May 31, 2011

A windsurfing board was one of the items left behind at 43rd and Pine this morning.

Do you find it irresistible to pick through (or at least look over) stuff that students leave strewn along the sidewalks or in dumpsters after the school year? If so, WHYY’s Peter Crimmins has a good story for you (see the video below). Crimmins and a West Philly man named “Paul” went dumpster diving recently and came up with some interesting stuff, including a hard drive chock full of everything from Korean dance videos to complete details on a student’s bank accounts.

When picking over stuff, “How far are you willing to go,” Crimmins asks.

This is also a good time to remind folks who prefer to do their used-stuff shopping in a slightly more civilized, but less serendipitous, manner that the big sale of student stuff is this Saturday. The sale, sponsored by Penn MOVES to benefit Goodwill Industries job programs, will run from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. at a warehouse at 3401 Grays Ferry Ave. For $5 you can get early admission and begin shopping at 8 a.m. Sales are cash only and there are no returns.

That warehouse is a little tricky to get to so Penn Transit is providing free transportation to and from any transit stop (except Johnson Pavilion and Fresh Grocer) every 30 minutes. Of course, there are limits to what you can haul onto the shuttle. Refrigerators and large furniture won’t work.