We already know Mr. Trash Wheel is beloved on Twitter. Now, the trash-collecting water wheel in the Inner Harbor is still making international headlines. The latest hit came Tuesday, when a post on the Trash Wheel went close to the top of Reddit’s front page (which is seen worldwide).
The Reddit post originated with a story on Discovery.com. The Reddit headline linking to the story read “TIL of ‘Mr. Trash Wheel,’ a solar powered device in Baltimore’s Inner Harbor that has removed 160 tons of garbage from the Inner Harbor in just under a year.” Redditors’ interest quickly piqued, shooting the post up to the number three position. In the unusually positive comments, Redditors mused about the snake that was found on the wheel earlier this year, among other topics.
The renewed notoriety appears to be an opening to call for a certain upgrade to the Water Wheel. An online petition emerged to “Put Googly Eyes on Baltimore’s Mr. Trash Wheel.” (The Mr. Trash Wheel character was the brain child of Justin Allen and the team at What Works Studio.)
“Googly eyes would make the device (and the idea of environmentalism itself) more appealing to our younger generations,” the petition reads. “These googly eyes could save the planet.”
The Reddit rise also comes amid fundraising efforts to build a second trash wheel in Canton. A happy hour is planned at the Boat House in Canton on Wednesday. Check out the event page for more info.
I totally agree with the googly eyes idea! And maybe those big eyelashes that some people put on their car headlights? And we could add antlers and a big red nose during the holidays? What’s not to like about anthropomorphizing Mr. Trash Wheel?? And doesn’t he/she therefore need a new name to go with his physical makeover? We could have a citywide contest, like we did with the Ravens! Terence the Trash-eating Traveler, or Wanda, the Wandering Trash Wheel? This will turn our city’s image around, for sure! (just a thought…)