A recent survey of 1,200 U.S. respondents found that Americans inherit a wide range of unique items from their loved ones, including a statue of Abraham Lincoln, a butter knife made of solid gold, and a talking fish.

Interesting Inheritance

The survey, conducted by Talker Research on behalf of 1-800-GOT-JUNK?, asked people to name the most interesting possessions passed down from a loved one. The results showed that many Americans inherit items with sentimental value, such as Roman artifacts, a jacket from a well-known 1970s country music outlaw, and a giant garage-sized painting of a dog.

According to the survey, the majority of Americans (51%) would rather inherit a select few items from a loved one than everything they own. Nearly half of Americans surveyed (49%) say they’d actually rather inherit nothing at all than have to deal with a relative’s belongings.

The survey also found that people place much more significance on sentimental value than on simply acquiring more stuff. In fact, 45% of Americans feel they are running out of space in their homes, leading to frustration.

Dealing with Inherited Belongings

Over half (58%) of Americans have had to clear out a relative’s house in the past, and of those, the majority (56%) said dealing with all of their belongings made it difficult to fully grieve.

Brian Scudamore, Founder and CEO of 1-800-GOT-JUNK?, noted that "the things people leave behind are never really just things — they’re memory, identity, and sometimes, unfinished conversations."

Original reporting: KTBS 3 (Shreveport) — read the source article.