Uber Newsroom

As Mercury prepares to go into Retrograde, the celestial calendar event that astrologists say influences forgetfulness, today, Uber is releasing its annual ANZ Lost & Found Index.

With travel returning to a level of ‘normalcy’, we’re reminded just how forgetful Kiwis are, with the usual phones, wallets, keys and bags once again topping the most commonly forgotten items when using the Uber app, with glasses, clothing and vapes following suit.

But as we know from previous years, riders aren’t just leaving the usuals behind – the list features a range of wacky and wonderful objects riders have somehow forgotten including everything from a “four to five inch purple toy” to multiple orthodontic plates. One rider even left a chilly bin with prawns inside. Yum!

Kiwi musicians were also a super forgetful bunch with multiple instruments being left behind including a bongo drum, a DJ controller and a ukulele.

This year, two New Zealand cities have been ranked amongst the most forgetful cities in the world, with Christchurch in 10th and Auckland ranking 18th. The Index also found that Kiwis are the most forgetful on Friday and Thursday with the most common hours to lose items being between 9pm to 11pm.

Feast your eyes on the full list below – and most importantly, instructions for how you can retrieve lost items.

Quirkiest items lost:

A small mysterious purple toy about 3 or 4 inches in length
A Pokemon Red Gameboy game
A translator
A GHD straightener
A Bike
A singular tub of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream
A snare drum
A colourful deck chair
An electric scooter
A DJ controller
A mop
A tramping stick
A walking stick with a snake head on top (Malfoy vibes)
An orthodontic mouth plate
A ukulele
A blonde wig
A lime green skateboard
An All Blacks jersey
A large painting in a cardboard box
A vacuum cleaner
A singular birkenstock (the right side)
A guitar
The penguin history of New Zealand
A bongo drum
A small blue chilly bin with some prawns inside and a small dish
A vinyl record of Kiwi band Soaked Oats “Sludge Pop”
Small dentures
A lamp
An O.G. burger
Pioneer DJ decks
A poster for the band Tool.
A James Charles makeup palette
A badminton racket
An NZ Navy officers cap
Jenga

Most common lost items:

Phone/Camera
Wallet/Purse
Keys
Backpack/Bag
Glasses
Clothing
Vape
Headphones/Speaker
Jewellery/Watch/Makeup
Passport

Top 20 most forgetful cities:

Tokyo, Japan
Vienna, Austria
Milan, Italy
Gold Coast, Australia
Perth, Australia
Johannesburg and Pretoria, South Africa
Austin, United States
Cape Town, South Africa
Fort Myers-Naples, United States
Christchurch, New Zealand
Nashville, United States
San Antonio, United States
Tampa Bay, United States
Houston, United States
Dallas, United States
Phoenix, United States
Kansas City, United States
Auckland, New Zealand
Charlotte, United States
Sacramento, United States

If you’ve been affected by Mercury in Retrograde this year, the best way to retrieve a lost item is to call the driver – but if you leave your phone itself in the car, 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.

These simple steps are outlined in this video, which you can refer to next time you think you’ve left something behind.