What began as a legal battle turned into one of the world's most unusual hobbies. David Morgan, a UK-based former plastics company employee, holds the Guinness World Record for the largest collection of traffic cones, a passion that unexpectedly started during a courtroom fight over design rights.
According to Guinness World Records, in 1986, David found himself involved in a legal dispute with a rival manufacturer who accused his company of copying their traffic cone design. To defend his case, David began collecting various cones from across the country, comparing shapes, sizes, and models to prove his company's originality. His efforts paid off, he won the case. But what followed was entirely unexpected: he couldn't stop collecting.
"It's really interesting," David told the Oxford Mail. "There are so many different shapes, sizes and colours. The models are always changing." His collection grew rapidly, and by the time Guinness verified it in 2000, he owned 137 cones. By 2007, reports indicated it had grown to over 500, including about two-thirds of all cone designs ever made.
David's collection spans the globe. He once picked up a cone from an airport in Corsica during his honeymoon. Despite his enthusiasm, David is ethical about his collecting, never taking cones unlawfully, instead speaking with foremen or trading with other cones from his collection.
His lawn once served as a display area, though he admitted mowing was a challenge. A journalist who visited the display once wrote, "People truly gawp when they see them all on his lawn."
More than 25 years later, David's cone collection still holds its place in history, all thanks to a legal case that sparked a lifelong obsession.
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