'Fetish items revolve around the known becoming unexpected and slightly dangerous'

So said Richard Flood, chief curator of the New Museum of Contemporary Art, in David Colman's "Possessed" column in Sunday's New York Times.

Flood was speaking specifically about his own personal fetish object: a ball of steel wool spun into yarn (above), given to him during the summer by an intern at the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis, where he was then curator.

Flood keeps it in a Chinese takeout container.

"If I left it out, it would gather all sorts of things and it would be impossible to dust," he said.

This got me to thinking about whether or not I had any fetish objects.

I got up and took a tour of my house and the grounds and couldn't find a one — until I looked in a mirror.

"Unexpected and slightly dangerous"?

That'll do.