Finland has to be one of the most creative (or maybe just strange) countries in the world. Hey, these are the people who came up with wife-carrying contests, mosquito-swatting events, and mobile phone-throwing competitions.
Last year, our international friends created something even stranger – trash cans that talked. Seriously. Four talking garbage cans were placed in central Helsinki and became an immediate hit. Featuring the voices of Helinksi’s city leaders, artists, philosophers and comedians, these talking trash cans soon became a talking point themselves.
Locals and tourists alike were at first astounded and then enthralled by the fact every time someone put something into one of these trash cans, a detector in the bin activated a recording via a loudspeaker thanking them for helping keep Helsinki clean.
But no one ever knew which trash can would talk. The four talking trash cans, which (who?) looked the same as their older counterparts, were relocated weekly to keep everyone on their toes.
Don’t toss this story yet: more talking trash cans on the way. The new ones will not only be multilingual, speaking Finnish and Spanish along with Japanese, Polish, Russian, German, and English, but will also have some musical accompaniment.
Talk about positive reinforcement. How about dancing recycling bins?