TB and silverware you find in dumps

[Screwtop]

Ever wonder why we sometimes find sterling silver spoons, or similar utensils in trash pits and dumps? A good theory is the Tuberculosis epidemic of the late 19th century, early 20th. People were so scared of TB, they just threw everything out belonging to the person who was infected. Houses were even burned to the ground because of it. I found a sterling silver spoon in Ashland PA in a dump, and wondered how it got there. There was a number of TB cases throughout the years there. Perhaps that's how that spoon got there...


Just a thought

 

[CanadianBottles]

I used to know someone who lived on a hobby farm next to a hotel. The food scraps would be fed to the pigs on the farm and used as compost. They were constantly finding silverware in the pigpen and the garden. I don't think the reason old dumps are full of silverware is because of TB, I think it's because people who scrape plates in a hurry will often miss a fork or two - especially restaurant workers who don't particularly care about whether or not the boss loses some cutlery. When I lived in a rural area we'd even occasionally find a utensil or two of ours in our own compost heap, even though we were usually pretty careful not to throw out any pieces of our vintage silverware set.

 

[Screwtop]

I used to know someone who lived on a hobby farm next to a hotel. The food scraps would be fed to the pigs on the farm and used as compost. They were constantly finding silverware in the pigpen and the garden. I don't think the reason old dumps are full of silverware is because of TB, I think it's because people who scrape plates in a hurry will often miss a fork or two - especially restaurant workers who don't particularly care about whether or not the boss loses some cutlery. When I lived in a rural area we'd even occasionally find a utensil or two of ours in our own compost heap, even though we were usually pretty careful not to throw out any pieces of our vintage silverware set.

That makes sense, in some areas. I just can't see losing a piece of silverware that way, but then again, I'm OCD and don't miss much, lol!

 

[GLASSHOPPER55]

In those days coins were silver too (and kinda "ho-hum") so it wasn't the big deal it is now.