My $2 thrift store camp stove had a hidden surprise inside

Picked up an old Coleman two burner at a garage sale near Flagstaff for two bucks. Looked beat up but figured I'd clean it. When I took the burner grates off, there was a dried out hot dog still sitting in the grease trap from like 1985. No joke, it was mummified. Anyone else find weird stuff inside used gear?

2 comments

2 Comments

patricia9051mo ago

Is it just me, or does finding stuff like that make you wonder what kind of person would leave a hot dog in there for decades? It takes the "budget find" idea and turns it into a whole mystery. You're right that we buy into these little snapshots of someone else's life. That old shopping list you found is probably more honest than half the stuff people post on social media these days. It's like inheriting a tiny piece of someone's ordinary day, not just their junk. Sometimes I think the real treasure in used gear is just getting a peek at how people really lived, even if it's through a mummified hot dog or a crumpled grocery list.

oliver5231mo ago

That mummified hot dog is basically a time capsule, man. It's funny how we buy old gear thinking we're getting a deal, but we end up inheriting someone else's forgotten camping memories. The whole thing reminds me of how we all leave little traces of ourselves behind in everyday stuff without even realizing it. Last year I bought a used cooler at a swap meet and found a handwritten shopping list from 1998 with things like "batteries, milk, and a loaf of bread" still stuck to the inside. It's like every piece of used equipment has its own little story we accidentally buy into, even if we don't know it yet.