Let’s say a detective finds a body. The dismembered parts are in separate bags, all neatly wrapped and stacked up. There are three possible suspects. The detective goes to the suspects’ houses. It’s garbage day, so he peeks at their trash as he arrives. How would the murderer dispose of their recycling? Neatly stacked or loosely thrown in the trash? Could you deduce who the killer is by looking at their trash? While interviewing each suspect in their kitchen, the detective “accidentally” spills a box of toothpicks on the table. How would the three suspects respond to the spill? Would they stand the toothpicks neatly or just toss them back into the box? What would the murderer do? Is the murderer pretending to be organized? Does checking out their garbage help you interpret the spilled toothpick test?