Bug-themed salt and pepper shakers add that certain something to your average picnic. (Photo: TBD Staff)

Snapshots of the wild, weird and wonderful things you can buy in the D.C. area.

Product: Salt and pepper shakers shaped like ants

Tagline: "Shake on the fun!"

Cost: $10 plus tax

Available at: Stanley Adams Printing, 2049 Wilson Boulevard, Courthouse

 Why you might want it: Because you're tired of the same-old, same-old generic salt and pepper shakers that look like they could be off the table at the local diner. Or maybe because it goes with your ant-themed picnic set.

How it works: There's really not that much to this. It's a salt and pepper shaker set. It gets bonus points for an informative box, though. The box includes "salty superstitions," including "at sea, it is unlucky for a sailor's mouth to utter the word salt."

The bottom line: Surrounded by dozens of varieties of thank you notes, invitations and card-stock samples, these guys are the definition of an impulse buy. "Most people come in for something else, and end up looking around," store employee Ron Hutchinson says.

Most likely you wandered over to these on the tchotchkes table while you were waiting to discuss a custom printing order with the shop's staff. If you're buying them, it's because you are the target consumer of impulse buys. In which case, watch out, because that vintage-uniform-clad Redskins bobble head next to the salt shakers is probably calling your name.