Lost and Found Lost and Found is not always Lost and Found, sometimes it is lost and lost. Did you ever wonder about the Lost and Found departments in different places? Tell me the thought never crossed your mind that anything lost that was valuable disappeared after reaching the Lost and Found. I think that thought has crossed most of our minds, but in truth most of them are pretty good at keeping track of what goes into them. I bet another thing you wondered about was why were some people carrying such crazy stuff? One Lost and Found is the Bureau of Found Objects in Paris. You know that a department like this in any very large city will have some very strange stuff. The Paris Bureau of Found Objects is no exception. The objects which are turned in come from all over the city and the city’s transit system. One object which was turned into the bureau was a human skull. You probably are wondering why anyone one would have a human skull with them and if they did, how could they forget it? It turns out Paris is one of the few cities unique in the fact there are many millions of human skulls there, they are located in the Paris catacombs. There is even a train stop there. Another city would be Rome. It didn’t take much detective work to realize someone took a skull out of the catacombs, perhaps as a gruesome souvenir, took it on a train and then changed their mind and left it. I doubt very much if anyone would have the nerve to claim this object. If one could go to every Lost and Found in the world imagine what they would come up with. Interestingly enough the Unclaimed Baggage Center in Scottsboro, Alabama had an object turned into them which was totally unexpected, so much so it is perhaps the only one which was ever turned into a Lost and Found. You are probably wondering by now what it could be. No, it is not a gold bar, but it could be something worth a lot more to someone, that would be someone who wants to kill us. Someone actually turned in a lost missile guidance system. How the heck does one lose something like that. On top of that there was a plaque on it which read handle with extreme caution, I am worth my weight in gold. This item was so scary the Unclaimed Baggage Center contacted the U.S. Air Force and returned the item. Did you ever wonder what people lose the most? If you did I can tell you, the objects are cell phones and wallets. Next are keys, glasses, headphones and backpacks. Just about every Lost and Found is loaded with them. It is funny when you think about it, cell phones and wallets are probably two of the worst things you can lose. Many contain all sorts of confidential information about you. One would think people would be more careful with these items. There are some places where the percentage of lost items compared to the population are the highest and the king of these places in the United States is said to be the city of East Alabama. Sometimes when abandoned luggage is found it contains lost objects you would never believe. One suitcase which was turned in to an unclaimed baggage center contained a very large Emerald which weighed almost 41 karats. It was estimated the uncut stone had a value of about $25,000. When you think about it, this might happen if someone died before they could collect their luggage. Another cause might be the identity tag fell off the luggage. Another bag which was turned in had a large diamond in it which was almost 6 karats and the value was estimate at $46,000. One of the strangest things which I believe was turned into a hotel’s Lost and Found was a pony. Now I ask you, how does someone get a pony into a hotel without being noticed and why would they leave it there when they go? Perhaps they picked it up on a scavenger hunt or stole it and when they had enough fun with it, they checked out leaving it as a problem for someone else. Can you imagine the face on the cleaning woman when she went into the room to clean it and saw a horse? Hotels claim the most forgotten things are chargers. People leave them plugged into the socket when they leave. From May 2015 to May 2016 Lost and Found at Heathrow Airport in England had 26,543 items turned in. The most items turned in were clothing with cell phones running second. The types of lost items turned in to other English airports vary greatly. One very unusual item which was turned into Gatwick airport was a Swarovski crystal pen. Everyone has heard of Uber, but I wonder how many people know Uber has a Lost and Found? When you think about it, it makes sense, people are leaving things in cars all the time. Within those millions of rides some very strange stuff has been left behind. Uber reported a full set of gold teeth someone left in one of their cars. A puppy was another thing. How does one leave a puppy behind by accident? One of the things which really amazed me was a particular “forgotten item.” It was a fish tank full of water and fish. You have to wonder what someone without their own car was lugging this around anyway. Another find was a tuxedo. You might say what was so strange about that? It was the fact it was for a dog. Lost and Found departments have existed for a very long time. The World’s Fair of 1904 had one. Every day the fair was in action the Lost and Found department would receive 100 or more lost objects. Somebody lost their love letters which were turned in. They must have been too embarrassed to claim them. I don’t know how this could happen but the fair collected some single shoes. How do you lose one shoe? Some people even lost their false teeth. It is believed the very first modern Lost and Found department was founded by Napoleon Bonaparte who opened it in Paris. Can you imagine if some of the first lost items are still there somewhere? Japan founded a Lost and Found system in 718. There will always be a need for a Lost and Found department because we humans are always losing things and I don’t expect this to change even as we get more advanced.
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