Why would a young Jewish man ask others if they were Jewish? please see details?

Today is October 17th a Friday. I went to Office Max and as I stood contemplating pencils I overheard a young man ask a question of nearby shoppers. Then he approached me. I must assume that he is an Orthodox Jew, as he wore ear locks and his tallit kattan was visible beneath his shirt. He was carrying an object that was about 3 feet long and looked somewhat like the stalk of an iris plant. I’m not sure – but it did look like a plant, no flower. It was like a long greenish stem. He came up to me and asked me the same question he’d asked the other women. “Excuse me, but do you happen to be Jewish” I replied no, and he said “well have a nice day” and he walked off. I saw him a bit later in the parking lot and he approached another person and I assume asked the same question of them, then moved on. I was so tempted to ask him why he was asking others, but I was in such a rush at the time I just could not take the time. Would anyone have any information on this – I am greatly curious.