Early New Yorkers tossed garbage into the street or into one of the rivers. The city stunk. In the absence of organized waste disposal, pigs played an important role in reducing (and reusing and recycling) trash in the city.

Brought to America by European colonists, pigs were commonplace and an important source of food. Without room to house them, hogs were largely left to roam the city foraging for food scraps, which not only kept them alive but also removed waste from the streets. By some estimates, upwards of 20,000 pigs free-ranged on the streets of Manhattan in the early 1820s.

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[–] 112 points 10 months ago (2 children)
  • [–] 24 points 10 months ago (5 children)

    Was it really less stinky once the waste is transformed into pig poop?

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  • [–] 33 points 10 months ago (3 children)

    Yea, because pigs don't poop where they eat if they have enough space. They will designate a pooping place for their pack(?), which makes it easy to clean

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  • [–] 25 points 10 months ago (1 child)

    Then, in 1832, they started spreading rabies, so they were all butchered. That's how the tradition of Christmas ham got its start.

    I also have a monorail I can sell you.

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  • [–] 6 points 10 months ago

    So who cleaned up the pig shit?

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  • [–] 4 points 10 months ago (3 children)

    What stopped people from snatching them up and eating them?

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  • [–] 16 points 10 months ago

    The same thing that keeps people from stealing all the free cows in fields by the side of the road.

    Time, effort, and threat of punishment is enough to discourage most people who consider stealing stuff and pigs are a whole lot of work to steal and eat.

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  • [–] 3 points 10 months ago

    And add to the richness of the aroma, everyone used outhouses as well.

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  • [–] 7 points 10 months ago

    On May 23, 1845, they formed a municipality, today ~34,727 pigs roaming NYC¹

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  • [–] 3 points 10 months ago

    How many are on the force now?

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  • [–] -2 points 10 months ago

    Germ theory only took off in the 1850s. Just bear that in mind.

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