From Caviar to Fingernails: Uber publish their Lost and Found Index 2022
What do brown tortoises, cane swords and chicken nuggets have in common? In the past year, these three things have all been left in the back of an Uber.
Each year, Uber US publish their Lost and Found Index. Now in its sixth year, the report covers facts and statistics about the items that people leave on the back seats of Ubers.
The Index takes a look at the most common things left behind, but also the most unique. Let’s take a look at what made the list.
Most Forgotten Items
Unsurprisingly, the top three items most left behind are:
Phone / camera
Wallet
Keys
The report also reveals trends about which items are lost on which days. When it comes to phones, wallets and keys, it appears that Saturday and Sunday are the days people are most likely to lose them.
Whether this trend can be correlated with people’s choice of beverage on a weekend is unclear...
The other items that made the top ten most forgotten were:
Backpack / purse
Headphones / speaker
Glasses
Clothing
Vape
Jewellery
ID
Most Unique Items
The most common items forgotten probably come as no surprise. On the other end of the spectrum, the report also revealed the 50 strangest items left behind in Ubers in 2022.
We’ve already mentioned the cane sword, chicken nuggets and brown tortoise (yes, you read that correctly). But there are plenty of other oddities on the list, including a surprising amount of food.
Aside from the chicken nuggets, there was:
10lbs of burger meat
Pie
500g of Caviar
Some tater tots
Other standouts include a:
Loose pear-shaped diamond (with a $1000 reward)
40 CPAP machines (over the year, not all at once!)
Urns containing family members ashes
A metal leg
Grandma’s Teeth
You can have a good laugh at the full list here.
Using all this information, Uber are able to identify the ten most forgetful cities. Unfortunately, the report only focuses on data from the US, so we have no idea what the most forgetful UK city is. Over in the States, Austin TX, has claimed the title for the second year in a row.
We’re not sure it’s a title anyone would want to retain but the residents of Austin have managed it nonetheless.
What if you’ve lost an item in an Uber?
If you have left something in the back of an Uber, it’s a straightforward process to get it back. Uber have put together a short video explaining the steps involved. The video shows how you can be connected to your driver via the app to arrange the return of your lost items.
If it’s your phone you happen to have lost, you can try and login to your account via your computer. Failing that, you can contact Uber’s web support here.