On a road trip I found a Leatherman multitool in the outskirts of Cincinatti. Still have it, still have it with me at work daily.
I was going to buy one for myself but I found this and was elated. (however, I was glad I didnt buy one because i have not used it as much as I thought I would...)
I found a turtle today, I stopped and hastened its journey across the road, we've had a few days of rain and they're on the move. I saw several squashed ones today, didn't want it to end up splattered too.
My brother lives in LA (Lower Alabama). He jogs regularly and lives out in the country with houses, and cars, few and far between.
So one day I got the "Guess What!?" call from him. As he tells the story:
G was on a long jog and he said something told him to keep on going. He finally was exhausted and stopped to turn around after about 6 miles. He said he put his hands on his knees and was sucking in all the air possible to make the journey back.
He said exactly between his feet in the dirt he saw the smallest of sparkle. He was a bit lightheaded and said that he did his best to focus on the sparkle to regain his strength and awareness. He said that he was feeling better and was about to stand up when he decided to kick the sparkle. He kicked it and it sparkled more. He then dug it out of the mud/dirt and......
He said it was a huge diamond engagement ring. There is not a house anywhere near this area.
Anyway his jeweler friend looked at it and the center diamond is nearly 2 carats. Said in all it was $$$.
I wish I knew how it got to the side of the road, in the middle of nowhere, and what told him to stop exactly there.
Duke
MegaDork
3/6/20 1:45 p.m.
Curtis73 said:
RX Reven' said:
Mr. Peabody said:
A really nice digital camera that I spent almost a year trying to find the owners of.
I found a high-end camera in a porta potty at an airshow once. I took it to lost and found but not before taking a picture of my bare a$$ in the porta potty.
I was super amused with myself until the owner showed up to claim their camera just as I was dropping it off.
OMG... that reminds me of a wedding I went to. There were disposable film cameras on all the tables, so we groomsmen all went and took pictures of our hootuses. We were so pleased with ourselves until the groom's grandmother started collecting the cameras after the reception. It was her job to get all the film developed. Sorry grandma.
We were surveying the roof of a high school once and found a disposable camera with most of the pictures taken. We grabbed it and took it with us.
Boss took it to get developed and we never saw it again. We asked him what the pictures were and he suddenly got all shifty eyes and muttered something about how they "didn't come out."
noddaz
SuperDork
3/6/20 5:01 p.m.
I find tools a couple of times a year. I think I have every size of Channel-lock slip joint pliers and I have only bought two. I find Vise Grips too. Which is good because welding is hard on them. Hammers? Yep. An occasional socket or two. Once in awhile an alloy wheel with a bad tire. But my wife? A truck air jack that worked. One steel ramp from some sort of trailer. And one time someone had left free stuff by the road to get rid of it. Model rockets with a launcher platform, a gas RC car with everything to go with it.
Woody
MegaDork
3/6/20 6:34 p.m.
The only thing I ever remember finding on the road was a chain, and that was about 40 years ago, but I actually used it doing tree work this week. Chains don’t really go bad.
In reply to Duke :
Maybe the boss saved you all from having to explain "The Murder."
On trash day someone had put out four new oem toyota wheels. I assume they replaced with aftermarket.
I sold them two days later for $400
Will
UltraDork
3/7/20 12:51 p.m.
DukeOfUndersteer said:
Back when I was running the Trans Am team with TA2 Camaros, we had an accident that claimed a stock grill. We get back to Dallas, I so happen to be on an access road next to the freeway pulling in to a gas station when "WALLAH!!" Camaro grill that had been left from an accident! Made its way on to a race car!
Man, I hate to be a pedant, but this one really gets me. It's "voilà." Not wallah. Not viola. Sorry.
Anyway, in the spirit of the thread, I just put a 27" CRT TV out by the curb in hopes that someone takes it.
The other day I found a 16" 8 lug steel wheel, the front to a dishwasher, and the metal innards of a tv by the railroad tracks.
Sunday nights are when trash goes out in the village.. made out like a bandit last night.
When I was in vet school, I would borrow a pickup truck for a week at the end of the semester, then drive around the apartment complexes where the students lived.
Mostly, I picked up furniture, which I would sell at the start of the next semester.
I graduated in 1997.
I just replaced the dining table that I bought for $20 with four chairs a couple of months ago. I got $20 for the chairs the following week, so the table was free. I'm still using some of the other stuff.
It never occurred to me until now that I was a flipper!
Wandering back from a swap meet this weekend and saw something in the road but cruised on past but made a wrong turn into a dead end. On the way back I stopped and it was a clutch purse with about $300+ Drivers license, credit card. SS cards...all the stuff for someones life. Got online to see if I could find a phone number or facebook stuff and left a note on FB. Went a few blocks away to refill our drinks before we just drove to the address on the license. found the young lady crying into her phone while wandering the parking lot. Got to use the moment to teach my grand nephew a good lesson.
Bruce
Floating Doc said:
When I was in vet school, I would borrow a pickup truck for a week at the end of the semester, then drive around the apartment complexes where the students lived.
Mostly, I picked up furniture, which I would sell at the start of the next semester.
I graduated in 1997.
I just replaced the dining table that I bought for $20 with four chairs a couple of months ago. I got $20 for the chairs the following week, so the table was free. I'm still using some of the other stuff.
It never occurred to me until now that I was a flipper!
In Boston, we have a name for that. It's called Allston Christmas.
Allston (a part of Boston) has a ton of college students move out (and in) around August, so those that move out leave stuff out by the street, and those that move in grab it. I've heard of everything from nearly new TV's to furniture to even arcade games and pool tables get scooped up by the locals.
Never found much. A christmas tree that fell off a truck load in front of me. Took it home.
I did find a few items when I was working road service for a John Deere dealer. Nothing exciting.
Found this in the street. It's been run over at least once, but I was able to stick the collar into the vice and convince it to slide back and show me the USB charge port. $50 flashlight when new. The other side says MATCO so maybe more like a $60-70 flashlight.
Woody
MegaDork
3/10/20 6:42 p.m.
Yesterday when Violet and I were driving to the dog park, I swerved to avoid something shiny on the road. It looked like it might have been a wrench so, an hour and a half later, we drove by again, and sure enough, it was still there.
It was a Master Mechanic 7/8" combination wrench.
I'm just glad that it didn't turn out to be an 11mm.