Ridiculous Wastes of Money on Celebrity Trash

I thought that today would be as good a day as any to revisit the Trash (yes, with a capital “t”) that people seem too willing to buy–but only if it comes from someone whose major contribution to society is being on TV too much.

Let me take you back to a 2004 article from People magazine titled: Britney’s Used Chewing Gum Sold on eBay(written by Stephen M. Silverman).  After the article quotes a $14,000 bid on eBay for a piece of gum, they quote another seller (who is asking slightly less for his Trash):

Brian Johnson, 25, of Mississauga, Ontario, boasting that “You could take a DNA test to prove this is the real deal,” put a $1,000 on his wad and obtained the gum while working backstage at a Toronto concert in April.

“While I was holding the camera, I saw her spit it out,” Johnson said. “I thought it would be funny to bring the gum home and show some of my friends. They got a big laugh out of it.”

Also for sale from Spears’s litter-strewn path: Kleenex and cigarette butts, an allegedly used bath towel and a bar of soap. Its seller calls that last set “priceless.”

You will note that I don’t just throw the word “trash” around lightly.  I say “junk” and “garbage” a lot, but (to me, at least) trash is useless–and you all know what sorts of lengths I go to in order to get all the use an item has to give…

What makes me laugh is that dumpster diving is “gross,” but apparently used chewing gum is totally worth the money?