The 2018 Uber Lost & Found Index
Written byWe all know that feeling too well: the moment when your stomach sinks, and you realize you’ve forgotten a personal item — in many cases, in your Uber. To recognize Uber’s most forgetful riders, and prepare for Mercury falling into Retrograde, we’re back with the second annual Uber Lost & Found Index.
The Uber Lost & Found Index is a snapshot of our riders’ most commonly lost and most surprising forgotten items. It also highlights which cities’ riders are most forgetful, and which days of the week people tend to be most forgetful.
Over the last year, we’ve seen phones, wallets, and keys top the list of most commonly forgotten items, with glasses, backpacks and e-cigs rounding out the top ten. But riders aren’t just leaving the usuals behind – they’re forgetting everything from divorce papers, to jetpacks, to rhinestone masks.
As for the most forgetful cities in the U.S.? DuBois, PA tops the list, followed closely by Athens, GA and Stillwater, OK. 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-2am.
The full results are below. Take a look – they may surprise you!
10 Most Frequently Forgotten Items in Ubers – US
- Phone
- Wallet
- Keys
- Clothing
- Glasses
- Bag
- Backpack
- Vape/Ecig
- Headphones
- ID/Drivers License
50 Most Unique (Outrageous) Items Forgotten in Ubers
- Burger King visor
- Divorce papers
- Star Wars Encyclopedia
- Gold grills with diamonds
- Originally signed Jessie James Decker CD
- Letter from my boyfriend who is in jail
- A 1.3 carat round diamond
- 2 packets of Dead Sea mud
- Bag with a Kevin Durant Jersey + a Mario doll
- Rhinestone mask
- Detox tea
- Tax returns
- Long board with rasta colors
- Slice of pizza
- Marriage certificate
- Ukulele
- Cat carrier
- Box full of hair extensions
- Nintendo 64
- Bushnell Golf Rangefinder
- Dark green wool fedora with feathers and pin
- Flute
- Bulletproof vest
- Flat screen TV
- A black collapsible wagon
- Jetpack
- A green Birkenstock right shoe
- Harmonica
- Jamaica Slippers
- French bulldog statues
- Leaf Blower
- Kids scooter
- Laundry hamper
- Fly fishing rod
- Minnie Mouse light up ears
- My brother
- Butcher knife
- Tuxedo
- Feather headband
- Nuggets & large fries
- A single dart
- Emoji lunch box
- Orange air mattress
- A bride’s veil
- Pool cue
- Pink stuffed animal pig
- College diploma
- Pokemon card holder
- Red cape
- Forest Green alpaca scarf
Most Forgetful Riders in US Cities:
- DuBois, Pennsylvania
- Athens, Georgia
- Stillwater, Oklahoma
- Shreveport, Louisiana
- Boone, North Carolina
- Texarkana, Texas
- Nacogdoches, Texas
- Jackson, Mississippi
- Hattiesburg, Mississippi
- Monroe, Louisiana
Most Common Days of the Week to Report Items as Lost – US
- Sunday
- Saturday
- Monday
- Friday
- Thursday
- Tuesday
- Wednesday
We also took a look at the frequency that certain lost items were reported as missing – turns out, some items are more likely to be lost on certain days when compared to the rest of the week:
- On Sundays, we see people lose phones the most
- On Mondays, we see a spike in lost glasses
- On Tuesday, we see people lose passports most often
- On Wednesdays, people tend to leave behind their books
- On Thursdays, we see people lose their laptops most
- On Fridays, we see people lose backpacks the most
- On Saturdays, we see a spike in people losing money
Most popular times of day to lose items:
- 11:00PM and 1:00 AM tie for the most forgetful times
- We see the fewest lost items between 5:00-7:00AM
- While commuters seem to remember their belongings on the way to work (from 7:00-9:00AM), we see lost items spike on the way home, or to happy hour (between 4:00-7:00PM).
Most forgetful days in 2017 (days items were reported as lost):
- September 17, 2017
- October 22, 2017
- October 15, 2017
- October 1, 2017
- September 24, 2017
We’ve all been there: that moment of panic when you first realize you’ve misplaced an important, or even sentimental, personal item. 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 to log in).
- 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.