Why would anyone painstakingly collect and count exactly one million little wooden sticks?

I'm sure this article is already everywhere (I got it off Obscure Store), but it has some choice parts in it:
1. "But Frank, beaten down by life and bad choices (related to wine, women, and other common vices)..."
2. "Anton currently runs the computer system at a local electrical contractor, but bumped into Frank while playing bass in a local band called Space Hippie..."
3. "On Sundays Anton'd put on a suit, go pick up Frank, and they'd be at the IHOP for a marathon session that wouldn't stop until they'd counted 18,000 to 20,000 sticks of wood."