I’ve worked in a bookstore for seven months now. I haven’t really been asked for anything crazy. Until Saturday. On the scale of crazy, this is only like a 2 or 3, but I was surprised when I was asked for it.

I mentioned in my last post that last week was coupon week at HPB. I’ve explained it before but here it is again. For the seven days of the week there will be a coupon for each day. Monday and Tuesday will have 20% off one item. Wednesday and Thursday will have 30% off one item. Friday and Saturday will have 40% off one item. And Sunday will be 50% off one item.

So on Saturday a customer asks me if we have any Street Fighter chess sets. I may have wrinkled my forehead. I told him no. He then asked if I could check the inventories of other stores. I honestly thought it was pointless. I’ve never heard of or seen a Street Fighter chess set, and I ran the games section for six months.

But of course there was one available to be shipped to him. It cost $100. He told me he’d be back in on Sunday to make the order and save an additional $10. I didn’t see him. I also don’t know if he bought it or not.

But in my time at HPB I’ve seen a few things that made me scratch my head. I’ve seen an auto tool kit thing. I’ve seen a mini tool kit of screws and bolts. And I’ve seen a unicorn Bluetooth speaker.

What’s the weirdest thing you’ve come across in a bookstore?