I've done my share of Dumpster diving. I'll take just about anything if it looks like it might be useful or fun and it's free. I brought home a birdcage a few weeks ago that I got out of a Dumpster (tip). We don't have a bird but my son wants one. We may never get one (we have cats) but the birdcage is hidden in the storage shed under the workbench just in case.

I brought home a piece of plastic tubing once. Had no idea what I was going to use it for. Then I heard someone play a didgeridoo, and it all became clear. I still can't play it very well, but it's fun to fool around with once in a while.

I once bought a whole tray (font?) of handset type. Thought I might get a printing press someday. Don't think I ever will now that I can use a computer. I tried to give it away once to a neighbor who actually had a hand press. He turned it down because he wanted to encourage me to get a printing press instead, so I could join him in his hobby. It's still in my basement.

There's a shop near here called the Axman, where they sell … weird stuff, mainly industrial surplus. Once I bought, for a dollar, a Japanese square egg maker. No kidding. You hard-boil an egg, peel it while it's still warm, drop the peeled egg into this squarish plastic mold thingy and screw the top down. It compresses the egg until it's a perfectly rectangular, almost cubical shape. Put it in the fridge and let it cool. When you take it out and release it from the mold, the egg will keep its rectangular shape. Even the yolk will be roughly cubical. Haven't seen that thing in years. My wife probably threw it out.