The 2019 Uber Lost & Found Index
Written byWe’re all too familiar with that feeling: your stomach sinks, your heart skips a beat, and you realize you’ve misplaced a personal item – often, in an Uber. As Mercury once again falls into Retrograde, with forgetfulness being one of the top effects of the cosmic movement, we’re back with the third annual Uber Lost & Found Index.
The Index is a snapshot of our riders’ most commonly lost and most surprising forgotten items. It also highlights which cities are most forgetful, and which days of the week people tend to be most forgetful.
Over the last year, we’ve seen phones, cameras, wallets, and keys top the list of most commonly forgotten items, with glasses, vapes and drivers licenses rounding out the top ten. But riders aren’t just leaving the usuals behind – they’re forgetting everything from 8-week-old Chihuahuas, to Harry Potter Magic Wands, to beard oil and so much more.
As for the most forgetful cities in the U.S.? East Alabama, Gallup, NM and Cookeville, TN top the list, followed closely by College Station, TX and Tallahassee, FL. And which days and hours of the week are Uber riders most forgetful? The Index shows you’re most likely to lose something on a Saturday or Sunday – especially between the hours of 10pm-1am.
The full results are below!
The 10 Most Commonly Forgotten Items:
- Phone
- Camera
- Wallet
- Keys
- Purse / Backpack
- Clothing
- Glasses
- Headphones
- Vape / E-cig
- ID / License
The 50 Most Unique Lost Items
- 8 week old coffee-colored Chihuahua
- Black faux fur neck cuff in a size large
- A photo of a New Years kiss
- 6 chicken tenders from 7 Eleven
- A black and white tuxedo for a small dog
- Full set of 18k gold teeth
- Professional grade hula hoop
- Salmon head
- Medium sized medical marijuana pipe
- Birth certificate and social security card
- Star Wars skateboard
- Very important headband with peacock feathers
- A propane tank
- A tray of eggs
- White leather snakeskin Louboutin heels
- Lego championship wrestling belt
- A pack of hair and a brown brush shaped like a foot
- Ed Sheeran concert tank top
- Breast pump with breast milk
- Two packs of Italian sausage and a Thanksgiving ham
- A shopping cart
- Ancestry kit
- Lotion and beard oil
- Silver & peach colored Venetian masquerade mask
- Small handmade cat puppet
- Babe Ruth signed baseball
- White gold wedding band with diamonds
- McDonald’s visor and a large fries
- Harry Potter Magic Wand
- A special pizza costume
- A bird
- Red pouch with hammock inside that says “hang loose”
- Cheer skirt with a lion head
- Yeezy boost 350 butters
- A mannequin
- Two pieces of my ever-so-special white wedding cake
- A fog machine
- Japanese style mandolin
- Full fish tank with fish and water
- An Elvis cape with a few jewels on it
- One Gucci flip flop
- Red Lobster takeout
- Limited edition Chance the Rapper Starbucks gift card
- 5×7 prom picture of me and my husband
- 10 lbs pulled pork and 10 lbs pulled chicken
- Rose gold Kim Kardashian lumee case
- A piece of parchment paper with sap on it
- Deer antlers and a welding helmet
- My dirty laundry
- A small plush toy of a cat eating a pizza slice
The 10 Most “Forgetful” Cities:
- East Alabama
- Gallup, New Mexico
- Cookeville, Tennessee
- Mississippi Delta
- Boone, North Carolina
- Sioux City, Iowa
- South Georgia
- Mankato, Minnesota
- College Station, Texas
- Tallahassee, Florida
Most Forgetful Days / Times:
- Uber riders are most forgetful on Saturdays and Sundays, and late at night – between 11pm and 1am.
- We saw that the most forgetful days of the year were January 1, 2018 and October 29, 2018 – New Years and Halloween.
Lost items that peak on certain days:
- People are most likely to forget watches on Monday
- People are most likely to forget headphones on Tuesday
- People are most likely to forget laptops on Wednesday
- People are most likely to forget books on Thursday
- People are most likely to forget passports on Friday
- People are most likely to forget phones on Saturday
- People are most likely to forget cakes on Sunday
And if you’re one of those people who left something behind, look no further than this video, which outlines the simple steps you can take the next time you leave something behind in your Uber.
The best way to retrieve a lost item is to call the driver – but if you leave your phone itself in an Uber, you can login to your account on a computer. Here’s what to do:
- Tap “Your Trips” and select the trip where you left something
- Tap “I lost an item”
- Tap “Contact driver about a lost item”
- Scroll down and enter the phone number you would like to be contacted at. Tap submit.
- If you lost your personal phone, enter a friend’s phone number (you can do this by logging into your account on a computer, or using a friend’s phone).
- Your phone will ring and connect you directly with your driver’s mobile number.
- If your driver picks up and confirms that your item has been found, coordinate a mutually convenient time and place to meet for its return to you.
- If your driver doesn’t pick up, leave a detailed voicemail describing your item and the best way to contact you.