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[–] 55 points 4 months ago* (7 children)

I think I found the cassette player, although it dates it to the 80s... Although it could of been an old object dumped alongside more contemporary ones, as the cassette doesn't appear to be as aged as other objects...

https://www.ebay.com/itm/405015397001

Logo on the Wilson football dates from 1994-present, so oldest possible age of pile is ~1994, although I think it is younger.

Design on the Bud Light can is circa 2004, but I feel like someone could of dropped that separate from the pile.

This game is really fun, we should start a subreddit.

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  • [–] 13 points 4 months ago* (1 child)

    Someone dumping some shit might well have had some of the objects much longer than some of the others. And if anything, a person is less likely to be dumping new objects, except for disposable things like beer cans.

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  • [–] 2 points 4 months ago* (1 child)

    concur, dumping pile was probably in use during a range of time, curious what might be under there if OP starts poking around with a shovel, was mostly trying to narrow down an oldest object and then work from there.

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  • [–] 2 points 4 months ago (1 child)

    That's certainly possible too, but what I was getting at was that even a bunch of things dumped at once probably aren't going to all be the same age.

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  • [–] 2 points 4 months ago

    Agreed, but what I am getting at is trying to determine an absolute earliest possible start date. The pile cannot be older than the oldest object in it, so regardless of any other factors, you can at least determine X is the earliest possible start date, then you can use other details to reconstruct other pieces of data (aka the other objects in the pile)

    obviously there will be a range of ages, but I'm just following the thread of the oldest object for a starting point, not as an absolute age for everything in the pile.

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  • [–] 4 points 4 months ago (1 child)

    If you really like this, it’s not that far off from how archeologists date stuff. Though they collect a lot more datapoints, have more context, and use more references.

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  • [–] 4 points 4 months ago (1 child)

    great point, I used to find trash piles like this in the woods around where I lived, and even as a child I always wondered about who put them there, what their life was like, and what people would think about the piles I left behind, how I could leave clearer messages for them so they were not confused.

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  • You may like archeology. My wife is an archeologist and she says that a lot of it is using science and history to make sense of people’s trash.

    The thing to remember is our post-industrial conceptualization of trash is a little different than the past. For example, broken projectile points and their flakes are essentially just really old trash that was dropped when it broke or wasn’t useful anymore.

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  • [–] 3 points 4 months ago (1 child)

    I think I found the cassette player

    Nah. The one in your link has round speaker grilles, while the one in OP's pic have different shaped speaker grilles. Also OP's one is missing the carry handle.

    Does seem to be a similar model and likely related to it, but not quite the same.

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  • [–] 35 points 4 months ago (2 children)

    The Bud Light can design was introduced in 2004 and lasted until 2008. Being one of the most disposable items, I'd guess the pile was made in those years.

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  • [–] 4 points 4 months ago

    That tracks with my cassette player estimation: 2002. Presumably they didn't trash it while new, but it doesn't exactly scream quality, so it wouldn't surprise me if it died shortly after the warranty expired.

    So if I were to guess: shortly after that bud light can was introduced, so 2005ish.

    Questionable parenting with questionable taste in "beer"

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  • [–] 26 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago)

    I think the toy fishing reel is from this 1995-ish model:

    link

    The older 80's vintage was black:

    And the 2000's model was a very different molding:

    More on the toy fishing rod:

    https://thisoldtoy.com/l_fp_set/toy-pages/8000-plus/72000/72414-fish-n-reel.html

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  • [–] 20 points 4 months ago

    Those look like items from around 1993. The items don't look like they have been exposed to the elements for 33 years, though. Maybe 5 to 10 years of exposure.

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  • [–] 19 points 4 months ago (3 children)

    everyone keeps saying 80s or 90s, yet completely miss the spool of blue Ethernet cable under it all.

    everyone is pretty spot on with the boombox and toy.

    based on that plus the Ethernet, plus the age on the items. I would say it's been there since between 2001-2010.

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  • [–] 5 points 4 months ago (1 child)

    I installed pallets of internet cabling in the mid 90s

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  • [–] 3 points 4 months ago

    I have no doubt, but it wasn't something that was so common that you'd leave a whole spool of it out in a pile of junk.

    getting your hands on the stuff took effort and it wasn't cheap back then either unless you were running a business in IT infra.

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  • [–] 5 points 4 months ago (1 child)

    I don't think its ethernet cable. I think its string trimmer line. Look at the size of the football grips, and consider that they are closer in frame than whatever type of cable that is.

    Also, I'm pretty sure that is some species of Galium growing around there, probably maybe Galium arvense? Vining habit, whorled leaves, disturbed spaces, etc.. Its stem is pretty narrow. Much narrower than ethernet cable.

    https://fsus.ncbg.unc.edu/main.php?pg=show-taxon-detail.php&taxonid=4767

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  • [–] 3 points 4 months ago

    While it looks like ethernet I don't see a plug on it, so it could be any ethernet looking cable (coaxial, rj11, etc). Could be wrong though

    2000-2010 seems a pretty good guess though, who would throw brand new stuff away

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  • [–] 15 points 4 months ago (1 child)

    Early 2000’s 12 y/o with questionable parents

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  • [–] 12 points 4 months ago (1 child)

    That's been only out in the weather a year or two but I recognize the patina of being stored in a hot garden shed for decades. Someone cleaned out the back of their shed and dumped it.

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  • [–] 12 points 4 months ago

    Bottom center looks like a Fisher Price Fish-N-Reel toy circa 1995.

    The Boombox appears to be a Lennox Sound CT-731, That listing features a picture of the bottom of its box bearing a copyright date of 2000.

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  • [–] 9 points 4 months ago (1 child)

    I'd say late 80s to early 90s trash, that football looks like one I bought at a garage sale in the 90s but was at least 10 years old when I bought it. Plastics often have production dates, a small circle of numbers from 1 to 12 with an arrow points at the month of production with the numbers on either side of the arrow being the year.

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  • [–] 8 points 4 months ago

    The boombox is the only concrete clue I can identify. It’s an am/fm cassette, but doesn’t seem to have a cd player, so I’m assuming it went out of style in the early aughts. Best guess, this trash is about 20 years old.

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  • [–] 7 points 4 months ago (2 children)

    The character on the body board graphic might give a clue. I don't recognize it, but the drawing style of the eye looks like early nineties Disney.

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  • [–] 13 points 4 months ago (1 child)

    I think its loony toons? tweety bird?

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  • [–] 5 points 4 months ago (1 child)

    Just came to say definitely Tweety Bird

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  • [–] 5 points 4 months ago (2 children)

    Until today I had almost completely forgot the "tweetybird/ Taz" era of style in the mid 90's

    I wonder how many regrettable Taz tattoos are still out in the wild

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  • [–] 5 points 4 months ago (1 child)
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  • [–] 6 points 4 months ago*

    Definitely the 90s. Though maybe only out there for like 5 or 6 years?

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  • [–] 4 points 4 months ago

    4-6 years, wild guess using some of the junk in my backyard as a reference.

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  • [–] 3 points 4 months ago (2 children)

    What kind of people just dumps garbage like that - what are they thinking? why? whar has happened in their life?

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  • [–] 3 points 4 months ago

    I did solid waste dump responses when I worked for a health department.

    When people who can't pay to dump have trash, they dump it in the woods, ravines, forestry roads, etc.

    Usually the drive to dump trash is when someone dies and someone else is having to clear out their effects, be it family, a landlord, or some worker. Or someone is evicted from their home, vehicle, or encampment.

    Otherwise most people hoard it until they die or are evicted.

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    [–] 3 points 4 months ago

    Parents should clean up that trash.

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  • [–] 3 points 4 months ago (1 child)

    Looks like a toddler or a young child might have some fun with it, but I wouldn't recommend letting a child play with trash...

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    [–] 3 points 4 months ago (1 child)

    How old do you have to be to be a crackhead? 🤔

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  • [–] 2 points 4 months ago

    Maybe one or two winters/seasons.

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