Were you trying to showily pretend that you didn’t like it?
No, I was not.
Was the purpose of the thing to be in the trash?
No, that wasn’t its purpose.
Not its specific purpose, sure; but did you, right then, realize you could thereby accomplish some goal? Like, ‘uh, hey, I know this prank rubber snake wasn’t actually designed to be dropped in a wastebasket; but, upon getting a good look at it, I suddenly realized what a fine place that would be for it…’
I’m not even sure how that would work, so no.
I meant: it maybe takes you a moment to realize it’s a gag rubber snake instead of a real snake — but, once you realize that you’re looking at a gag rubber snake meant for pranking somebody, you think (a) oh, I like this; and (b) if I put this in, say, a wastebasket, why, then, the person I want to prank will soon walk over to use that wastebasket, and will see this fake snake I like oh so much, and I bet they’ll react as I hope — and pointing and laughing will ensue.
(FWIW, I’ve seen this exact scenario play out at work.)
Would the person giving it to you have been complemented or insulted watching you throw it away?
Depends.
Is it something that would be useful to look at briefly (perhaps gleaning some kind of information or amusement), but after that, you have no more use for it?
(Not sure what such a thing would be, but it seems within the realm of possibility.)
Was it a pregnancy test, and you were glad either to be pregnant (positive test) or glad not to be (negative result)?
Same question, covid test?
Same question, some other medical test?
Kind of?
No.
Did it have a nice scent?
We’ve established that it wouldn’t be dangerous to keep it, but is it something that could get you in trouble (or at least cause an awkward situation) if the wrong person were to find it?
No.
No.
Did you “like it so much” to the point of potential or prior addiction?
Is it something like getting handed a newspaper clipping, and it takes you a moment to realize it’s the obituary of someone you sure are glad to hear is now dead, and the first thing you can think to do as you look at the picture of the deceased is enjoy crumpling it up as you throw it in the trash?
If you didn’t like it, would you still have thrown it away?
Did the person give it to you with the expectation that you would throw it away?
Did you throw it away in a specific trash can?
Is this the last page of Tarzan Of The Apes?
Is this a one-of-a-kind item, possibly but not necessarily made by the person who gave it to you?
Is it a note or a message of some kind (very loose definitions of “note” and “message” here)?
Is it a mass-produced item?