its a hobby, a means of entertainment. if you think of the amount of money americans spend on entertainment/unnecessary objects you will be amazed. i had a doc at my hospital ask me that question last year, and it actually took me a while to answer him. he said: why build a car with twice the horsepower it came with?? why own something that can go 160+mph, when you will never go that fast (legally)?? cars are a means of transportation, why should they be used for anything other than getting from point A to point B??
just the same, he had difficulty explaining his barn and 6 horses that he owns---they are expensive as hell, and he does not earn any money from them, so why own them??
simply entertainment.
why should my wife own 6 designer purses, several pairs of $200+ sunglasses, and countless other things that make me cringe when i see the receipts??
entertainment.
why would a woman pay $6,000 to have plastic and water put into her chest?? a completely unnecessary surgery that carries risks of death from the anesthetic, and infection from the surgical incisions.
the answer, my friend is entertainment--in this case entertainment for us.