Pop Culture Shards From the Trash Heap of History
Memorable garbage from Woodsy to Wall-E.
|
Year |
Trash |
Treasured? |
|---|---|---|
|
1969 |
Oscar the Grouch debuts on Sesame Street. |
40 years later, kids still sing "I Love Trash!" |
|
1970 |
Woodsy Owl implores kids to "Give a Hoot. Don't Pollute." |
In 1997, Woodsy changes his tune: "Lend a Hand. Care for the Land." |
|
1977 |
Plastic bags first appear in grocery stores. |
Everybody now: "Paper or plastic?" |
|
1985 |
Garbage Pail Kids trading cards parody ubiquitous Cabbage Patch Kids dolls. |
Up Chuck and Ray Decay make GPK "the gross-out phenomenon of the '80s." |
|
1999 |
American Beauty features two-and-a-half-minute shot of floating plastic bag. |
Film theorists still debating whether it's a metaphor for a society hurtling toward ecological destruction—or just a bag. |
|
2000 |
Wilson the volleyball becomes Tom Hanks' best friend in Cast Away. |
In a realistic touch, Wilson eventually washes out to sea to become turtle food. |
|
2008 |
Wall-E cleans up the world by himself, one garbage cube at a time. |
Spawned timeless products such as Wall-E flip-flops. |
|
2008 |
As part of a $1.2 million office remodel, Merrill Lynch CEO John Thain expenses a $1,045 trash can. |
Shamed into paying for the can, Thain says it was "a mistake in light of the world we live in today." |
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