Left in an Uber: tater tots, ‘Grandma’s teeth’

Phones, keys, wallets and purses are among the most common things Uber riders leave behind on trips. But imagine the wave of panic that follows after forgetting a diamond-encrusted mouth grill or an urn with your pet’s ashes after a ride.

Those latter items were among the 50 “most unique” belongings passengers reported lost while taking Uber, according to the San Franciscobased ride-hailing company’s sixth annual Lost & Found Index.

Some of the items on the list seemed to have held clear sentimental value for the people who lost them. One Uber passenger reported leaving behind a “crochet strawberry my girlfriend made me” that “means a lot to me.” Other lost items, such as “a s—y painting of a moose,”

appeared to be less treasured.

Others lost expensive possessions. A passenger who lost a “pear-shaped diamond” offered a $1,000 finder’s reward. Someone else reported losing a “very expensive” tube meant for “chugging drinks.” More than 20 riders last year left behind mouth grills encrusted in gold or diamonds in one of the cars.

Lost food was another theme, with riders leaving behind 40 chicken nuggets, three milk teas, 500 grams of caviar and “some tater tots.” It’s unclear if the tater tots were successfully returned to the rider who lost them, or if the

passenger would have wanted them.

Five people lost dentures in an Uber, including someone who left behind “my grandma’s teeth.”

It’s unclear whether all the rightful owners were reunited with their items, which also included “my fingernail left on the seat,” a pizza costume, a metal leg, and “a piece of my broom.”

The company also noted daily trends, with folks more likely to leave chargers behind

on Mondays, groceries and laptops on Thursdays, and cash and fanny packs on Fridays.

Nike products were more commonly lost than other brands, followed by Louis Vuitton and Gucci.

But at least the Bay Area isn’t Austin, Texas, which Uber named as its most “forgetful” city for the second year in a row. No California city was included in that list’s top 10.

The company has a step-bystep video for riders who need to recover their belongings from an Uber, which apparently included in at last one case last year, a “bucket of slime.”