In the mid-1990s, I created a series of some of the earliest interactive web applications. With Dumpster Diver, you dove in and uncovered strange garage sale and thrift store treasures that you could then send to a friend.
You’re going diving! Dumpster diving! It’s like give-away day at the Thrift Center. It’s like Sunday evening curb-side after the yard sales give it up. It’s like, well… it’s just like rummaging around in the trash behind the junk store. Jump in and see what you can dredge up.
The applications, to my surprise, were remarkably successful and were online for well over a decade.
Jello Mold. You wouldn’t be caught eating it, I know, but it isn’t half bad. 
Little Lamby sits in your front yard and brings down property values. 
The ugliest lamp in history. Just for you. 
A pig that has seen better days. 
Sweeeet Caroline. Doo doo doooo. Good times never seems so gooo-ooo-oood. 
Steady. Steady. Steady. BZZZZZZZZ! 
Uh, is this food? Do people really eat this? Or is it just a long-running joke? 
Buck up, friend. Why so sad? Remember, things have nowhere to go but UP from here. 
Bulk sausages any one? 
Shaun Cassidy. What more is there to say? Except maybe, da doo run run run, da doo run run. 
Steve Austin. Astronaut. Barely alive. We can rebuild him. Now he’s a lunch box! 
Trick or treat! Did I scare you? 
Just what you always wanted! A stuffed squirrel, only slightly mauled. This one may have been roadkill. 
Beware of people and things that smile too much. Watch your back. 
You got a bit of a spare tire there. You can get rid of that with a little exercise. Here, help me lift it into this dumpster. 
This is usually found in the section labeled “meat products.” Mmmm. 
A few days old. Brush off the flies, the dirt, we got ourselves a dumpster meal! 
Wow! Wonderbread! For people who want food, but don’t want to be bothered by nutrition. 
This has been trickling around in the back of my mind for ages, and I’m so glad I finally found out it was real. Our high school chemistry/pre-calculus teacher introduced us to Dumpster Diver and Hampster Dance. I used to go to those pages at least once a day in computer lab. It has a very fond place in my memory bank, so thank you for your contribution to my early internet memories.
I think about this site once a week. I remember my babysitter introducing me as the internet was just accessible to us in Indiana. I loved the obscure findings and the then crude html formatting. I love this site and am thankful to see a snippit of the original site.
I have been thinking about this for years and decided to search for it today. Not sure if anyone will ever see this comment, but I used to love this when I was a kid back in 1996 or 1997. Wish times were still this simple!
This was so much fun way back then. I would look for the weirdest treasure to send my friend. I wish it would come back.