Oscar's trash can

Flip Wilson : Are  you  trying t o tell  me  t h at down there,  you  ’ v e got flood light s , a tennis court & a swimming pool ?

 OSCAR THE GROUCH  : You  ’ d be surprise d what p e o p l e throw a way.

-  The Flip Wilson Show 

 OSCAR ’ S   TRASH CAN  is the private home of  OSCAR THE GROUCH  o n  SESAME STREET  & i s situate d between  BIG BIRD  ’ s  NEST  & the stoop of  1 2 3   SESAME STREET . Just like Snoopy  ’ s dog house,  OSCAR  ’ S   TRASH CAN  is actually considerably deeper than one would initially suspect. The seemingly bottomless domain also houses a variety of diverse  G R O U C H  amenities & luxuries. 1| 1 tradition is, whenever  OSCAR  sin g s "  I LOVE TRASH  " ,  h is  signature  song  ,  he  is always seen singing at  his   TRASH CAN  , &  NO  w here else.

History
 OSCAR THE GROUCH  was originally planned by  JIM HENSON  & Jon Stone  to live in a man hole  or in a pile of  TRASH  in a gutter. This was changed to a  TRASH CAN , in part because " the studio had no trapdoor s that would allow a puppeteer to work from under the floor . "

In the earliest season 1   episode s , the  TRASH CAN  was a top a big blue crate adjacent t o a wooden crate a t right , w / a few more  TRASH CAN  s a round ; later on in  sea s on 1  till  1 9 7 4  , until  2 0 1 5  the base & the crate s were replace d , the latter by a trunk , with a  TRASH  pail  on top of another crate at left. In 1 9 7 4 , & until  2 0 1 5  , the perch was redesigned , with a big burlap crate replacing the trunk & a barrel as the base , & the rest of the area consist in g of more crate s , a  GARBAGE   pail  & a  TRASH  bag ( though the previous look was re - in state d for  Chris t m a s  Eve o n  SESAME   STREET  i n  1 9 7 8  ).

 OSCAR  share s h i s   TRASH CAN  w / several  P E T S .  O SCAR  ’ s diverse menagerie include s g oat s , a horse ,  elephant s  ( notably  FLUFFY  ) , a dolphin & , of course  his  favorite  pet  of all time ,  his  be love d extreme l y love d  pet   WORM  ,  SLIME Y .  OSCAR  ’ s niece ,  IRVINE  , as well as  his  girl friend  GRUNDGETTA  & several other  G R O U C H  friend s &  relatives  are frequent visitor s.

For the most part very few of the " n ice " resident s of  SESAME STREET  dare venture into the bowel s of the municipal  WASTE CONTAINER . How ever, key exceptions have occurred over the y ear s. While  BIG BIRD  was helping get ready for Mile s  ' arrival on  SESAME STREET , a lonely  Mr . Snuffleupagus  entered the  TRASH CAN  to play catch w /  FLUFFY  in  episode 2 1 22. Wanda Cousteau sought refuge in the  TRASH CAN  in  episode 3 1 6 1  as a hiding place from the hungry  Wolfgang the Seal. When Gina  is study in g to become a vet in  episode 3 7 8 7  she goes down into the  TRASH CAN  through t he back door & successfully remove s a splinter from  FLUFFY  ’ s foot w / some  elephant s  ' tweezer s. In a sea s on 1 9  insert,  Linda   sat  in the  TRASH CAN  when fill in g i n for a n "  Ask   OSCAR  " segment. In a sea s on 1 2  segment ( found i n  SESAME   STREET  : 4 0 Year s of  SUNNY  Day s  ) in which  OSCAR  &  BRUNO  go to the movie s, t h e various hum ans ( &  Barkley  ) arrive from inside the  TRASH CAN  a s w ell.

Also, the in side of  OSCAR ’ S   TRASH CAN  was depicted on - camera for the 1| 1  st time in  The Adventures of  Elmo  in  GROUCH  l and .  OSCAR  has a door in his   TRASH CAN  to take p e o p l e to  G R O U C H  land U S A.  Elmo  enter s i n search o f his   blanket  & l a t e r a rescue part y follow s suit :  BIG BIRD ,  Cookie Monster  ,  Gordon  ,  Maria  ,  Telly Monster  &  Zoe .  BIG BIRD  in particular has a hard time fitting in side the  TRASH CAN  ’ s narrow open in g.

The in side of  OSCAR ’ S   TRASH CAN  was later shown in  EPISODE 3 99 7 , though t his time , the inside was a lot more like the normal inside of a  TRASH CAN . In  EPISODE 0 7 99 ,  OSCAR  install ed an Olympic - size  swimming pool in  his   TRASH CAN .

The 1 9 8 9   book   W hat ’ s in  OSCAR  ’ s  TRASH   CAN  ? &amp; Other Good - Night Stories  mention s the swimming pool a s well as a n ice - skating rink ( which, on the  series  , has been used by  Peggy Fleming  ) & a bowl ing alley. Accord in g t o  SESAME   STREET  UN paved  other items include a piano, art gallery & hearth & a train set ( "  GROUCH  Central Station " ). A 1 9 7 0  article in  Look Maga zine  also not e s a pastry kitchen & a rococo stair case. In the  Elmo  ’ s World  in stall ment Episode 4 0 6 4 ,  Elmo  ’ s World  : "  F arm s  "  OSCAR  give s  Elmo  a tour of  his  farm (  with only t he  pa  i r  ’ s  eye s  visible ). Also, as establish ed o n various occasion s ,  OSCAR  ’ s  TRASH CAN  also h as a back door.

In addition to be in g able to store a wide variety of item s in his   TRASH CAN ,  OSCAR  has also put holes into t he bottom & can walk w / his legs out side of the bottom. He 1| 1  st walked like this in  episode 0 2 7 6. He has continue d to travel like this for many year s, though  he  has also frequently been seen outside of t he  TRASH CAN . Outside of the show  he has traveled w /  his  leg s stick in g out of the bottom in  Chris t m as  Eve on  SESAME   STREET , the  SESAME STREET   Live   stage show s  &  DO N ’ T  Eat the P i c t u r e s . This feature was also utilized in the o pen in g dance number i n  Julie on  SESAME   STREET , where a series of dancing  TRASH CANS  w / fuzzy  GROUCH  leg s dan ce d w / Julie Andrew s.

Apparently, in sea s on 4 6  ,  OSCAR  ’ S   TRASH CAN  change d location s for the 1| 1  st time in the  show  ’ s history , moving into a dumpster unit with a recycling bin in the low wall outside of  1 2 3   SESAME STREET  under  Elmo  ’ s  apart ment  ,  OSCAR  also has the ability t o pop from multiple  TRASH CAN  & recycling bin s around the  STREET . Design er  David Gallo  explain s :

" W e wanted to make him  much more central . So not only is  he  in t his fancy - schmancy recycling  TRASH  zone,  he  ' s now on the corner .  He  ' s pretty much dead - center so  he  can see what ' s going on . "

Behind the scene s
 OSCAR  ’ s  TRASH CAN  is also a favorite photo op for celebrities  & various other visit or s to the  set.

Inventory



 *  TRASH  :  SESAME STREET  ( 1 9 6 9  - present )
 * A stereo set : Episode 0 8 1 2  (  1 9 7 4  )
 * " T h e Queen  Muddy  " - a toy b oat : Episode 3 8 3 1  (  1 999  )
 * A t r an s i t ( bus ) system : Episode 0 5 6 0  (  1 9 7 5  )
 * A vacuum : Episode 0 8 7 1  (  1 9 7 5  )
 * Lighting : Episode 0 666  (  1 9 7 4  )
 * A pool : referenced on many occasions & in books , including "  What ’ s in  OSCAR  ’ s  TRASH   CAN  ? &amp; O the r Goo d - Night Stories  " (  1 99 1  ) ; it s splash is seen in  Lead A w ay !  (  1 996  )
 * A trampoline :  EPISODE 4 1 7 3  ( 2 00 8  ) ;  EPISODE 4 2 4 8  (  2 0 1 0  ) ;  EPISODE 4 3 1 5  (  2 0 1 3  )
 * A s t air case, a pig  pen , a play pen & China cabinet :  Episode 3049  (  1 99 3  )
 * A piano :  EPISODE 1 8 5 9  ( 1 9 8 3  ) & other s

Trivia

 * "  OSCAR  ’ s  TRASH CAN  " appear s as a property on the Monopoly  :  SESAME STREET   Edition  game board i n place of Vent n or Avenue.
 * An animatronic   OSCAR  in  his   TRASH CAN  has previously been featured out side the  SESAME STREET   General Store.
 * There is a foot pedal on the set piece which helps lift the lid u p, but apparently  CAROLL SPINNEY  has hardly used t h e foot pedal now , in 4 8 y ear s.