Eric Thompson’s collection spans ketchup, mustard, mayonnaise, relish, barbecue sauce, honey, jelly, seafood sauces, vinegar and numerous Asian condiments.
Meet Eric, a 39-year-old computer engineer from Helotes who has amassed roughly 5,000 single-serving sauce packets, turning an ordinary dining accessory into an unusually detailed collecting hobby. As per the same online report, Thompson’s fascination began in 2007 while he was studying at Penn State. Because it was meant to be preserved, but because one collector recognized that even the most disposable objects can carry a story, something designed to be used for seconds can therefore survive for decades—not.
Most people tear open a condiment packet, squeeze out the last drop and toss the wrapper without a second thought. Eric Thompson sees something beyond: a tiny piece of design, advertising and everyday history. Across his Texas home, thousands of these disposable packets have been transformed from fast-food leftovers into a meticulously organized archive. A colorful arrangement of condiment packets caught his attention, creating what looked like a miniature rainbow across a communal food area. When the arrangement later disappeared after a vendor change, Thompson saved several of the remaining packets. What began as an appreciation for the visual arrangement gradually developed into an interest in documenting the evolution of condiment packaging. One becomes part of the archive, while additional examples can be kept for trading or preservation. Thompson’s collection has now earned a place in Ripley’s Believe It or Not! Wired into Weird, the franchise’s 23rd annual collection of unusual people and discoveries. What makes the archive remarkable is not simply its size. These tiny two-by-three-inch packages document changing tastes, advertising styles, restaurant culture and consumer habits.
Today, he tries to collect at least three copies of each new design.