Some people are collecting stamps, others are interested in coins... But marketing and investment consultant Niek Vermeulen of the Netherlands built up the world's largest collection of airsickness bags with over 3,700 bags from over 800 different airlines and another 10,000 spare bags. He holds the Guinness world record since 1986.
Niek began collecting airsickness bags when he and a friend made a bet
to see who could accumulate the most of any one item and set a world record.
One day, Niek was using a sickbag to scribble down expenses during a flight
and had the bag in his briefcase with him. The idea for his collection
was born. Niek and his family embarked sometimes over international flights
each year, harvesting sickbags along the way. Friends also aid Niek by
bringing him any unusual barf bag specimens they come across in their travels.
His favorite bag is an airsickness bag from the NASA space shuttle Columbia which
spent 16 days in space.
Parts of the collection are presented in the Guinness Museums in Orlando and Las Vegas and in the Openluchtmuseum Arnheim.
Niek now starts to look around for a successor (buyer) of his collection to set up a continuing existence of this beautiful and strange collection. The same is true for his collection of 1,200 airline playing cards which is the largest collection of this kind in the Netherlands and belongs to the top ten in the world.
Contact: Niek K. Vermeulen, c/o Riouwstraat 55, 1521 SC Wormerveer, Netherlands, fax: +31-756401600, e-mail: lynternet@hotmail.com
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