1960s robot litter bins - UK Vintage Radio Repair and Restoration Discussion Forum

suebutcher · 7th Oct 2012, 1:02 pm

Does anyone have info on talking litter bins? I remember seeing "Porky The Paper Eater" at Butlins Bognor in 1968, a large fibreglass toadstool housing a comical pig who would say "Please feed me!" when someone walked by, and "Thank you!" when litter was shoved in its mouth. This was my first encounter with a talking appliance, and I was slightly disturbed by it! Who made these machines? Were there other designs?

Brigham · 8th Oct 2012, 11:13 am

Blackpool Pleasure Beach certainly had them, probably built in-house.

Welsh Anorak · 8th Oct 2012, 12:27 pm

... as did Butlins in Pwllheli, so they were probably installed in all the camps. Mind you they certainly worked as children tried to find litter to feed the animal! Now disappeared along with the hourly PA anouncement song that went " I want an ice cream / I want an ice cream/ I want an ice-cream NOW!!"
Glyn

suebutcher · 9th Feb 2013, 1:17 pm

I've found a picture of "Porky" at Butlins Bognor. Pity about those people in the way, but you get the idea...

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Neil Purling · 9th Feb 2013, 8:49 pm

Butlins, must have had them at ALL their sites. There was certainly one at Filey ten years after the Bognor photo. A useful combination of a tape machine and an industrial vacuum.

Yes! People actually disposed of their litter appropriately in those days.

ScottBouch · 10th Feb 2013, 2:38 pm

Just a little Googling brought up this: http://www.butlinsmemories.com/filey...shleyporky.htm

Dave Moll · 10th Feb 2013, 9:50 pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by suebutcher

I've found a picture of "Porky" at Butlins.

There is a boy (I'm not saying which one) in that picture who looks scarily like me in the late 1950s/early 1960s! I know I was subjected to Butlins (and Pontins) in my childhood, but can't remember whether Bognor was one of those where we went.

jzarbaugh · 20th Aug 2013, 11:55 pm

Porky the Paper Eater was invented by a man named Harry J. Batt of New Orleans, Louisiana. He was the owner of the Ponchartrain Beach Amusement Park in the city and started producing various paper eaters around 1964 to help keep his park clean. The receptacles were so successful that he soon started marketing them to other parks, zoos and public places. It helped that Mr. Batt was the president of an amusement park association in the U.S. and had lots of connections. Paper Eaters, Inc. started with Porky, Leo the Paper-Eating Lion and Pepe the clown. I understand that Pepe was in a large drum, but I have never actually seen a photo of him. Mr. Batt later produced an elephant paper eater, but he wasn't nearly as popular.

From what I understand, Butlins introduced their Porky in 1965. How many do you think there were in the UK? The ones in Butlins are the only ones I am sure existed outside of the States. Oddly enough, I just learned about the ones at Blackpool Pleasure Beach this past week. I am pretty sure Tidy Tiger and Tidy Lion were also around in 1965, which makes me wonder which came first. Who was copying who?

I am kind of slightly obsessed with the Paper Eaters and have started a Facebook fan page for our friend Porky. If you visit the page, you will see a few variants of Porky and friends and some of the other parks that adopted him. The one in my home town of Youngstown, Ohio was in Idora Park and was an exact replica of the Porky you are all familiar with. Porky also lived in a house early on, but that wasn't nearly as fascinating.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/192618527480069/

It seems like most people that had one of these things in their local park thought that theirs was the only one in the world. Most all of them also have very fond memories of them. That is a pretty big feat for a trash can! I am surprised that they don't exist in some form or another today. I would love to see and hear more about the U.K. Paper Eaters. I know of only three that are operational in the States, and two of them are barely getting along.

I hope this helps!

Radio Wrangler · 21st Aug 2013, 10:56 pm

Attitudes change.

Parents probably don't want their children handling litter "Who knows where it's been?" and there are probably nastier things discarded nowadays. I also suppose it isn't too wise having kids learning that it's a good thing to shove their hands near the mouth of anything they see as a lion.

David

suebutcher · 26th Aug 2013, 2:30 pm

Thanks very much! Porky's toadstool suited him much better than the house.

7th Oct 2012, 1:02 pm	#1
suebutcher Heptode Join Date: Jul 2012 Location: Daylesford, Victoria, Australia Posts: 675	1960s robot litter bins Does anyone have info on talking litter bins? I remember seeing "Porky The Paper Eater" at Butlins Bognor in 1968, a large fibreglass toadstool housing a comical pig who would say "Please feed me!" when someone walked by, and "Thank you!" when litter was shoved in its mouth. This was my first encounter with a talking appliance, and I was slightly disturbed by it! Who made these machines? Were there other designs?

8th Oct 2012, 11:13 am	#2
Brigham Octode Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Co. Durham, UK. Posts: 1,117	Re: 1960s robot litter bins Blackpool Pleasure Beach certainly had them, probably built in-house.

8th Oct 2012, 12:27 pm	#3
Welsh Anorak Dekatron Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: North Wales, UK. Posts: 6,921	Re: 1960s robot litter bins ... as did Butlins in Pwllheli, so they were probably installed in all the camps. Mind you they certainly worked as children tried to find litter to feed the animal! Now disappeared along with the hourly PA anouncement song that went " I want an ice cream / I want an ice cream/ I want an ice-cream NOW!!" Glyn

9th Feb 2013, 1:17 pm	#4
suebutcher Heptode Join Date: Jul 2012 Location: Daylesford, Victoria, Australia Posts: 675	Re: 1960s robot litter bins I've found a picture of "Porky" at Butlins Bognor. Pity about those people in the way, but you get the idea...

9th Feb 2013, 8:49 pm	#5
Neil Purling Nonode Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Hull, East Yorkshire, UK. Posts: 2,087	Re: 1960s robot litter bins Butlins, must have had them at ALL their sites. There was certainly one at Filey ten years after the Bognor photo. A useful combination of a tape machine and an industrial vacuum. Yes! People actually disposed of their litter appropriately in those days.

10th Feb 2013, 2:38 pm	#6
ScottBouch Octode Join Date: Feb 2013 Location: Leicestershire, UK. Posts: 1,058	Re: 1960s robot litter bins Just a little Googling brought up this: http://www.butlinsmemories.com/filey...shleyporky.htm __________________ www.scottbouch.com

20th Aug 2013, 11:55 pm	#8
jzarbaugh Retired Dormant Member Join Date: Aug 2013 Location: Plano, Texas Posts: 1	Re: 1960s robot litter bins Porky the Paper Eater was invented by a man named Harry J. Batt of New Orleans, Louisiana. He was the owner of the Ponchartrain Beach Amusement Park in the city and started producing various paper eaters around 1964 to help keep his park clean. The receptacles were so successful that he soon started marketing them to other parks, zoos and public places. It helped that Mr. Batt was the president of an amusement park association in the U.S. and had lots of connections. Paper Eaters, Inc. started with Porky, Leo the Paper-Eating Lion and Pepe the clown. I understand that Pepe was in a large drum, but I have never actually seen a photo of him. Mr. Batt later produced an elephant paper eater, but he wasn't nearly as popular. From what I understand, Butlins introduced their Porky in 1965. How many do you think there were in the UK? The ones in Butlins are the only ones I am sure existed outside of the States. Oddly enough, I just learned about the ones at Blackpool Pleasure Beach this past week. I am pretty sure Tidy Tiger and Tidy Lion were also around in 1965, which makes me wonder which came first. Who was copying who? I am kind of slightly obsessed with the Paper Eaters and have started a Facebook fan page for our friend Porky. If you visit the page, you will see a few variants of Porky and friends and some of the other parks that adopted him. The one in my home town of Youngstown, Ohio was in Idora Park and was an exact replica of the Porky you are all familiar with. Porky also lived in a house early on, but that wasn't nearly as fascinating. https://www.facebook.com/groups/192618527480069/ It seems like most people that had one of these things in their local park thought that theirs was the only one in the world. Most all of them also have very fond memories of them. That is a pretty big feat for a trash can! I am surprised that they don't exist in some form or another today. I would love to see and hear more about the U.K. Paper Eaters. I know of only three that are operational in the States, and two of them are barely getting along. I hope this helps! Attached Thumbnails

21st Aug 2013, 10:56 pm	#9
Radio Wrangler Moderator Join Date: Mar 2012 Location: Fife, Scotland, UK. Posts: 22,877	Re: 1960s robot litter bins Attitudes change. Parents probably don't want their children handling litter "Who knows where it's been?" and there are probably nastier things discarded nowadays. I also suppose it isn't too wise having kids learning that it's a good thing to shove their hands near the mouth of anything they see as a lion. David __________________ Can't afford the volcanic island yet, but the plans for my monorail and the goons' uniforms are done

26th Aug 2013, 2:30 pm	#10
suebutcher Heptode Join Date: Jul 2012 Location: Daylesford, Victoria, Australia Posts: 675	Re: 1960s robot litter bins Thanks very much! Porky's toadstool suited him much better than the house.