There was a "Superman II" and a "Rocky II", so it just seems logical that there would be a "You Never Know II". Although I probably won't realize the fortunes made by those other "II's", I bet I have a lot more fun with my project!

Enough has happened since my first article on this subject (25 cent insulators and how they sell) to warrant another. We have really had some interesting experiences. (See Crown Jewels, July '84, p. 15 for a bit of background data).

Since I last wrote, we took about 11 boxes of our 25 cent beauties to the local swapmeet. Each box holds approximately 16 insulators, so we had about 176 insulators along. In case you are wondering just WHAT we were selling for a quarter, and you don't want to read my first article, let me elaborate. These insulators consist of Hemi 42's, Hemi 9's, Whitall Tatum #1's, "B" beehives, H. G. Co. beehives (NOT the precious Petticoats, however!), Armstrong CD 122's, and such. Colors range from aqua to clear., And very few are mint.

Back to the swapmeet (translation for non-Californians -- flea market). We set them all out on a table along with a very professional sign which read, "INSULATORS -- 25 cents EACH",. At first, we were completely ignored. It seemed that although people were curious about those "funny-looking glass things" sitting there, they were too shy to come up and look more closely.

But very soon we were answering the same old questions to the point of reaching near insanity like, "What ARE these things, anyway?" And hearing the same old stories which pushed us past the point of Dementia Praecox, like "I used to shoot them things off the pole when I was a kid." After hearing that for about the 20th time in the space of one hour, I was ready for a hot dog and a large Seven-up! (Any old excuse, right?)

Well, half-way into the morning, after we'd sold several dollars' worth of glass, a young man came over and was showing his girlfriend the insulators. He was a lineman, and seemed to know a lot about them. (At least, he didn't ask the usual inane questions). However, he did ask us if we "had any of them Hemingray 19's in aqua." He thought "they was real pretty." I searched the table in vain. Wouldn't you know, I'd already sold the 3 or 4 we'd brought with us, and here I had a SPECIAL REQUEST for an aqua Hemingray 19! I was fit to be tied. And nothing else would satisfy him -- it had to be an aqua Hemi 19 or nothing. He walked away empty-handed; a very disappointed man. Almost the same thing happened later on in the day, only this person wanted an H. G. beehive in aqua! And I was temporarily out of them. (Is anyone ever OUT of them? Well, I was).

That just about sums up our experiences at the swapmeet, except to say that we came away with almost $20, and terminal sunburns.

While we were gone we had left our customary 7 or 8 boxes of glass out by the curb, and lo and behold, there were another couple of dollars in the mailbox when we got home! But I guess someone liked the insulator we'd used as a display piece atop the sign, for it was gone. However, instead of leaving a bare pin, they had replaced the one they bought with another insulator from out of the boxes!

We are still amazed and pleased at the inherent honesty in people. Up to this point, we have sold 349 insulators from this bunch of throw-away glass, and not one has been stolen. And those boxes sit out by the curb every day from 7:00 AM to 8:00 PM. We leave them out there even when we go somewhere, and it has become a game to look under the mail slot in the house when we come home, to sea how much we had made while we were away. 0ver half the time there is something there waiting.

The methods of payment are often mildly bizarre. While we usually get quarters and dollar bills, once we got Chuck E. Cheese Pizza Time Theatre tokens. But I guess whoever paid us in those tokens felt a bit guilty, because there were twice the amount of tokens needed to make up the price of the glass taken! Just the other day we came home to find several 50 cent pieces on the floor, one of which was of the old silver type. Now, if they'd just start paying in silver dollars, wouldn't that be great?

Maybe you have wondered why we didn't try to recycle these insulators (we started out with about 40 boxes). All are glass, and there is a good glass recycling program hare in San Diego. Well, we tried. I called every place in the county, and was referred to one place after another. I must have spent an hour on the phone. No one wanted our insulators! I begged, pleaded, and cajoled. But nobody would take them. It happened to be the very last person I talked to who could explain to me why no one wanted them. Because insulators are tempered glass, they cannot be melted down with other glass. It isn't that they won't melt; they change the glass mixture to a type of glass not wanted by people who buy recycled glass. Well, at least that was the explanation finally given to me, right or wrong. I was told I could probably sell them in Los Angeles, but no one in San Diego County would accept them. And not wanting to approach L.A. for any reason except extreme emergencies (like passing through on the way to a National), we decided to try and sell them from the curb.

The other day while I was at work, a man stopped by and talked to Mr. Hyve, and picked out about a dozen clear Hemi 9's from the boxes. After Mr. Hyve recovered sufficiently from temporary shock, he asked the man why he wanted those particular insulators. (I, myself, would have left it ALONE for fear he'd change his mind). Anyway, it seems that the man likes clear Hemi 9's and said he gives them away to friends and family to use as paper weights. Good for him! Why can't there be a thousand others in this neighborhood with the same idea?

Well, this brings to a close Part II. Remember, don't toss those throwaways. Wash them off and put them out on the curb (if you have a curb) and sell them for 25 cents each. You will be surprised at the results, and have some interesting experiences too.

Will there be a "You Never Know III"? Well, you never know!