A retail retailer in Scottsboro, Alabama, is giving new life to misplaced baggage by reselling objects left behind by vacationers.
Unclaimed Baggage has launched “The Discovered Report,” detailing distinctive and precious objects left behind whereas additionally sharing developments the group has observed.
Sonni Hood, senior supervisor of PR and communications, instructed Fox Information Digital the report “gives a platform for us to share tradition shifts we’re seeing yr after yr.”
Among the many checklist of strange objects left behind by flyers: a freeze-dried hen foot, a bathroom seat, a full sheet of uncut $2 payments, a preserved rattlesnake in a jar of whiskey, and silicone butt pads.
The retailer takes possession of unclaimed baggage solely after an “intensive” 90-day seek for the house owners — then prepares the left-behind objects on the market, the group says.
Some historic objects have additionally discovered their solution to the shop in Alabama.
A film script from the 1985 movie “The Goonies,” a 1941 newspaper clipping of the assault on Pearl Harbor and a letter signed by former first woman Eleanor Roosevelt dated 1944 all have been recognized.
The corporate has a 50,000-square-foot retail house that pulls greater than 1 million folks every year. It additionally maintains a web site.
It usually marks objects at as much as 80% off the recommended retail worth.
“There are some staple objects for American vacationers, which is able to proceed to remain the identical, however our findings every year convey new observations about what our tradition values,” mentioned Hood.
“Final yr, for instance, we noticed a rise in pet provides, reinforcing the ‘pet mum or dad’ pattern,” she mentioned.
“We additionally found marketing campaign buttons, posters and hats, which mirror the sturdy political affiliations that have been on show through the 2024 presidential marketing campaign.”
Additionally discovered was a Rolex 18K gold watch valued at $20,000.
Different valuables embody an 18K white gold solitaire ring, a Louis Vuitton purse and suitcase, Chanel loafers and varied designer garments.
“Within the 5 years since the pandemic, unclaimed baggage have been stuffed with consolation put on and athleisure, probably as a result of rise of hybrid and distant work settings,” mentioned Hood.
She mentioned that Unclaimed Baggage has seen a considerable improve in additional informal clothes, reflecting a shift to a extra relaxed society.
Incessantly discovered objects detailed within the report are undergarments, pants, books, footwear and telephones.
“Lots of of recent merchandise are added daily,” says the Unclaimed Baggage web site.