Oscar's trash can



Flip Wilson : Are you  trying to tell me t h at down there,  you  ' ve got f lood light s , a tennis court & a swimming pool ?

 OSCAR THE GROUCH  : You ' d be surprise d what peo ple throw a way.

-The Flip Wilson Show

 OSCAR ’ S   TRASH CAN  is the private home of  OSCAR THE GROUCH  on SESAME STREET & i s situated between BIG BIRD ' s NEST & the stoop of 123 SESAME STREET. Just like Snoopy ' s dog house,  OSCAR ’ S   TRASH CAN  is actually considerably deeper than 1 would initially suspect. The seemingly bottomless domain also houses a variety of diverse  GROUCH  amenities & luxuries. 1 tradition is, whenever  OSCAR  sing s "  I LOVE TRASH  " , h is  signature  song  ,  he  is always seen singing at  his   TRASH CAN  , & nowhere else.

History
In the earliest season 1 episode s, the  TRASH CAN  was atop a big blue crate adjacent to a wooden crate a t right , w / a few more  TRASH CAN  s around ; later on in season 1 till 1 9 7 4 , the base & the crate s were replace d , the latter by a trunk , with a  TRASH  pail on top of another crate at left.

 OSCAR  shares his   TRASH CAN  w / several  P E T S .  OSCAR  ' s diverse menagerie include s goat s , a horse , elephant s ( notably  FLUFFY  ) , a dolphin & , of course  his  favorite  pet  of all time ,  his  be love d extreme ly love d  pet   WORM  ,  SLIMEY .  OSCAR  ' s niece,  IRVINE  , as well a s his  girl friend  GRUNDGETTA  & several other  GROUCH  friend s &  relatives  are frequent visitor s.

For the most part very few of the " nice " residents of SESAME STREET dare venture into the bowels of the municipal  WASTE CONTAINER . How ever, key exceptions have occurred over the year s. While BIG BIRD was helping get ready for Miles ' arrival on SESAME STREET, a lonely '''[http://muppet.wikia.com/wiki/Mr._Snuffleupagus Mr. Snuffleupagus ] entered the  TRASH CAN  to play catch w /  FLUFFY ''' in episode 2122. Wanda Cousteau sought refuge in the  TRASH CAN  in episode 3161 as a hiding place from the hungry Wolfgang the Seal. When Gina is studying to become a vet in episode 3787 she goes down into the  TRASH CAN  through t he back door & successfully removes a splinter from  FLUFFY  ’ s foot w / some elephants ' tweezer s. In a season 19 insert, Linda sat  in the  TRASH CAN  when filling i n for a n "  Ask   OSCAR  " segment. In a season 12 segment ( found in  SESAME   STREET  : 40 Years of  Sunny  Days ) in which  OSCAR  &  BRUNO  go to the movie s, t he various hum ans ( & Barkley ) arrive from inside the  TRASH CAN  a s w ell.

Also, the inside of  OSCAR ’ S   TRASH CAN  was depicted on - camera for the 1 st time in  The Adventures of  Elmo  in  GROUCH  l and .  OSCAR  has a door in his   TRASH CAN  to take peo ple to  GROUCH  land U S A. Elmo enter s in search of his blanket & later 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 inside the  TRASH CAN  ' s narrow opening.

The inside of  OSCAR ’ S   TRASH CAN  was later shown in  EPISODE 3997 , 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 1989 book   W hat ’ s i n  OSCAR  ’ s  TRASH   CAN  ? &amp; Other Good - Night Stories  mentions 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. According t o  SESAME   STREET  Unpaved other items include a piano, art gallery & hearth & a train s et ( "  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  gives Elmo a tour of his  farm (  with only t he pa ir  ’ s eyes visible ). Also, as establish ed o n various occasion s ,  OSCAR  ’ s  TRASH CAN  also h as a back door.

In addition to being able to store a wide variety of items 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 st walked like this in episode 0276. 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  legs sticking out of the bottom in Christ mas Eve on  SESAME   STREET , the  SESAME STREET  Live stage show s &  DON ’ T  Eat the P i c t u r e s. This feature was also utilized in the opening dance number in Julie on  SESAME   STREET , where a series of dancing  TRASH CANS  w / fuzzy  GROUCH  leg s dan ce d w / Julie Andrews.

Apparently, in sea s on 4 6 ,  OSCAR ’ S   TRASH CAN  change d location s for the 1 st time in the  show  ’ s history , moving into a dumpster unit with a recycling bin in the low wall outside of 123 SESAME STREET under Elmo ’ s apart ment ,  OSCAR  also has the ability to 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 . "

T V / M o vie s / Special s

 *  SESAME STREET  ( 1 9 69 - present )


 *  EPISODE 000 1  ( 1969 )
 *  EPISODE 0054  ( 19 70 )
 *  EPISODE 0518  ( 19 73 )
 *  EPISODE 0792  ( 19 75 )
 *  EPISODE 0799  ( 19 75 )
 *  EPISODE 1755  ( 19 83 )
 *  EPISODE 1859  ( 19 83 )
 *  EPISODE 2107  ( 19 85 )
 *  EPISODE 2159  ( 19 86 )
 *  EPISODE 2269  ( 19 87 )
 *  EPISODE 2399  ( 19 88 )
 *  EPISODE 2402  ( 19 88 )
 *  EPISODE 2406  ( 19 88 )
 *  EPISODE 2538  ( 19 89 )
 *  EPISODE 2571  ( 19 89 )
 *  EPISODE 2579  ( 19 89 )
 *  EPISODE 2630  ( 19 89 )
 *  EPISODE 2648  ( 19 89 )
 *  EPISODE 2746  ( 199 0 )
 *  EPISODE 2776  ( 199 0 )
 *  EPISODE 2895  ( 199 1 )
 *  EPISODE 2899  ( 199 1 )
 *  EPISODE 3023  ( 1 992 )
 *  EPISODE 3085  ( 1 993 )
 *  EPISODE 3119  ( 1 993 )
 *  EPISODE 3120  ( 1 993 )
 *  EPISODE 3141  ( 1 993 )
 *  EPISODE 3152  ( 1 993 )
 *  EPISODE 3164  ( 1 993 )
 *  EPISODE 3181  ( 1 994 )
 *  EPISODE 3185  ( 1 994 )
 *  EPISODE 3200  ( 1 994 )
 *  EPISODE 3271  ( 1 99 4 )
 *  EPISODE 3271  ( 1 99 4 )
 *  EPISODE 3297  ( 1 99 4 )
 *  EPISODE 33 0 7  ( 1 99 5 )
 *  EPISODE 33 8 3  ( 1 99 5 )
 *  EPISODE 33 8 4  ( 1 99 5 )
 *  EPISODE 3 4 5 9  ( 1 99 6 )
 *  EPISODE 3 4 6 0  ( 1 99 6 )
 *  EPISODE 3 4 8 0  ( 1 99 6 )
 *  EPISODE 3 4 8 2  ( 1 99 6 )
 *  EPISODE 3 4 8 3  ( 1 99 6 )
 *  EPISODE 3 4 8 6  ( 1 99 6 )
 *  EPISODE 3 5 1 9  ( 1 99 6 )
 *  EPISODE 3 5 22  ( 1 99 6 )
 *  EPISODE 3 5 2 3  ( 1 99 6 )
 *  EPISODE 3 5 4 6  ( 1 99 6 )
 *  EPISODE 3 6 0 9  ( 1 99 7 )
 *  EPISODE 3 6 1 2  ( 1 99 7 )
 *  EPISODE 3 6 4 0  ( 1 99 7 )
 *  EPISODE 3 6 8 0  ( 1 99 7 )
 *  EPISODE 3 6 9 6  ( 1 99 6 )
 *  EPISODE 3 6 9 7  ( 1 99 6 )
 *  EPISODE 3 6 9 8  ( 1 99 6 )
 *  EPISODE 3 7 0 1  ( 1 99 6 )
 *  EPISODE 3 7 1 3  ( 1 99 6 )
 *  EPISODE 3 7 44  ( 1 99 6 )
 *  EPISODE 3 7 5 1  ( 1 99 8 )
 *  EPISODE 3 7 5 8  ( 1 99 8 )
 *  EPISODE 3 7 6 3  ( 1 99 8 )
 *  EPISODE 3 7 8 2  ( 1 99 8 )
 *  EPISODE 3 7 85  ( 1 99 8 )
 *  EPISODE 3 8 11  ( 1 99 8 )
 *  EPISODE 3 8 1 5  ( 1 998 )
 *  EPISODE 3 8 3 8  ( 1 999 )
 *  EPISODE 3 8 66  ( 2 000 )
 *  EPISODE 3 8 9 1  ( 2 000 )
 *  EPISODE 3 8 99  ( 2 000 )
 *  EPISODE 3 9 0 2  ( 2 000 )
 *  EPISODE 3 9 5 9  ( 2 00 1 )
 *  EPISODE 3 99 7  ( 2 00 2 )
 *  EPISODE 4 0 4 1  ( 2 00 3 )
 *  EPISODE 4 0 9 4  ( 2 00 5 )
 *  EPISODE 4 1 0 4  ( 200 5 )
 *  EPISODE 4 11 8  ( 2 00 6 )
 *  EPISODE 4 1 2 7  ( 2 00 6 )
 *  EPISODE 4 1 3 4  ( 2 00 6 )
 *  EPISODE 4 1 4 3  ( 2 00 7 )
 *  EPISODE 4 1 5 1  ( 2 00 7 )
 *  EPISODE 4 1 6 0  ( 2 00 7 )
 *  EPISODE 4 1 7 3  ( 2 00 8 )
 *  EPISODE 4 2 0 3  ( 2 00 9 )
 *  EPISODE 4 2 3 6  ( 2 0 1 0 )
 *  EPISODE 4 2 3 7  ( 2 0 1 0 )
 *  EPISODE 4 2 4 8  ( 2 0 1 0 )
 *  EPISODE 4 2 5 3  ( 2 0 11 )
 *  EPISODE 4 2 6 0  ( 2 0 11 )
 *  EPISODE 4 2 99  ( 2 0 1 2 )
 *  EPISODE 4 3 1 5  ( 2 0 1 3 )
 *  EPISODE 4 5 1 4  ( 2 0 1 5 )
 *  EPISODE 4 5 1 6  ( 2 0 1 5 )
 *  EPISODE 4 5 1 7  ( 2 0 1 5 )
 * Christ mas Eve on  SESAME   STREET  ( 1 9 7 8 )
 * A Special  SESAME   STREET  Christ mas ( 1978 )
 * A Walking Tour of  SESAME   STREET  ( 1979 )
 * The Great Muppet Caper ( 1 98 1 )
 * Follow T h at  BIRD  ( 1 9 8 5 )
 * Learn ing About Letter s ( 1 9 8 6 )
 * The Muppets : A Celebration of 30 Years ( 1 9 8 6 )
 * Getting Ready to Read ( 1 98 6 )
 * Getting Ready f o r School ( 1 9 8 7 )
 * A Muppet Family Christ mas ( 1 9 8 7 )
 *  SESAME   STREET  : 2 0 & S till  Count  i n g ( 1 98 9 )
 *  BIG   BIRD  ’ s Birth day or Let  Me  Eat Cake ( 1 99 1 )
 *  SESAME   STREET  Jam : A Music al Celebration ( 1 9 9 3 )
 *  SESAME   STREET  All - Star Birth day : Star s &  STREET  F or ever ( 1 99 4 )
 *  Elmo  Save s Christ mas ( 1 99 6 )
 *  BIG   BIRD  S ing s ! ( 1 99 6 )
 * Do t he Alphabet ( 1 99 6 )
 * Learn i ng t o Share ( 1 99 6 )
 *  Elmo  palooza ( 1 99 8 )
 *  The Adventure s of  Elmo  in  GROUCH  land  ( 1 999 )
 * The  STREET  We Live On ( 2 00 5 )
 *  Elmo  ’ s Chris t mas  Count  down ( 2 00 7 )
 * The Muppets : Operation STS ( Save the Swamp )

Book s

 * " Oskar Kraut und Rübengeschichten  " ( 1 9 7 3 )
 * "  OSCAR  ’ s B ook " ( 1 9 7 5 )
 * " How t o B e a  GROUCH  " ( 1 9 7 6 )
 * "  O SCAR  -  T HE  -  GROUCH  ’ s Alphabet o f  TRASH  " ( 1 9 77 )
 * " A Day in the Life o f  OSCAR THE GROUCH  " ( 1 9 8 1 )
 * "  OSCAR  ’ s  ROTTEN  Birth day " ( 1 9 8 1 )
 * " P ut &amp; Play  YUCCHY  Book  " ( 1 9 8 1 )
 * "  Prairie   Dawn  ’ s U p s i d e - Down Poem " ( 1 9 8 1 )
 * " T h e Missing  TRASH  Hunt  " ( 1 9 8 2 )
 * " T he City  WORM  &amp; t h e Country  WORM  " ( 1 9 8 3 )
 * "  OSCAR  ' s Bridge to Reading ( 1 9 8 5 )
 * " Gold i locks & the 3  GROUCHES  " ( 1987 )
 * "  OSCAR  ’ s Silly A B C ' s & O the r Stories " ( 1 9 8 7 )
 * " W h en  OSCAR  W a s a Lit t l e  GROUCH  " ( 1 9 8 9 )
 * "  OSCAR  ' s  GROUCHY  Sound s " ( 1 99 0 )
 * " A  GROUCH  ’ s C h r i s t mas  " ( 1 99 0 )
 * " W hat ’ s i n  OSCAR  ' s  TRASH   CAN  ? &amp; Other G oo d - Night Stories  " ( 1 99 1 )
 * "  OSCAR  ' s  GROUCH Y  Day " ( 1 99 1 )
 * "  OSCAR  ' s New Neigh bor " ( 1 99 2 )
 * " Fr om  TRASH  t o Treasure  " ( 1 99 3 )
 * "  MY  Name I s  OSCAR THE GROUCH  " ( 1 99 4 )
 * "  OSCAR  ’ s  GROUCH  Jambor ee " ( 1 99 4 )
 * " Moth er  GROUCH  Nursery Rhyme s  " ( 1 99 5 )
 * "  GROUCHES  o n P a r a de " ( 1 99 5 )
 * "  S C R A M  !  DON ' T  B o t h e r  M E  ! " ( 1 99 8 )
 * "  O SCAR  ! " ( 1 999 )
 * "  GROUCH  land Surprise s " ( 1 999 )
 * " W her e ’ s  MY  Smelly Shoe ?  " ( 1 999 )
 * " A  V ERY   GROUCHY  Christ mas !  " ( 2 000 )
 * " Clap Y o u r Han d s ! " ( 2 000 )
 * " What ’ s in  OSCAR  ’ s  TRASH   CAN  ?  " ( 2 00 2 )
 * " Oskar hat Geburtstag  " ( 2 00 2 )
 * "  OSCAR  ’ s Stinky Birth day " ( 200 3 )
 * "  OSCAR  ’ s  TRASH CAN  T o ur " ( 2 00 7 )
 * "  B o o !  Scram  ! Happ y Hallo ween  " ( 2008 )
 * "  YUCCH Y  !  YUCCHY  ! " ( 2 00 8 )
 * " T he 3 Little  GROUCHES  " ( 2 00 8 )
 * "  GROUCHES  Are  GREEN  " ( 2 0 11 )
 * "  GROUCHY  H u g s " ( 2 0 1 2 )

SESAME STREET Live

 * Around t he World ( 19 83 )
 *  BIG   BIRD  & t he ABC s ( 19 87 )
 *  BIG   BIRD  ’ s  SESAME   STREET  S tory ( 1 988 )
 * Silly Dancing ( 1 989 )
 * Sleeping  BIRDIE  ( 1990 )
 * Let ' s P lay Sch ool ( 1 99 0 )
 * When I Grow U p ( 1993 / 1994 ; 1995 / 1996 )
 * Let ' s B e Friend s ( 1 99 4 )
 *  BIG   BIRD  ' s  SUNNY  Day Camp Out ( 1 999 )
 * Everyone Make s Music ( 2 00 1 )
 * Out of This World ( 2 00 3 )
 * 1 - 2 - 3 I m a g i n e ! ( 1 99 6 )
 *  Super   Grover  ! Read y for Action ( 200 5 )
 * When  Elmo  Grow s Up ( 200 7 )
 *  Elmo  ' s  GREEN  T h um b ( 2 00 8 )
 *  Elmo  ' s Super H ero e s ! ( 2 0 1 0 )

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

Inventory

 *  TRASH  :  SESAME STREET  ( 1969 - present )
 * A stereo set : Episode 0 8 1 2 ( 1 9 7 4 )
 * " T he Queen  Muddy  " - a toy b oat : Episode 38 3 1 ( 1 999 )
 * A tran s i t ( bus ) system : Episode 0560 ( 1 9 7 5 )
 * A vacuum : Episode 0 871 ( 197 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; Oth e r Goo d - Night Stories  " ( 1 99 1 ) ; its 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 ) ( repeat of  EPISODE 4 1 7 3  ( 2 00 8 ) ) ;  EPISODE 4 3 1 5  ( 2 0 13 ) ( repeat of  EPISODE 4 1 7 3  ( 2 00 8 ) )
 * A s t air case, a pig pen , a play pen & China cabinet : Episode 3049 ( 1 99 3 )
 * A piano :  EPISODE 18 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 Ventnor Avenue.
 * An animatronic   OSCAR  in  his   TRASH CAN  has previously been featured outside 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 6 y ear s.