Wallet Card with a 1949 garbage can

I would say that the majority of my wallet card posts, especially the NYC ones, come from finding them on one of the many websites and facebook groups of people who are great at spotting this stuff. So many times I see things posted that I just have to see for myself.

Even though there is no way that one pair of eyes can compete with hundreds of them, when you are looking around all the time, you are bound to spot some surprising things yourself. For example, when I was walking through Brooklyn this summer, a garbage can in front of a residence caught my eye. The metal garbage can that was once a New York staple (think Oscar the Grouch) but is now quite rare in these days of plastic bins. I thought I noticed a date - 1949. (Oddly it's much easier to see "1949" on my phone than on the computer, even magnified.)

I took the photo and figured I'd do some research later just in case this was a real thing. Turns out it probably is! While there is not much online about old garbage cans, I found a post on the U.S. Militaria Forum with can lids that look just like this one, with dates throughout the 1940s. I wonder if this was in fact a military-issued garbage can that found it's way to a private residence. No way to tell if it says "US" on the side. Still, you never know what you might come across if you are always looking for something unusual or old!