It's not uncommon in large train stations to see someone fishing a just-discarded newspaper out of a trash can or recycle bin. Papers also get left on train seats all the time, so sometimes you get someone else's reading material by accident.

This is all very haphazard and, in the case of the trashcans, unsanitary--but both could be avoided by providing simple wire racks on the walls, where papers and magazines can be left and picked up at will. People often read the paper quickly in the morning and then throw it away, so there would be a steady supply of free current reading material, and the reuse would cut down on waste. There would also be a good variety because the few specialty papers people buy would get spread around--so occasionally you'd get to read something you wouldn't otherwise have thought of.

If there are going to be subcategories, I'll start by suggesting "crossword done" and "crossword blank"...
-- Etymon, Jan 28 2004

Bad for the publishers, but good for the environment. Also place stands at airports.
-- kbecker, Jan 28 2004


True, this could fit in any number of places; train stations were just the obvious one to me...Though the main difference with the racks I've seen in cafes and waiting rooms etc. is that in those situations the papers were supposed to stay there. My idea is that the papers are assumed to have been discarded, so you could just take them with you.
-- Etymon, Jan 29 2004


A croissant and a newspaper
-- kinemojo, Sep 07 2005



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