It used to be that everyone knew their neighbors. At the very least, you'd meet them after the kid next door accidentally hit a baseball through your living room window, or an apron-clad housewife appeared on your back porch to borrow a cup of sugar. But that's so 1950s. During these days of two-paycheck parents commuting and cocooning because they're afraid to let their kids run unsupervised outside, it is becoming increasingly common to buy a house and eight years later realize that you have never met your neighbors. If that's your situation, consider yourself lucky, because oddball and unusual...