# What could I find out about you by digging through your trash? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [June 22, 2005, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-could-i-find-out-about-you-by-digging-through-your-trash/309428 "2005-06-22T20:15:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Uncommon\_Sense](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Uncommon\_Sense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uncommon_Sense)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2005, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-could-i-find-out-about-you-by-digging-through-your-trash/309428/1 "2005-06-22T20:15:41Z")
What would turn up in your trash that woud give you away. I think if you thought about it you’d be suprised at how much info someone could gain about you just by tearing through your weekly trash. My family; Found; Lots of empty juice boxes, yogurt containers (the stuff for kids) and cat litter refuse. Deduced; Lots of kids, and cats. Probably like three of one and four of the other. Found; Two empty bags from Chipotle, buried in different layers. Deduced; Eats fast food once or twice a week but not the fried stuff. And not on the same day. Most likely Chipotle, since that’s where the bags are from. Found; Empty Grape Nuts box, empty Cheerios box. Deduced; The kids eat Cheerios and the adults eat Grape Nuts. Found; Lots of junk mail - unopened. Majority of the credit card application type. Deduced; Probably has good credit, doesn’t need more credit cards. Found; Dozen egg shells, potatoe peelings, and empty waffle box in single layer of trash. Deduced; Probably likes to make a large breakfast on the weekend which includes eggs, potatoes, and waffles. Enough for now, I’ll think of more later. That’s the idea. Don’t get too specific. Don’t want the Weirdos actually tracking you down. Next… ---
**Author:** ![Duke\_of\_Rat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Duke\_of\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duke_of_Rat)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2005, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-could-i-find-out-about-you-by-digging-through-your-trash/309428/2 "2005-06-22T20:52:52Z")
That I drink too much beer. ---
**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2005, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-could-i-find-out-about-you-by-digging-through-your-trash/309428/3 "2005-06-22T20:56:42Z")
> [@Duke of Rat](#): > > That I drink too much beer. Me too. And whiskey. ---
**Author:** ![Fionn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a587f6/32.png) [@Fionn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fionn)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2005, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-could-i-find-out-about-you-by-digging-through-your-trash/309428/4 "2005-06-22T22:51:19Z")
You’d find out I love coffee, cereal, do a lot of academic research, read Entertainment Weekly\*, eat instant pasta and, depending on the week, enjoy whiskey, rum or beer. \*I read a lot of other magazines as well, but these are most likely to end up in the trash. ---
**Author:** ![the4thmooncat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ce7236/32.png) [@the4thmooncat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/the4thmooncat)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2005, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-could-i-find-out-about-you-by-digging-through-your-trash/309428/5 "2005-06-22T22:56:15Z")
That I snack some, drink more Pepsi than is probably healthy, and use a lot of blank tapes but don’t save their cases. ---
**Author:** ![susan\_foster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d9b06d/32.png) [@susan\_foster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan_foster)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2005, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-could-i-find-out-about-you-by-digging-through-your-trash/309428/6 "2005-06-22T23:00:20Z")
That I drink waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay too much Diet Mountain Dew. Susan ---
**Author:** ![interface2x](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c0e974/32.png) [@interface2x](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/interface2x)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2005, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-could-i-find-out-about-you-by-digging-through-your-trash/309428/7 "2005-06-22T23:05:30Z")
That I rarely completely finish a meal. ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2005, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-could-i-find-out-about-you-by-digging-through-your-trash/309428/8 "2005-06-22T23:18:27Z")
We don’t recycle as much as we should. We waste a lot of food, especially produce. (Although by the time we toss it, it’s unrecognizable as produce.) One of us smokes too much. We like peanuts in the shell. ---
**Author:** ![Anastasaeon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/73ab20/32.png) [@Anastasaeon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anastasaeon)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2005, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-could-i-find-out-about-you-by-digging-through-your-trash/309428/9 "2005-06-22T23:18:46Z")
Right now… you’d find a pile of my husbands shaved hair, from the top of his head, mostly. And an empty bottle of Drano. I’ll let you do the deducing. It will probably be right. Other than that, there are smaller, neatly tied up bags of cat litter, Canadian candy bar wrappers, various fruit rinds/cores, an empty box of Borax, an empty Mr. Clean with orange bottle, and some birthday wrapping paper. Deduction: Household with cats, people who like sweet things and at least one of them is from Canada, like to be clean, and just had a birthday. (yeah, I did, a couple weeks ago, but my grandmother’s package just arrived today.) ---
**Author:** ![Hal\_Briston](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a9a28c/32.png) [@Hal\_Briston](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hal_Briston)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2005, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-could-i-find-out-about-you-by-digging-through-your-trash/309428/10 "2005-06-22T23:22:17Z")
Ok…I’ll use the garbage can next to my desk here as a case study: **Item:** Several dozen empty cans of Pepsi One (recycling bucket). **Conclusion:** That I subsist solely on Pepsi One. **Accuracy of Conclusion:** Yup, I do. **Item:** Empty packaging from a four-pack of energy-efficient seven-year light bulbs. **Conclusion:** That I just switched several bulbs over to the energy-efficient ones. **Accuracy of Conclusion:** No, I’ve been replacing them one at a time as the old ones burned out. Just had #4 burn out today. **Item:** Junk mail – _Sports Illustrated_ subscription offer. **Conclusion:** Doesn’t want an _SI_ subscription, may not like sports. **Accuracy of Conclusion:** Semi. Love football and basketball, but don’t want to subscribe when I’d only read it half of the year. Read _SI_ online instead. **Item:** Several small styrofoam bowls with milk and cereal residue. Same number of plastic spoons. **Conclusion:** Eats Frosted Mini-Wheats for breakfast almost daily. Shits on the enviroment. **Accuracy of Conclusion:** Bingo. ---
**Author:** ![Queen\_Bruin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/e274bd/32.png) [@Queen\_Bruin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Queen_Bruin)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2005, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-could-i-find-out-about-you-by-digging-through-your-trash/309428/11 "2005-06-22T23:23:00Z")
- Lots of pleas for funding by various left-wing organizations - Cat squeeze in various stages of dessication - SlimFast packaging - Beer bottles (Negra Modelo this week) Yeah, we’re a bunch of broke liberals with cats that want to be healthy-but-not-too-healthy! ---
**Author:** ![swampbear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/swampbear/32/467_2.png) [@swampbear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/swampbear)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2005, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-could-i-find-out-about-you-by-digging-through-your-trash/309428/12 "2005-06-22T23:23:58Z")
Hmmm… well, if you snooped through my trash from this past weekend\*, you’d think: I drink waaaaaaaaaay to much. I got married. Damn! How much chicken can one person eat in a week! \*My neighbors celebrated their 30th wedding anniversary by renewing their wedding vows in a ceremony in their back yard. They had a big wedding cake, a bbq that featured chicken, and a lot of booze and beer. They put their overflow trash in my trash cans. See, trash can be deceiving! 😛 ---
**Author:** ![ouryL](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ouryl/32/6067_2.png) [@ouryL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ouryL)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2005, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-could-i-find-out-about-you-by-digging-through-your-trash/309428/13 "2005-06-23T01:14:04Z")
The bottle of Pepsi contains the new Lime Pepsi which is yellowish in color and smells like piss. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Cyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a88e4f/32.png) [@Cyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cyn)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2005, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-could-i-find-out-about-you-by-digging-through-your-trash/309428/14 "2005-06-23T02:35:58Z")
Doesn’t recycle Drinks way too much Diet Pepsi Twist Buys strawberries and lets them rot Not much of an alcohol drinker Shreads colorful documents…what the hell? ( Explanation: I color-code my worksheets on reported patient data at the hospital with pretty highlighters to keep me at-a-glance caught up, but these being a HUGE personal privacy/HIPPA violation if even accidentally made public, any that hitch-hike home in my pocket get shredded on the instant of their discovery.) ---
**Author:** ![GusNSpot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gusnspot/32/436_2.png) [@GusNSpot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GusNSpot)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2005, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-could-i-find-out-about-you-by-digging-through-your-trash/309428/15 "2005-06-23T04:17:46Z")
Well, you would find cans that you might could tell was cat food but that would be about all. We shred and burn all trash and brush. ---
**Author:** ![vivalostwages](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/d07c76/32.png) [@vivalostwages](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vivalostwages)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2005, 4:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-could-i-find-out-about-you-by-digging-through-your-trash/309428/16 "2005-06-23T04:33:40Z")
You’d find out how many bananas and how much coffee I put away in just a week; that I use paper plates; that I go through an astonishing amount of kleenex. I also recycle a lot of stuff, but we’re sticking to garbage here, I think. ---
**Author:** ![Uncommon\_Sense](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Uncommon\_Sense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uncommon_Sense)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2005, 12:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-could-i-find-out-about-you-by-digging-through-your-trash/309428/17 "2005-06-23T12:09:59Z")
In the recycling bin there is currently six empty bottles of booze and assorted crushed cans of beer. One would think there be a lot of drinking going on, when in reality, I save the empty bottles until I replace them so I know what to get (or not get, if I didn’t like it) the next time I make a booze run. Made a booze run over the weekend so the bin is full of empty bottles. I’m sure the regular garbage pickup is aware of the children situation in the household (last year the garbage was half diapers) so the empty bottles of booze probably didn’t shock him too much. 😃 Also, one of us drinks a lot of energy type drinks. An amazing amount, in fact. Enough to push the warning limit on the can, - Yikes. Something that would have startled someone digging through the garbage last winter was a completly intact dead chicken. Feathers and all. Also, another family that wastes produce. In the last week I pitched bag of broccoli, half bag of lettuce, and some rhubarb stalks. A questionable containter of curdled sour cream (neither of us could remember bying any in the last month or so) and cooked noodles of dubious odor. ---
**Author:** ![chaoticbear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f07891/32.png) [@chaoticbear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chaoticbear)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2005, 1:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-could-i-find-out-about-you-by-digging-through-your-trash/309428/18 "2005-06-23T13:18:35Z")
> [@swampbear](#): > > \I got married.\ Congratulations, although I didn’t think that it was legal in your neck of the woods. In our trash can? You wouldn’t find much of anything interesting. You’d find that we frequently use generic products over name brand, I suppose, and that my father got some shoes for Fathers’ Day. ---
**Author:** ![DeVena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/dec6dc/32.png) [@DeVena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DeVena)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2005, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-could-i-find-out-about-you-by-digging-through-your-trash/309428/19 "2005-06-23T13:29:43Z")
That we have pets, eat too much grape LaffyTaffy, and are addicted to [Amazon.com](http://Amazon.com). ---
**Author:** ![The\_King\_of\_Soup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a87d85/32.png) [@The\_King\_of\_Soup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_King_of_Soup)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2005, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-could-i-find-out-about-you-by-digging-through-your-trash/309428/20 "2005-06-23T13:31:20Z")
If you weren’t careful about your timing, you might find out that our neighbors, with whom we share a recepticle, are a) armed and b) fond of their privacy. If you were lucky, however, you’d find out that we eat very little meat, that we recycle, that except for ketchup we don’t care much about brand names, that we shred pretty much all the trash with any information more personal than “Dear Occupant” into confetti, and that somebody in the house smokes. Also that we like onions a lot. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-could-i-find-out-about-you-by-digging-through-your-trash/309428.md?page=2)