that place for first time. But one day space was gone so I reordered them and got two empty rows.
In mean time I got few magnets from places I have not visited yet. They all ended on a side of the fridge as freezer’s door was already occupied by my daughter and her collection of miscellaneous magnets.
Then I crossed one hundred. And the space ended. Several magnets landed on a side of the fridge.
Magnetic board
It was a time when I started looking at buying magnetic board. This is how it looks today (a bit organized at the top, chaotic at the bottom):
It was not best option as such boards are made from thin metal so heavier magnets required adding neodymium magnets to not fall apart.
The map
Below is the map which I use to keep track of my collection. Local names are used. For names in non-latin alphabets also latin version is provided.
Short legend:
I visited it and have magnet from there
Still lack magnet from this visited place
Someone gave me a magnet from here