A curious story about the word Dumpster from On Dumpster Diving
by Lars Eighner (btw, I recommend checking out the above link for the full 'On Dumpster Diving' chapter excerpt from the 1993 book Travels with Lizbeth):
"Long before I began Dumpster diving I was impressed with Dumpsters, enough so that I wrote the Merriam-Webster research service to discover what I could about the word Dumpster. I learned from them that it is a proprietary word belonging to the Dempster Dumpster company. Since then I have dutifully capitalized the word, although it was lowercased in almost all the citations Merriam-Webster photocopied for me. Dempster's word is too apt. I have never heard these things called anything but Dumpsters. I do not know anyone who knows the generic name for these objects. From time to time I have heard a wino or hobo give some corrupted credit to the original and call them Dipsy Dumpsters."
This etymology of Dumpster inspired me to search more to find out about the man who invented the "Dumpster", whereupon I encountered this page: Fountain Citians Who Made a Difference: George R. Dempster
"By the end of his career he would hold over 75 patents, but his best known patent was the one that revolutionized solid waste disposal. In 1935 he [George R. Dempster] conceived the idea of the Dempster-Dumpster to facilitate construction work. Competitors saw it working so well that they asked that similar units be made for them. Shortly thereafter, he patented the idea and, before long, the five brothers were devoting their entire time to manufacturing Dumpsters at Dempster Brothers, Inc."
So--remember kids--that's no lower cased dumpster you're diving in; get nerd with it and give respect to its inventor. When someone asks where you bought that lovely meal you just served them, proudly confound them and proclaim, "It came from Mr. George Dempster-Dumpster."
10 Comments
10/21/2013 03:35:09 pm
I do not know anyone who knows the generic name for these objects.
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11/10/2022 11:38:28 am
Factory resetting and the proper disposal of devices is also important for preventing dumpster diving since smartphones, laptops, and security tokens may also be helpful for attackers capable of recovering data. Thank you for sharing your great post!
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11/12/2022 11:27:44 am
Thus we ask, how does dumpster diving imply a critical experimentation on the contemporary way of life, and what does this activity consist of? Thank you, amazing post!
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12/1/2022 09:00:47 am
I learned from them that it is a proprietary word belonging to the Dempster Dumpster company. Since then I have dutifully capitalized the word, I’m so thankful for your helpful post!
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4/30/2023 12:42:25 pm
Terrifying things happen at night but the roaches make a new friend who helps them through it. They must figure out a plan to get back to their cafe, and back to their beloved dumpster.
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4/30/2023 02:07:24 pm
There seem to be some mouthy opponents to this basic freedom in our community. This site is being created to advocate the practice of Dumpster Diving in the Reno area and inform the public and city authorities about this benign activity.
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4/30/2023 02:39:27 pm
To that end, Eighner’s purpose does not address negative aspects of the same, rather he focuses on dumpster diving as a way of scavenging. He adopts a neutral and informative tone,
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Christopher Moore
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