Jeffery S. Fouke Jr posing with his Coca-Cola collection. (Photo: Instagram/guinnessworldrecords)
During childhood, many of us loved collecting things -- coins, weird-shaped stones, shiny things, stamps and so on. However, a man from the US kept growing his childhood collection and ended up setting a Guinness World Record. What is the collection? All kinds of Coca-Cola memorabilia -- including cans, bottles, clothing, keyrings and figurines. Jeffery S. Fouke Jr is a 26-year-old industrial engineer from Oregon, Ohio, US, and owns a record-breaking collection of 5,237 different items of Coca-Cola. What started as a hobby for fun became a therapeutic experience for Jeffery, he shared with the Guinness World Records.
It started in 2013 when Jeffery's parents got divorced and he decided to have a Coca-Cola theme for his bedroom at his mom's new house. "My first few items were purchased from Hobby Lobby, mainly just for decor at the time. As time went on, my mom and I would go to flea markets and antique malls. It was always a fun time to be with her as well as find older Coca-Cola items," he shared with Guinness World Records.
"As time progressed, I started buying larger collections from marketplace, garage sales, and word of mouth. This exponentially grew my collection. I also received many gifts over the years from friends and family," he added.
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Jeffery's collection kept growing and went on to take space from his bedroom at his mom's house to a room at his dad's house then also in his sister's room after she moved out. He admitted, "I always told myself, once I can no longer display my items, that is when I would no longer continue to buy more items. Around 2020 is when I stopped buying as much but never did stop."
How Building Coca-Cola Collection Helped Him Emotionally
"Once I got to college, someone asked me 'Why do you like Coca-Cola so much?' He made me think harder about it," Jeffery shared, reflecting how working on this collection helped him cope during his parents' divorce. "Coca-Cola has been the therapy for me and has helped me a lot through the years. It brings a smile to my face anytime I see a billboard, advertisement, or a random Coke picture a friend sends me."
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He added, "Collecting Coca-Cola items was my therapy for years. I am glad I chose something to help me along the way. I could have gone down many other paths, but my friends and family supported my slight obsession. Little did they all know, the emotional and mental help they had on me over the years."