We interrupt our usual intermittent spurts of original content to link to something for you. It’s an interview with “Witesock,” a sports-sock collector.

Now that’s super. This guy has a wildly specialized collection of “several hundred” socks. He’s interviewed on the wonderfully obsessive Uni Watch blog. But that’s not the fun part…

UW: Now, do you wear these socks just for, y’know, walking around?

WS: I do. I wear them pretty much all the time.

UW: So are you wearing a pair of game-used socks right now?

WS: I’m wearing a pair of English rugby socks at the moment.

UW: Cool! There are so many people who collect things and then, either literally or figuratively, put them under glass — they squirrel them away, make sure not to touch them, and so on. But you actually use your collection. You wear your collection!

WS: I do, I like wearing the different socks. Maybe some of the extra-special ones I put aside and don’t wear. But most of the ones I get, I do enjoy wearing them.

But wait, there’s more:

UW: Yeah, that’s always the problem with having a really big collection. Now, I know, because you’ve told me in the past, that you’ve also gotten some attention from fetishist types.

WS: Yes, that’s probably the most common type of feedback I get, usually from people who want to see more pictures of me in socks.

UW: Are these men, women, or both?

WS: Primarily men.

UW: And is it your impression that word of your site has spread through the fetish community, like through internet message boards or whatever?

WS: I believe so, yeah.

UW: And how do you feel about that?

WS: It was a little bit unexpected, but I certainly don’t mind.

UW: And are you part of that community yourself?

WS: I’m not, no.

Which of course, inevitably leads to this:

WS: They want to see maybe a really beat-up pair of socks, things like that. I do maintain some anonymity — I won’t show my face, and I won’t show any other parts of my body. I do get those types of requests, but I don’t honor them. One of the most interesting requests I got was from a guy in Australia. He offered to send me five pairs of Australian rugby socks if I would take pictures of myself wearing the socks while at the same time throwing a pie in my face.
[…]
UW: So did you do it?

WS: I did, yes, I did. I actually had a lot of fun doing it.

This is, by the way, the collection that dare not speak its name:

UW: What do your friends and family think about your sock obsession?

WS: Oh, they don’t know!

And yes, he’s married. And yes, he’s Canadian. It goes without saying that he’s a Leafs fan. The rest of the interview. If you liked the excerpts, do read the rest. Witesock’s minimalist website. I in no way want to be Witesock. I’m not even very much interested in his site. But I love him just for existing.