The Dumpster Diving Question: 10 Strangers Answer on Personal Taste and Survival

Sometimes you write conversation card questions that make people pause and think deeply about the answer. Other times you write questions that disgust people and they immediately refuse to answer. The dumpster diving question, a gem in our Are You Sitting Down? Classic Pack, is one of these questions.

Instead of revising the question, or removing it from our card pack entirely, we decided to ask a broader, more random audience for their thoughts. Once again, we tapped into the cheapo survey tool and asked 10 strangers the questions from the controversial dumpster card.The answers we got back were honest, sometimes confusing, and occasionally funny. Here's what they told us.

If you had to survive on dumpster diving, which restaurant would you choose?

The lead question got people thinking about their favorite restaurants, but also food waste and groups. Here is what they said:

• "Definitely Olive Garden. Endless pasta and breadsticks means they throw out so much food."
• "I'd go with Texas Roadhouse. Good meat gets tossed every night."
  "Panera."
• "Trader Joe's packaged foods"
• "Some Italian restaurant. That food holds up well."
• "Erewhon because rich people throw away a lot of stuff."
• "Any Greek restaurant."
• "Gasoline."
• "Somewhere that doesn't serve meat."
• "I'd look for somewhere that serves lots of fruits and veggies." 
• "I would not choose any."

The responses split into a few camps. First, there were the practical people who chose places known for throwing out perfectly good food. Trader Joe's and Erewhon are strategic choices because they likely discard a lot of perfectly good items for safety reasons.

Then there were the people who stuck with their restaurant loyalties. Olive Garden, Texas Roadhouse, and Panera all got mentioned. These people weren't overthinking it,  they just picked places they already like eating from, which we respect. Keep it simple.The presumed vegetarians made their values clear, with two people specifically hunting for plant-based food when diving for scraps. It's fascinating that dietary ethics persisted even in a sad and desperate scenario like dumpster diving.

And then there was the "Gasoline" answer. We're not entirely sure what this means, but I assume they meant gas station. Or is this a hip new restaurant we don't know about? Or do they simply hate paying the price per gallon at the pump? We will never know.

Which menu item are you most excited about?

The follow-up question asked people to get specific about what they'd actually want to find in their desired dumpster:

• "Breadsticks" - Olive Garden
• "Ribs" - Texas Roadhouse
• "Menu item where? What are you talking about?" - Panera Bread
• "Arch deluxe" - Trader Joe's
• "Pasta" - Italian restaurant
• "Any" - Erewhon
• "Falafel and gyro" - Greek restaurant
• "Lasagna" - Gasoline (now we're even more confused)
• "What lol? From a dumpster? Cake that's in a box?" - fruits and veggies place
• "I'm not sure" - refused to name a restaurant

This is where things got a little messy. About half the respondents gave straightforward answers, naming specific foods they'd hope to find at the restaurants they mentioned. Breadsticks, ribs, pasta, and lasagna are all comfort foods, which makes sense if you're trying to find some joy while eating from a dumpster. That said, the person who said "Lasagna" claimed they would dumpster dive at a gas station. I've never ever seen lasagna served at a gas station.

One person simply said "Any" which is excusable because everything at Erewhon is incredibly expensive and probably delicious.

The person looking for "cake that's in a box" seems lost because it was the same person diving for fruits and veggies. However, swapping those items for boxed desserts is a smart and more sanitary answer.

But then there were people who seemed to forget what we were even asking. "What lol? From a dumpster?" one person wrote, suddenly unaware of what they were thinking about just a few seconds ago. Another person asked "Menu item where? What are you talking about?" which suggests we also lost them somewhere along the way. Oh well, not everyone can think deeply on dumpster diving and successfully embrace the bizarre.

Finally, to the person who refused to name a restaurant and then said "I'm not sure" for the specific menu item: if you'd rather starve dignified then dumpster dive satiated, then so be it.

What this tells us about gross questions

We understand that not everyone wants to think about eating from dumpsters. But that's exactly why we make cards like these. It's about seeing how people respond when you ask them something unexpected. Do they lean into the absurdity or shut down? Do they maintain their values in crisis or abandon them entirely? There is a lot to unpack from dumpster diving decisions.

What we learned from these strangers is that people will engage with bizarre questions, even if those questions sometimes disgust or confuse them. The vegetarians stayed vegetarian and the skeptics stayed dignified. And someone preferred eating lasagna from a gas station.

These aren't the boring, heart-warming but cringe-worthy conversations you might get from other conversation cards. They serve a different purpose: they break the ice by being strange but rooted in reality, which can lead to genuine debates about waste, survival, or if its acceptable to eat at Olive Garden or Texas Roadhouse.

We're keeping this card in the pack.