Since i lost my phone the other day i thought i'd see what other dummies are leaving behind.It's amazing how much stuff goes unclaimed every year.From USA Weekend.
What we lose
Where's my cellphone?
In the rush of daily life, more belongings are being left behind.
In this land of the free and home of so much stuff, Americans have become big losers. Lost-and-found collections across the country are overflowing with belongings -- from cellphones to bicycles to artificial limbs -- that have been left behind.
No one knows the total number of personal items that are lost every year, but hundreds of thousands of items wind up in lost-and-found repositories. And in many places, the number of such objects is on the rise.
At Grand Central Terminal in New York City, officials found 19,803 articles left on trains or in waiting areas in 2006, up 12.6% from the previous year. Continental Airlines received more than 50,000 inquiries about lost items last year. And the Tri-County Metropolitan Transportation District of Portland, Ore., found 20,696 objects on trains and buses and in waiting areas in 2006.
"We believe that lost items have increased because people seem to be rushing around more," says Pat Gilbert, director of marketing of the Capital Area Transportation Authority in Lansing, Mich., where about 2,500 items were left on buses and in stations in 2006. "People have lost their focus."
Among the most commonly lost items are cellphones, wallets, bags, coats and glasses, according to 12 transit authorities that were informally surveyed by USA WEEKEND Magazine. Abandoned cellphones topped the lost list in 2006, numbering at least 10,500.
Bicycles left behind on buses are a big problem in Los Angeles; 600 were found last year. Some people leave behind items that seem hard to forget: Transit officials have found house-arrest monitors in Broward County, Fla.; false teeth in Nashville; artificial limbs in New York City; and $7,000 in bonds in San Diego.
What we lose
Where's my cellphone?
In the rush of daily life, more belongings are being left behind.
In this land of the free and home of so much stuff, Americans have become big losers. Lost-and-found collections across the country are overflowing with belongings -- from cellphones to bicycles to artificial limbs -- that have been left behind.
No one knows the total number of personal items that are lost every year, but hundreds of thousands of items wind up in lost-and-found repositories. And in many places, the number of such objects is on the rise.
At Grand Central Terminal in New York City, officials found 19,803 articles left on trains or in waiting areas in 2006, up 12.6% from the previous year. Continental Airlines received more than 50,000 inquiries about lost items last year. And the Tri-County Metropolitan Transportation District of Portland, Ore., found 20,696 objects on trains and buses and in waiting areas in 2006.
"We believe that lost items have increased because people seem to be rushing around more," says Pat Gilbert, director of marketing of the Capital Area Transportation Authority in Lansing, Mich., where about 2,500 items were left on buses and in stations in 2006. "People have lost their focus."
Among the most commonly lost items are cellphones, wallets, bags, coats and glasses, according to 12 transit authorities that were informally surveyed by USA WEEKEND Magazine. Abandoned cellphones topped the lost list in 2006, numbering at least 10,500.
Bicycles left behind on buses are a big problem in Los Angeles; 600 were found last year. Some people leave behind items that seem hard to forget: Transit officials have found house-arrest monitors in Broward County, Fla.; false teeth in Nashville; artificial limbs in New York City; and $7,000 in bonds in San Diego.
