$200,000 Apple 1 computer thrown in the trash by mysterious Californian woman

A California woman in the process of clearing out her garage has thrown away $200,000 of computing history. The unidentified woman left an intact Apple 1 desktop, one of around 200 built by Apple founders Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, and Ron Wayne, at Clean Bay Area recycling center in April. Concealed inside boxes filled with electronics owned by her recently deceased husband, the machine was only discovered by Clean Bay Area staff a few weeks after the woman dropped it off.

The recycling center — which swiftly sold the rare computer to a collector for almost a quarter of a million dollars — is now trying to find her to give her a 50 percent cut of the profits as per its policy. Victor Gichun, vice president of the center, said he could remember the woman’s face, but the search would be difficult because she didn’t leave a tax receipt or any contact details. All he can say for sure is that the mysterious woman who junked one of the world’s most famous computers drives an SUV.