Man who collected ‘most snow globes of all time’ says he did it for romance

Josef Kardinal – the David Beckham of snow globe collecting – has revealed the real reason why he has collected so many of the little festive visages over the years

A man who earned a world record for having the largest amount of snow globes ever has revealed the real reason behind his incessant orb-gathering.

Hero-to-many Josef Kardinal now owns 11,017 different snow globes, making him the Guinness World Record Holder. This was confirmed last week when an adjudicator visited his Nuremberg home.

Obviously, Kardinal himself was the previous record holder – with officials counting a tally of 6,100 back in 2002. But he’s now bludgeoned a new personal best, showing some of that classic grit and determination one expects from snow globe collectors.

Let’s dig into the stats. Daily Star research estimates Kardinal has been acquiring 213 new snow globes every year. That’s over four a week. When was the last time you bought four snow globes…in a week? Kardinal’s impressive strike rate is an inspirational, guiding light in otherwise troubled times.

“I love the romance of snow globes and how beautiful they are when you shake them up and the snow falls down,” Kardinal told Guinness World Records.

Kardinal has been at it since 1984, collecting globes de snow with the ruthless aggression one expects from a younger man in the field. He claimed the oldest ball in his assemblage is an Eiffel Tower-themed snow globe made in Paris in 1889. Of course it is, my liege.

Golden (Snow) Balls went on to say: “[They] capture memories, places and feelings. Every one of them tells a story.

“I never expected that a small gift in 1984 would grow into something recognised around the world.”

Kardinal added, poignantly: “People love snow globes as they encapsulate a perfect world. Obviously one that is not realistic and that is why we gravitate towards them.”

With a sentence, Kardinal deftly sums up the innocent and important joy that comes with collecting snow globes. The fractured world we now inhabit is inescapable. 24-hour news coverage amplifies already grim headlines from all over our boiling, war-torn planet.

But in snow globes – that is where Kardinal finds his solace. It’s not just a snowy, glass-encapsulated visage of Hoth from Star Wars, it’s Kardinal’s utopia. It may not exist here on earth, but it exists in Kardinal’s heart.

When Kardinal poses for Guinness World Record pictures, he does so with a smile that some dismiss as eccentric.

But I see a man truly at peace – one whose soul lingers in 11,017 little glass domes, split up like a goofy Voldemort. Protected. Eternal.

Buy a snow globe for your loved one this Christmas?

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