4

A Fisherman Caught A Purse That Belonged To A Former Classmate Who'd Lost It ... 18 Years Earlier

In 1999, Massachusetts resident Kim Flanders put her handbag on the roof of her car, loaded up her kids, then drove away. Had this been a romantic comedy, the bag would've fallen through the roof of a passing convertible and she'd have been married to someone named Ryan within a month, but as it was, she just lost her bag. When she realized her error, she went back to the parking lot to look for it, but no luck.

18 years later, Dondi Mitchell decided to go fishing in Silver Lake and dredged up, of course, Flanders' bag. Mitchell recognized the name on the ID as belonging to a woman whom he graduated high school with in Orange, Massachusetts (home to about 7,800 people). So Mitchell got in touch with Flanders on Facebook, and mailed the bag to her new home in Florida.

Dmytro/Adobe Stock"I'm keeping the fish that was in there, though."

The bag was filled with rocks, presumably to weigh it down after someone plundered and disposed of it, but it also contained including two well-preserved rings from Flanders' first marriage. Oh, and the date of that marriage? June 2 -- the same date Mitchell fished up the pocketbook. Coincidence? Yes, completely. But it's a big one!

3

A British Man Lost His Wallet In A French Bar, Got It Back 55 Years Later

Back in 1960, 18-year-old Bill Leech was studying French at Grenoble University when he lost his wallet at a ski resort pub. So he did what we all do when we lose a wallet: briefly hated himself, got all of his personal documents replaced, and considered but ultimately rejected the idea of a wallet chain, because no one wants to be a wallet chain person.

Family Business/Adobe StockNO.

2

Sanitation Workers Dug Through Seven Tons Of Trash To Help A Woman Find Her Wedding Ring

Tiffany Otterbeck wrapped her two diamond rings in a paper towel while she was cooking and then, goddamn it, she threw the towel out when she was cleaning up. By the time she realized what she'd done, the trash had already been picked up. So Otterbeck called the sanitation department, which seems like a long shot. But the supervisor for her neighborhood was a sanitation superhero.

Kadmy/Adobe Stock"When you think about it, 'Garbage Man' is basically a superhero name already."

He ordered the truck to immediately stop its garbage collection, park in a safe area, and remain untouched until that evening. That's when a search party that included Otterbeck, her husband, and five sanitation workers who volunteered to help(!) sifted through seven tons of trash. And they were successful, too, though the search took 45 minutes that none of them ever want to speak of again.

1

A Man Accidentally Flushed Away His Class Ring, Only For It To Be Found And Returned 72 Years Later

In 1938, Jesse Taylor Mattos graduated high school in Dunsmuir, California, received a class ring for his troubles, then almost immediately lost the ring in the toilet of the butcher shop he worked in, because that's how life says, "Hello, welcome. Here's what to expect from the rest of me."

nd700/Adobe Stock"We both have shitty futures ahead of us."

In 2011, Tony Congi was doing maintenance on some local sewer lines when he spotted a flash of gold in a bucket of debris. He fished the ring out, cleaned it off, saw "Class of 1938" and "J.T.M." written on it, and put on his detective hat. He went to Dunsmuir High School and found that Mattos was the only 1938 graduate with those initials, then he contacted a neighbor who had also graduated in 1938, because apparently, no one leaves Dunsmuir alive. That classmate was a friend of Mattos' (of course!), and they gave Mattos' phone number to Congi, who showed up in person to return the ring. By that point, Mattos was 90 years old, and upon receiving the ring commented, "Doesn't sound like you've done too much maintenance in 72 years." Because 90 years old is a full decade past "crotchety."

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As an alternative, maybe consider a money clip?

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