Most of the time, when a movie is completed, the props used in its production go back into the prop warehouse. When the props are too recognizable or specific to the film, they often get archived or possibly auctioned off. In the case of The Goonies, the infamous map that starts them off on their adventure was given to Sean Astin as a special remembrance of the film. He carefully put it away for safekeeping.
However, his mother, the actress Patty Duke, happened upon the map while cleaning up Sean's room. Believing it to be trash, she threw it away, literally trashing a bit of movie history. It would be easy to fault Ms. Duke, but as she probably pointed out to her son, if he'd tidied his room himself, she wouldn't have had to do it for him and the map would still be around. In any case, this wouldn't be the first or last prop that would find itself in a Southern California landfill somewhere.
