User Panel
Posted: 8/5/2022 8:22:22 AM EDT
I'm a bit of a roadside find junkie - I'm always scanning the side of the road for lost items and stop (when it's safe to do so) and pick up things. It's amazing what people lose or leave behind.
I haven't made that many good finds, but I have picked up a 36" crowbar, assorted tools, a half dozen safety vests, wheel chocks, and recently a nice 24" crowbar. What notable, or strange things have you picked up roadside? |
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About the only thing I can think of is an Igloo cooler. Used it for several years before giving it away to someone else.
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If this includes garbage day curbage, that would include most of my furniture.
Best was a backpack blower, fueled up and ready to go, sitting upright on the double yellow line. No contact info on it, so no hope of returning it. |
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Working as a heavy/civil contractor for 28 years to much to list, but the most interesting was the dead bum under a bridge that exploded when we rolled him down a slope wall with the Cook County coroner.
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Despite having seen plenty of posts about finding perfectly intact arcade games, pinball, etc...I've never seen anything worth a shit being given away along the roadside.
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Just last week--a Papa Johns Pepperoni Pizza in the middle of the road. The box was open and not a slice was missing.
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Poulan chainsaw. Found a echo weed eater sitting on the curb one time. The fuel filter had been installed backwards and it wouldn't stay running.
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Last 2 weeks:
Snap-on angle head 14.4v LED light, still on Streamlight stinger HL, little road rash but works great In the past few years: Brand new huge aluminum pipe wrench Unreasonably large channel lock pliers Sockets, wrenches, extensions, ratchets, screwdrivers and punches by the bucketload. I left the junk where it sat Life vests by the dozen Fake hundred dollar bills by the casinos Wallets (returned them if they had ID) Cell phones (returned them if they worked) iPads (again returned if working) Yeti coffee mugs The list goes on ….. I worked for the DOT electrical division briefly and we kept an eye out for that shit. I have a long commute now and still keep that hawk eye going. Proves to be handy |
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An attractive, drunk young woman who offered me a blowjob to not call the cops
after I found her car wrapped around a tree. My kids were with me that morning, so I didn't make that deal. |
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I was at a grassy area in the Bronx, right at an on-ramp to a major highway. I had to pee, so I found a small thicket of scrubby trees to go into, where I found a bowling bag.
Sitting in tall grass and trees, throwing distance from an on-ramp in the Bronx is no place for a bowling bag. Having watched enough movies, I was sure it had a head in it. Nope. It had a bowling ball. I left it there. ETA - and I once found a Home Depot 5 water cooler on the side of the road. |
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Nice hydraulic jack from a Ford.
Somebody's going to be surprised when they go to change a tire next time. |
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Chain and load binders. I have never found any of the equipment that it might have been securing
And the screwdriver that I found with my tire. |
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Rubber hold down straps. As a kid, my dad was the worlds best at spotting one in the road. He would not hesitate to stop in the middle of an interstate highway to pick it up.
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I found a brand-new, professional-grade chainsaw and climbing harness once. Took it to the police station just down the road.
The next day, I saw an arborist working in the neighborhood and asked him if he'd lost one. He had. I told him where it was. The police didn't know anything about it. Nope, no chainsaw had been turned in. So, the best thing I ever found I essentially gave to a crooked cop. |
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Found a nice Gerber multitool once. Most recent was an American flag in perfect condition that I picked up and hung in the office.
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A chunk of flint about the size of Zippo.
Kicked it and it sparked. Had it for years. |
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I found an 20ft extension cord for a 220 generator in the middle of the highway. One of the Hubble plugs was smashed. 12.00 later it was like new.
An Echo curved shaft trimmer on the road in front of trashcan on pick up day. Took it to work, flushed out the fuel, cleaned the carb added fresh fuel and fired it right up. Used it for 7 years until it began to act up and took it to the Echo dealer who replaced the carb and tuned it up for 80.00. I have been running it for the past 5-6 years since. Various hand tools. Lumber. Empty Laws rocket next to a MiniMart near Ft. Story, I left it. Thought it was a tarp. As a kid porno mags on the side of the highway, packs of cigarettes, sealed bottle of vodka. When I was 16 I found a motorcycle in the 5 foot high weeds off an abandoned dirt road. Called the man who towed it and said after 90 days I could come pick it up. The owner came and said he left it there to drain the oil. |
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8' Werner fiberglass ladder. Slight road rash otherwise it is fine.
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Tiedown strap, something like 4"x30'. Crank was fubared but the nylon webbing went to use on a number of projects.
Surprising number of soda bottles full of piss. Jesus, people. |
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When I was a teen, I used to have to walk to and from an after school job along a stretch of busy highway. For safety, I stayed well in the weeds. I found lots of license plates (official and decorative) hand tools, a post-hole digger, pornographic magazines (the less savory variety like “Juggs” and “Big Black Butts” and half-empty bottle of “stuff” (no way I was opening those up!).
At the time, I had recently read “The Mosquito Coast” and thought of Brewer’s Cove in the story where everything useful that was man-made, man would eventually discard and would wash-up on the shore. The roadside reminded me of that. |
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Two drills one HF and a Bosch Hammer drill! Also found a 350 dollar juicer working in the box last week and a good bbq pit as well
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I stopped once because I saw one of those brown bank bags. It was empty.
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I found a vrand new fishing pole and reel combo. Still had 55.00 proce tag on it. Must have fallen off somones truck.
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I found an ice chest in the middle of a lonely back road. Got to a safe place to stop and went and grabbed it. It was still full of ice and sodas.
In the late 80s a good friend of mine was riding his motorcycle home and saw a duffle bag off the road on a new section of highway. He circled back and pulled off the road to go check it out. It had just over 12k in cash in it. Took it to the cops and they held on to it for a few weeks to see if anyone came in to claim it. No one did, so he ended up with it. That dude was the luckiest MF'er I ever met. Always fell into all kinds of deals that made him money. |
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Most of the stuff I find is when I’m out on bike rides, nothing too big but I have a nice little collection of sockets and extensions that have minor road rash. There is also a very large screwdriver that I now use regularly.
On the other side of the coin I will usually try and pick up screws/nails when I’m out for a ride. Zero value but I will chuck them someplace where they won’t be run over. |
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This year to date:
Flare nut wrench 9" vise grips 36" crowbar Combination Square 2 tumblers |
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On the road I run on I found a nice small engraved wooden box. It was handmade in the Phillipines.
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5’ chisel tipped pry bar, laying in road. Asked the nearby farm but they had no idea who lost it.
It didn’t blow out of a truck, must weigh 20 pounds with its 1” square cross sectioned head. It’s actually too heavy, the 3/4” square head my dad had was much nicer to use. |
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Stihl weed eater in very good condition.I used it for years before passing it down to my son.I figure it must have fell off a landscaping truck.Craftsman 3/8 drive ratchet with just a little bit of road rash.
I also found a wallet on top of a gas pump.Had the driver’s license in it so I was able to return it. |
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18 years ago
TNF down jacket . It was even my size Still have it . |
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Not quite on the side of the road but driving down Poplar Avenue in Memphis one day I passed a car going the other direction with a revolver on his roof. I found a place to turn around and apparently he did too cause here he comes back driving slowly. I flashed my lights and he looked at me. I stuck my arm out the window and pointed at the roof. I see both arms go up and he stops and gets out and waves at me. How that stayed up there is beyond me. If it had been me, it would have fallen off and been immediately scooped up by someone.
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My hunting buddy found a big yeti cooler on the side of a dirt road in the middle of nowhere, right after deer season ended.
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Found a newish spade with a fiber glass handle, 3/8 chain binder, new hammer, 2” wretched strap, lots of tarp straps. I found this on a dirt road when I was a kid, it is one of my favorite things. I can suck a 8’ x 10’ ice shack up onto a trailer in a couple minutes with no help.
Attached File |
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I’m not the scavenging type so I don’t stop to pick up shit on the roads.
I did see one of those Thule clamshell cargo carriers on the side of the road once. I wonder if the owner even knew it fell off the car. Couldn’t help think about the conversation that occurred once they reached their destination. |
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View Quote Nice, dad had the exact same set, I have it now. The metal case it comes with is far better then it’s modern equivalent. |
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Driving with a friend of mine who was a metal worker and made hand-forged furniture and architectural details for a living…
He suddenly says, “pull over!” On the side of the road was a very large Swedish-made anvil that was at least 100 years old. |
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Found a spent .50 BMG ball projectile on the side of the road while riding my bike as a kid. I was amazed at the size and rifling marks. Had it for years until a shitbird “friend” stole it.
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My wife found a beat up multitool in the grocery store parking lot once.
All I've ever found was pocket change. |
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Quoted: I’m not the scavenging type so I don’t stop to pick up shit on the roads. I did see one of those Thule clamshell cargo carriers on the side of the road once. I wonder if the owner even knew it fell off the car. Couldn’t help think about the conversation that occurred once they reached their destination. View Quote It was full of republican ballets. |
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1/2” drive Snap-On ratchet, another 50 yards down the road a Snap-On 1/2” drive extension.
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