+kipper01 Posted January 30, 2012 Posted January 30, 2012 Shampoo and lotion...That stuff freezes up north and leaves the cache a mess. Seriously shampoo? Quote
+GeoCacheKat Posted February 22, 2012 Posted February 22, 2012 Yesterday I opened a micro to find a sharp shard of glass hidden in with the log strip. I threw it away, of course. A sharp shard of glass? That is aweful. It was a micro! The likelihood of some random muggle finding and putting the glass in is slim... but it is hard for me to think that another geocacher would do something that could potentially harm another geocacher. Whether it's a muggle or a cacher... it is sad. Quote
+Turtle_Sask Posted February 22, 2012 Posted February 22, 2012 a opened shower cap found in my most recent cache, who puts that in there??? Quote
+DontPanic67 Posted February 22, 2012 Posted February 22, 2012 I found mace once. That was cool. Kinda wanted to keep it. Mace? I would have kept it too! Quote
+Fianccetto Posted February 22, 2012 Posted February 22, 2012 Found little glass bottles of cheap purfume now and again. Mr F was complaining that one of them ended up in his briefcase and then broke and is stinking out his case (and car). So now I just throw them away. (Also found a glass stink bomb but not sure if that was a comment on the cache rather than swag!) Quote
+OZ2CPU Posted February 22, 2012 Posted February 22, 2012 when you find trash inside a cache, why dont you just take it out, and throw it into a trachcan.. they exist if you look long enought, I am most lucky to find trashcans at gasstations, rather empty than full of trash.. You can get good swag for free, check a recycle station, where people dump usefull stuff they just dont want them self, I often find whole bags of kids toys, most is actually in good shape, I quickly gather the best and smallest items that fit in caches. Quote
+Totem Clan Posted February 22, 2012 Posted February 22, 2012 I found a or two week old half eaten Big Mac once. Quote
+Alkhalikoi Posted February 22, 2012 Posted February 22, 2012 I found a or two week old half eaten Big Mac once. That's easily within its shelf-life. Quote
+zack_black Posted February 24, 2012 Posted February 24, 2012 Wood chips (the type you spread over your flower garden or around trees) that were brought to the cache site (because there were no wood chips anywhere near GZ) a large rock that took up most of the cache space and a pair of wet children's socks.... ....all in one cache. I find batteries all the time - I don't understand why someone would leave batteries (or half of the other junk I find) Quote
+niraD Posted February 24, 2012 Posted February 24, 2012 I find batteries all the time - I don't understand why someone would leave batteries (or half of the other junk I find) I've heard of others gladly trading for batteries when the ones in their GPSr/flashlight/whatever died. Quote
+Kenkeknem Sleuth Posted February 24, 2012 Posted February 24, 2012 Spring time in Alberta can be very wet. We found a coffee can in the wet wilderness with a broken lid. In the cache there was a package of bath salts that had been soaked as the cache was 1/4 full of water all the items were rusty and disgusting. Most of the time I try and clean a cache up and put better swag in the container, but when the container is broken like that we just cleaned up what we could and put all the plastic things back then took everything that was corroded and rusty with us to toss in the trash. Finding bath salts has caused us to now make sure there are WetOnes in our Geopack as it made cleaning our hands a breeze. Quote
+Thrak Posted February 24, 2012 Posted February 24, 2012 In addition to the stupid business cards and religious tracts I've found 3 caches with really poorly chosen swag in them. Live .30-30 shell Live .22 shell Live .32 shell WHAT is up with idiots who put live ammo into caches? Quote
+bflentje Posted February 24, 2012 Posted February 24, 2012 In addition to the stupid business cards and religious tracts I've found 3 caches with really poorly chosen swag in them. Live .30-30 shell Live .22 shell Live .32 shell WHAT is up with idiots who put live ammo into caches? Stupid and idiot? I thought name calling was a forum violation. Please refer to them as misguided, similar to how I call complainers of religious tracts and business cards misguided. Quote
+Sky King 36 Posted February 24, 2012 Posted February 24, 2012 (edited) Stupid and idiot? I thought name calling was a forum violation. Please refer to them as misguided, similar to how I call complainers of religious tracts and business cards misguided. It seems to me that once you have resorted to putting live ammunition in a cache, "idiot" is in play. And have you seen 30-30 prices lately! Edited February 24, 2012 by Sky King 36 Quote
I! Posted February 24, 2012 Posted February 24, 2012 (edited) Stupid and idiot? I thought name calling was a forum violation. Please refer to them as misguided, similar to how I call complainers of religious tracts and business cards misguided. Weapons, religion and the ToU -- this thread's a real winner. Pass the popcorn! Worst swag I've encountered? Just worthless stuff, like used football game tickets; nothing ****ING STUPIDLY DANGEROUS, thankfully. EDIT: seems live ammo's not necessarily ****ing stupidly dangerous after all, at least according to the first and only randomly-selected Google hit that I could be bothered to read. You learn something new every day ... Edited February 24, 2012 by I! Quote
+niraD Posted February 24, 2012 Posted February 24, 2012 EDIT: seems live ammo's not necessarily ****ing stupidly dangerous after all, at least according to the first and only randomly-selected Google hit that I could be bothered to read. You learn something new every day ...Yeah, it's generally designed to be stable and inert until chambered and fired. Quote
+DragonsWest Posted March 5, 2012 Posted March 5, 2012 Knives. I take knives - not suitable things for kids to find. Gum. Yuck. Usually it will draw moisture out of the air and become slimy. Attracts ants (as if they don't already appreciate a nice little shelter. Business cards. Please -- STOP leaving them! Stickers. They fare about as badly as gum. Plus they get torn up and battered with each visit. Golf balls. Please -- STOP leaving them! Quote
+AutisticMajor Posted October 31, 2012 Posted October 31, 2012 Pennies. Most of the local caches in my locality that aren't film cans get water in them often. Pennies corrode and soon the cache is filled with rusty water. Like this one: Wet and rusty Quote
+Manville Possum Posted October 31, 2012 Posted October 31, 2012 EDIT: seems live ammo's not necessarily ****ing stupidly dangerous after all, at least according to the first and only randomly-selected Google hit that I could be bothered to read. You learn something new every day ...Yeah, it's generally designed to be stable and inert until chambered and fired. I see no danger in ammo. My son and I enjoy reloading it. All of my hunting rounds are hand loads, factory ammo just don't meet my standards. But I understand the no ammo in geocaches rule, and Laws differ in many States concerning ammo. The worst swag I ever found in one of my geocaches was a big wad of chewing tobacco. Nasty! Quote
Pontoffel Pock Posted October 31, 2012 Posted October 31, 2012 (edited) I don't understand why someone would leave batteries (or half of the other junk I find) Really? I often have left NEW sealed 4 packs of AAs. I thought it was GOOD swag, I know I would grab 'em if I found them. Honestly, let me know- I will spend my money on other stuff if others feel this is a bad trade item. Edited October 31, 2012 by Pontoffel Pock Quote
+hzoi Posted October 31, 2012 Posted October 31, 2012 I don't pay much attention to swag. I don't have kids, and I tend to view trade items as the pile of stuff I have to sift through to find the logbook and/or trackables. As long as swag is kept dry and to a reasonable volume, I ignore it. The worst swag to me is anything that keeps the container from closing properly, or collects water and becomes a soggy, moldy (or rotting or rusty) mess. I've found more than one cache out there that looks like the home game for that hoarders reality show, where people just kept jamming junk in there, to the point where the container broke because it couldn't contain it all. Quote
+fbingha Posted October 31, 2012 Posted October 31, 2012 I don't understand why someone would leave batteries (or half of the other junk I find) Really? I often have left NEW sealed 4 packs of AAs. I thought it was GOOD swag, I know I would grab 'em if I found them. Honestly, let me know- I will spend my money on other stuff if others feel this is a bad trade item. I think the issue is with opened, used batteries. New batteries sound great, if you are sure the container is water tight. Quote
+K13 Posted October 31, 2012 Posted October 31, 2012 Found one a while back with a pair of children's size Cartoon underwear (Superman or spongebob, I think) The bad thing was several other cachers had mentioned them having been in the cache for a while! Sunflower seeds, candy, 'adult' items, various trash items. I remove this type of junk. Sometimes leaving nothing is trading up. Quote
Andronicus Posted October 31, 2012 Posted October 31, 2012 #1 A very corroded 410 shotgun shell. Do you have any idea how difficult it is to get rid of those? ... A farmers field and a .22 work great. Worst swag: Dog biscut Condom (in the first cache I ever found, and my young kids were with me) Acorn (under whatever kind of tree makes acorns (I am from Alberta, we don't have acorns here, so forgive my ignorance)) Small bouncy ball (my kids always want to trade for those, but we have a baby, so they are banned from our house, then I have to argue with the kids about it, then they are sad). then all that rotting stuff you often find. Quote
+K13 Posted November 2, 2012 Posted November 2, 2012 A few razor blades were in one a while back, Disposed of them & didn't mention it in log, no glory to whoever put them in the cache. Lucky I wasn't caching at night. Quote
+The_Incredibles_ Posted November 3, 2012 Posted November 3, 2012 Condoms I had a tonne of condoms left over from the sex ed sessions held in my classroom. I thought - hey great swag. But then I thought - if you trust birth control left in a cache, you deserve what you get. So now what do I do with them? Poke holes in them and put them in a "family friendly" cache. Quote
+The_Incredibles_ Posted November 3, 2012 Posted November 3, 2012 Worst swag we can remember: empty gum package, rocks, sticks, doll with head missing, broken bits of plastic, pop can tab, soggy business cards+++++, dog toy with white fuzzy mold on it. I've found alot of crap and usually I throw it out. Can't understand how people can find a cache with garbage in it and just sign the log and close the lid again. Quote
+fbingha Posted November 27, 2012 Posted November 27, 2012 Why do people admit to it in logs? "left puzzle piece" "left ticket stub" I believe some people think that leaving this junk is proper playing of the game. Quote
+Roman! Posted November 27, 2012 Posted November 27, 2012 Last week I found a single cigarette in a cache, having quit 2 1/2 years ago I was scared to take it but I did, then tossed it in the garbage. Quote
+dameetro Posted November 27, 2012 Posted November 27, 2012 (edited) I found some Chicken Poop flavored lip balm in an ammo can last year. I didn't try it. But I'm glad they used free range chickens. I'd hate to think some poor chicken spent his life all squished up in a cage pooping out that lip balm just to make my lips all smooth and soft. Edited November 27, 2012 by dameetro Quote
ving Posted November 27, 2012 Posted November 27, 2012 for all the above reasons i pay no attention to swag and just sign the log and go. plastic coins (where can you spend that?) bottle caps (and i do what with them?) stickers (usually soggy) etc... I guess i can move them on but i have no reason for wanting to keep them. I once put enough money for a good cup of coffee as an encouragement to find a cache. Quote
+Ma & Pa Posted November 27, 2012 Posted November 27, 2012 A couple of decongestion pills Balloons. (must be a party cache) Candy Quote
+angel77ra Posted November 27, 2012 Posted November 27, 2012 Just recently I found a swollen beer can in a cache , yuck! Also found a container of synthetic marijauna which smelled nasty so I disposed of the contents, removed the label of two pandas making " panda love" and used the container for a new cache. I assume a lot of the nasty swag is left by stoner kids or drunk hunters that stumble on the caches. Quote
+dameetro Posted November 27, 2012 Posted November 27, 2012 I found an unwrapped, hopefully unused jimmy hat in a cache last month. Quote
+fbingha Posted November 30, 2012 Posted November 30, 2012 . Signed it and left a pedal from a flower Why, oh why? Couldn't even leave a petal! Quote
DannyCaffeine Posted December 5, 2012 Posted December 5, 2012 Pee. I once opened a cache and the bag with the logbook had been peed in and the pens were floating. It was pretty gross. Quote
+ThreeTrees Posted December 5, 2012 Posted December 5, 2012 I found an old jar of Thyme... Just trying to wrap my head around the thought process for bringing this along. Quote
+Notmykl Posted December 8, 2012 Posted December 8, 2012 Was there thyme in the bottle or was it used to hold something else? Quote
+The_Incredibles_ Posted December 8, 2012 Posted December 8, 2012 (edited) Was there thyme in the bottle or was it used to hold something else? Reminds me of a cache I found the other day. It had a screw-top container and was hidden under a log. It was raining and dark and the reception was horrible so I was really pleased when I found it. When I went to grab, I saw what looked like a lighter inside. I was all ready to remove the lighter (how moronic!) when I noticed some other strange items in the cache. Not only was there no logbook (also shameful!), but there was a little plastic bag with what looked like 2 rocks in it and some sort of pipe. The things people think are swag. A few minutes later, I found an ammo can on the other side of the log. This one had better swag and a logbook, thank goodness. Obviously there was some sort of proximity problem. Edited December 8, 2012 by The_Incredibles_ Quote
+uxorious Posted December 8, 2012 Posted December 8, 2012 Small bouncy ball (my kids always want to trade for those, but we have a baby, so they are banned from our house, then I have to argue with the kids about it, then they are sad). Not sure I understand this as "bad swag". A new clean bouncy ball should be good swag. There are plenty of houses where kids could have it and might like it. Also, acorns come from oak trees. Quote
RedShoesGirl Posted December 8, 2012 Posted December 8, 2012 Small bouncy ball (my kids always want to trade for those, but we have a baby, so they are banned from our house, then I have to argue with the kids about it, then they are sad). Not sure I understand this as "bad swag". A new clean bouncy ball should be good swag. There are plenty of houses where kids could have it and might like it. i have to agree with you. a clean bouncy ball is fun. i generally put all swag i leave in zip baggies so even things like bouncy balls stay clean. Quote
Andronicus Posted December 8, 2012 Posted December 8, 2012 Small bouncy ball (my kids always want to trade for those, but we have a baby, so they are banned from our house, then I have to argue with the kids about it, then they are sad). Not sure I understand this as "bad swag". A new clean bouncy ball should be good swag. There are plenty of houses where kids could have it and might like it. i have to agree with you. a clean bouncy ball is fun. i generally put all swag i leave in zip baggies so even things like bouncy balls stay clean. While a clean bouncy ball may be fun, it is a serious safety hazard for small children (who havn't learned not to put things in their mouth yet). In another year, I will not have kids in that age catagory anymore, and then I will start thinking they are great swag. But for now, they are really anoying. Quote
+uxorious Posted December 8, 2012 Posted December 8, 2012 Small bouncy ball (my kids always want to trade for those, but we have a baby, so they are banned from our house, then I have to argue with the kids about it, then they are sad). Not sure I understand this as "bad swag". A new clean bouncy ball should be good swag. There are plenty of houses where kids could have it and might like it. i have to agree with you. a clean bouncy ball is fun. i generally put all swag i leave in zip baggies so even things like bouncy balls stay clean. While a clean bouncy ball may be fun, it is a serious safety hazard for small children (who havn't learned not to put things in their mouth yet). In another year, I will not have kids in that age catagory anymore, and then I will start thinking they are great swag. But for now, they are really anoying. They may be annoying to you, but to list something as bad swag because you don't want it borders on being a little self centered. I know it is hard to get our ideas across in the forums. Very easy to be misunderstood. However, you even admit you may find them great swag later, but you say they are bad swag now. Perhaps the problem is I took this thread to mean bad swag, as in stuff that shouldn't be in a cache. You take it as bad swag is stuff you don't want in a cache. Not really the same thing at all. Quote
Andronicus Posted December 10, 2012 Posted December 10, 2012 Small bouncy ball (my kids always want to trade for those, but we have a baby, so they are banned from our house, then I have to argue with the kids about it, then they are sad). Not sure I understand this as "bad swag". A new clean bouncy ball should be good swag. There are plenty of houses where kids could have it and might like it. i have to agree with you. a clean bouncy ball is fun. i generally put all swag i leave in zip baggies so even things like bouncy balls stay clean. While a clean bouncy ball may be fun, it is a serious safety hazard for small children (who havn't learned not to put things in their mouth yet). In another year, I will not have kids in that age catagory anymore, and then I will start thinking they are great swag. But for now, they are really anoying. They may be annoying to you, but to list something as bad swag because you don't want it borders on being a little self centered. I know it is hard to get our ideas across in the forums. Very easy to be misunderstood. However, you even admit you may find them great swag later, but you say they are bad swag now. Perhaps the problem is I took this thread to mean bad swag, as in stuff that shouldn't be in a cache. You take it as bad swag is stuff you don't want in a cache. Not really the same thing at all. Well I think the thread is kind of about both. In addition to the many comments about things that should not be in caches, I pulled up some quotes about preferences . ... Balloons. (must be a party cache) ... … plastic coins (where can you spend that?) bottle caps (and i do what with them?) … ... Golf balls. Please -- STOP leaving them! Quote
+Totem Clan Posted December 10, 2012 Posted December 10, 2012 Small bouncy ball (my kids always want to trade for those, but we have a baby, so they are banned from our house, then I have to argue with the kids about it, then they are sad). Not sure I understand this as "bad swag". A new clean bouncy ball should be good swag. There are plenty of houses where kids could have it and might like it. i have to agree with you. a clean bouncy ball is fun. i generally put all swag i leave in zip baggies so even things like bouncy balls stay clean. While a clean bouncy ball may be fun, it is a serious safety hazard for small children (who havn't learned not to put things in their mouth yet). In another year, I will not have kids in that age catagory anymore, and then I will start thinking they are great swag. But for now, they are really anoying. They may be annoying to you, but to list something as bad swag because you don't want it borders on being a little self centered. I know it is hard to get our ideas across in the forums. Very easy to be misunderstood. However, you even admit you may find them great swag later, but you say they are bad swag now. Perhaps the problem is I took this thread to mean bad swag, as in stuff that shouldn't be in a cache. You take it as bad swag is stuff you don't want in a cache. Not really the same thing at all. Well I think the thread is kind of about both. In addition to the many comments about things that should not be in caches, I pulled up some quotes about preferences . ... Balloons. (must be a party cache) ... … plastic coins (where can you spend that?) bottle caps (and i do what with them?) … ... Golf balls. Please -- STOP leaving them! Well by that very broad definition all swag is bad swag because I don't trade swag ever, so it's all in my way cluttering my caches. Quote
Andronicus Posted December 10, 2012 Posted December 10, 2012 I just feel the need to stick up for golf balls. I like to use a few golfballs when hunting for benchmarks. I drop them at verious locatoins that the GPS zeros out. I find that helpful to try to confime my search to a relevent area. So, I don't think they are bad swag. Quote
RedShoesGirl Posted December 11, 2012 Posted December 11, 2012 ...snipped While a clean bouncy ball may be fun, it is a serious safety hazard for small children (who havn't learned not to put things in their mouth yet). In another year, I will not have kids in that age catagory anymore, and then I will start thinking they are great swag. But for now, they are really anoying. it seems those small children wouldn't be opening and checking out the swag in a cache by themselves. it's the parent's responsibility to make sure their child doesn't put a baggie with a bouncy ball in their mouth. Quote
+Brian~! Posted December 13, 2012 Posted December 13, 2012 A teddy bear. With mould on it. Forgot to mention the random computer cables that kept the cache open to the elements and allowed the teddy bear to go mouldy. And cigarettes. I just threw those away. Quote
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