# A new Xmas tradition in Cleveland **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [December 21, 2025, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-new-xmas-tradition-in-cleveland/1025916 "2025-12-21T17:52:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![mixdenny](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mixdenny/32/2962_2.png) [@mixdenny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mixdenny)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2025, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-new-xmas-tradition-in-cleveland/1025916/1 "2025-12-21T17:52:01Z")
About 2 weeks ago on the r/Cleveland sub Reddit someone posted a photo of an abandoned microwave sitting forlornly on a park bench wondering why it was there. This was followed by Day 2, Day 3, etc. as the weather changed and it became covered in snow and then melted again. I guess some hints were given and soon other people found out where it was and the fun began. It started slowly with just a simple note left on it and then a Xmas ornament. In the time since then it has ballooned. People are finding it and making pilgrimages to the blursed microwave. They are photographed kneeling in honor of the sacred appliance. More and more items are being photographed and removed (I think). Now someone has setup an abandoned slow cooker. There have been paintings and sculptures made. It’s hilarious. UPDATE - It’s now on Google Maps. > **[Reddit - The heart of the internet](https://www.reddit.com/r/Cleveland/)** A favorite: [https://www.reddit.com/r/Cleveland/comments/1psaz62/i\_never\_noticed\_this\_before/#lightbox](https://www.reddit.com/r/Cleveland/comments/1psaz62/i_never_noticed_this_before/#lightbox) ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2025, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-new-xmas-tradition-in-cleveland/1025916/2 "2025-12-21T17:56:35Z")
I gotta say this shows just what an _amazing_ town Cleveland is for nightlife. 😉 Seriously, that’s cute as hell. I hope everyone has lots of fun with it and nobody in authority gets pissy about it. ---
**Author:** ![Spiderman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spiderman/32/230_2.png) [@Spiderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiderman)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2025, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-new-xmas-tradition-in-cleveland/1025916/3 "2025-12-22T17:30:27Z")
There was one lonely, short pine tree on the side of the bike trail, probably ¼ mile from the nearest trailhead; I never saw them do it but someone would bring a cartful of stuff & decorate it like a tree in your living room every year - tinsel, ornaments, a star on top; sometime after Xmas they’d come back & remove everything & presumably put it away for the following year. I took a picture of it one year & won a photo contest because of it. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2025, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-new-xmas-tradition-in-cleveland/1025916/4 "2025-12-22T17:41:17Z")
Sadly, the microwave is gone as of this morning. To be fair to the city, or whoever cleaned it up, a ton of stuff did accumulate around it. The posts on r/Cleveland were hilarious. I was keeping some friends abreast of the situation and it made me chuckle every time I listed all of the weird shit people were doing for/with Microwave. Now there’s a new rash of posts memorializing it, and talking about all the good times we had. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2025, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-new-xmas-tradition-in-cleveland/1025916/5 "2025-12-22T19:09:17Z")
Gotta love the CLE in all its weirdness! ---
**Author:** ![asterion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4da419/32.png) [@asterion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asterion)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2025, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-new-xmas-tradition-in-cleveland/1025916/6 "2025-12-22T20:13:10Z")
That’s pretty good. In Albuquerque, the city makes a massive snowman out of collected and spray painted tumbleweeds every year and sticks it near the I-25/I-40 interchange. Not quite as cute as making an icon out of a microwave. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2025, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-new-xmas-tradition-in-cleveland/1025916/7 "2025-12-22T22:24:44Z")
The iconic Christmas bow around the St. Louis planetarium started out in 1966 as a prank by students at nearby Washington University. It proved so popular that the planetarium made the bow an annual tradition. [https://www.ksdk.com/article/life/holidays/holiday-bow-planetarium-st-louis-science-center/63-133b477a-ae1f-481a-9f23-bc5893d6c608](https://www.ksdk.com/article/life/holidays/holiday-bow-planetarium-st-louis-science-center/63-133b477a-ae1f-481a-9f23-bc5893d6c608) ---
**Author:** ![Al128](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/al128/32/16541_2.png) [@Al128](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Al128)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2025, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-new-xmas-tradition-in-cleveland/1025916/8 "2025-12-22T22:43:54Z")
I am pretty sure this is how history and “customs” are made. Some stupid idea - which you keep repeating … having said that: quite charming and always a good thing to bring different people together over something … ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2025, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-new-xmas-tradition-in-cleveland/1025916/9 "2025-12-23T20:21:06Z")
Good news! The city of South Euclid (where the bench is located) didn’t trash Mike, they saved it and it’ll be making an appearance at their “Christmas in July” event this summer. [https://www.instagram.com/p/DSnZCgED4L8/?igsh=b3BsZnFxY2I3MjQz](https://www.instagram.com/p/DSnZCgED4L8/?igsh=b3BsZnFxY2I3MjQz) ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2025, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-new-xmas-tradition-in-cleveland/1025916/10 "2025-12-23T20:30:55Z")
A nice article about it. > **[Finding the microwave  – The Land](https://thelandcle.org/stories/finding-the-microwave/)** > > Clevelanders became obsessed with a microwave this week. AJ DiCosimo fell into its vortex and he's here to explain the fascination. ---
**Author:** ![mixdenny](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mixdenny/32/2962_2.png) [@mixdenny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mixdenny)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2025, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-new-xmas-tradition-in-cleveland/1025916/11 "2025-12-24T18:06:31Z")
The Latest Word: Although the city of South Euclid removed the microwave they have promised that it will re-appear during their Xmas in July celebration this summer.