curio

Etymology

Clipping of curiosity, 1851. Compare cabinet of curiosities and French objet de curiosité.

noun

1. A strange and interesting object; something that evokes curiosity.
   Staghorn ferns, with their antlerlike leaves, are really curios of ferndom and never fail to gain attention. 2013, Joan Lee Faust, The New York Times Garden Book, Revised
   Video telephony is just about the only new technology from that particular movie that has appeared—and it was technically possible when the movie was showing. 2001 can be seen as a curio, but what about Star Trek? March 2012, David Graeber, “Of Flying Cars and the Declining Rate of Profit”, in The Baffler
   upon his arrival, Lewis discovers that his uncle’s place is no threadbare bachelor pad. It’s a creaky old Victorian mansion, full of overstuffed chairs, flocked wallpaper, stained glass, creepy carnival curios, and dozens and dozens of clocks. 2018-9-19, Katie Rife, “Eli Roth, of all directors, brings Amblin magic to the kid-lit horror of The House With A Clock In Its Walls”, in The Onion AV Club