petroliana
n.— «That’s spawned a legion of hobbyists who hoard auto-related collectibles. People go crazy over what’s called “petroliana,” service station artifacts like signs, gas pumps and globes, oil cans, car wax tins and road maps.» —“Hershey: The World’s Largest Automotive Swap Meet. If You Can’t Find It Here, You Probably Don’t Need It.” by Ken Gross Edmunds Inside Line Oct. 17, 2005. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
Amid court-ordered busing in the 1970s, a middle-school teacher tried to distract her nervous students on the first day of class with this strange assignment: find a monarch caterpillar. The result? A memorable lesson in the miracle of metamorphosis...
What exactly is a planet? Controversy over this question led to Pluto’s redefinition, along with a brand-new English word. And: Some people now use the phrase all the things! to mean and whatnot or you know what I mean. This new sense of all...