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I think part of this is that a far greater proportion of "lost" valuables in Japan are _really_ lost than in other countries, street crime being pretty rare. B

I think part of this is that a far greater proportion of "lost" valuables in Japan are _really_ lost than in other countries, street crime being pretty rare. But still, that 6% figure for New York! Can it be true? Is it really normal to steal other people's shit if they leave it behind?

haskellandchill 7y ago
Yes.
sct202 7y ago
A youtuber did a similar test (but probably a lot less controlled) and it wasn't that bad (4/10 for NYC). Result spreadsheet: https://www.dropbox.com/s/m2ahob0949mmj3s/Wallet%20Data%20Aggragate.xlsx?dl=0 https://www.dropbox.com/s/m2ahob0949mmj3s/Wallet%20Data%20Ag...
jotm 7y ago
Man, I was living in the UK. A kid on a skateboard dropped his phone, didn't notice. Less than a minute later, a guy (gardener or construction worker by the looks of it) picks it off the ground and gets in his van. Bye bye phone. Another time, found a wallet and returned it, the woman said it's unbelievable, no one else would do that. Gave me 10 pounds, too, heh (there was way more in the wallet, plus cards and ID, it's how I found her). I'd be very happy if someone did that for me. But yeah, usually "finders keepers" holds true :/ I like these kind of stories from Japan, makes it seem like people do respect each other. Shame not everything is that good over there.
- progman32 7y ago
  What would a better response be to a dropped phone? From the story as told the guy may well have tried to find the phone's owner when he got a free minute.
  - jotm 7y ago
    Catch up to the kids and return it? They were down the street within view. Tbf, I'm not one to judge, I just watched, so...
dfxm12 7y ago
But still, that 6% figure for New York! Can it be true? Is it really normal to steal other people's shit if they leave it behind? Who said anything about shit getting stolen? The article claims: 88% of phones “lost” by the researchers were handed into the police by Tokyo residents, compared to 6% of the ones “lost” in New York. (emphasis mine) I found a wallet in NY once. The ID had the owner's address around the corner and I was able to drop it off to him. I found a phone once (I noticed it was ringing on an otherwise empty table) it was the phone's owner calling from her girlfriend's phone. I was able to hand it back to her myself. The cops really didn't need to get involved in either case and didn't. In another American city, I've left my phone in a cab and gotten it back without going through the police as well. Is a city a less trustful place if the cops aren't thought of as a lost & found?
- Nexxxeh 7y ago
  In our area of the UK, possibly nationwide, the police non longer accept normal lost property. Infuriating. I found someone's house key in the road, likely of a nearby resident. A safety issue as far as I was concerned - not a particularly rough neighbourhood but not a great one either. Some smackheads would absolutely have tried it in the closeby doors. Police couldn't help. I ended up putting it in an envelope with a note, posting it through the letterbox of the nearest church. I put up a note on the closest lamppost, posted a redacted photo on Facebook, but never heard anything further.
zuminator 7y ago
Just as an anecdote from a NYC resident, a couple years back I found a Japanese woman's wallet on a commuter bus. From the address I saw that the owner lived in my neighborhood so I went by her home after work to return it. Nobody was home so I left a little note with my phone number. She called me, and I met her the next day to return it to her. I considered our business concluded but about two months later she and her husband sent me a Christmas card with a gift card inside. I thanked them but sent the gift card back. I have also lost my own wallet on multiple occasions when I was younger and more careless, and I would say it was returned maybe two out of five times. Not great, but not that bad either.
- ido 7y ago
  I don't know about Japanese culture, but where I'm from accepting the gift would be the polite thing to do (vs rejecting it).
  - selectodude 7y ago
    Yeah, spending postage and effort to return a $20 gift card (or whatever it was) is so rude. I'm not sure where in the world that wouldn't come off as rude.
    - TomMarius 7y ago
      > From the address I saw that the owner lived in my neighborhood Probably went on his foot
      - zuminator 7y ago
        Since they sent me a Xmas card, I reciprocated in kind, also enclosing the gift card with a note apologizing but asking that they give it to a needy person at their church during the holiday season. (They had also sent me an invitation to attend services.) So no additional postage needed.
        7y ago
JakeTheAndroid 7y ago
I can't speak to NYC but in SF you absolutely will lose your shit. I have had coworkers get their cars broken into midday after leaving their backpack unattended for an hour or so. Friends have had their backpacks yanked from between their legs on Bart as it entered a station. These are not situations where these items are just laying around, and they were still taken. Coworkers have lost their laptops at bars or coffee shops because they got up for a few minutes. It could be that the value is so well established in this area; if you steal a backpack you are almost guaranteed to get a Macbook. IDK if that is similar in NY.
Aunche 7y ago
My wallet dropped out of my pocket in Manhattan. After maybe 10 minutes, somebody picked it up and proceeded to buy as many things with my cards until I cancelled them.

haskellandchill 7y ago

Yes.

sct202 7y ago

A youtuber did a similar test (but probably a lot less controlled) and it wasn't that bad (4/10 for NYC). Result spreadsheet: https://www.dropbox.com/s/m2ahob0949mmj3s/Wallet%20Data%20Aggragate.xlsx?dl=0 https://www.dropbox.com/s/m2ahob0949mmj3s/Wallet%20Data%20Ag...

jotm 7y ago

Man, I was living in the UK. A kid on a skateboard dropped his phone, didn't notice. Less than a minute later, a guy (gardener or construction worker by the looks of it) picks it off the ground and gets in his van. Bye bye phone. Another time, found a wallet and returned it, the woman said it's unbelievable, no one else would do that. Gave me 10 pounds, too, heh (there was way more in the wallet, plus cards and ID, it's how I found her). I'd be very happy if someone did that for me. But yeah, usually "finders keepers" holds true :/ I like these kind of stories from Japan, makes it seem like people do respect each other. Shame not everything is that good over there.

progman32 7y ago
What would a better response be to a dropped phone? From the story as told the guy may well have tried to find the phone's owner when he got a free minute.
- jotm 7y ago
  Catch up to the kids and return it? They were down the street within view. Tbf, I'm not one to judge, I just watched, so...

dfxm12 7y ago

But still, that 6% figure for New York! Can it be true? Is it really normal to steal other people's shit if they leave it behind? Who said anything about shit getting stolen? The article claims: 88% of phones “lost” by the researchers were handed into the police by Tokyo residents, compared to 6% of the ones “lost” in New York. (emphasis mine) I found a wallet in NY once. The ID had the owner's address around the corner and I was able to drop it off to him. I found a phone once (I noticed it was ringing on an otherwise empty table) it was the phone's owner calling from her girlfriend's phone. I was able to hand it back to her myself. The cops really didn't need to get involved in either case and didn't. In another American city, I've left my phone in a cab and gotten it back without going through the police as well. Is a city a less trustful place if the cops aren't thought of as a lost & found?

Nexxxeh 7y ago
In our area of the UK, possibly nationwide, the police non longer accept normal lost property. Infuriating. I found someone's house key in the road, likely of a nearby resident. A safety issue as far as I was concerned - not a particularly rough neighbourhood but not a great one either. Some smackheads would absolutely have tried it in the closeby doors. Police couldn't help. I ended up putting it in an envelope with a note, posting it through the letterbox of the nearest church. I put up a note on the closest lamppost, posted a redacted photo on Facebook, but never heard anything further.

zuminator 7y ago

Just as an anecdote from a NYC resident, a couple years back I found a Japanese woman's wallet on a commuter bus. From the address I saw that the owner lived in my neighborhood so I went by her home after work to return it. Nobody was home so I left a little note with my phone number. She called me, and I met her the next day to return it to her. I considered our business concluded but about two months later she and her husband sent me a Christmas card with a gift card inside. I thanked them but sent the gift card back. I have also lost my own wallet on multiple occasions when I was younger and more careless, and I would say it was returned maybe two out of five times. Not great, but not that bad either.

ido 7y ago
I don't know about Japanese culture, but where I'm from accepting the gift would be the polite thing to do (vs rejecting it).
- selectodude 7y ago
  Yeah, spending postage and effort to return a $20 gift card (or whatever it was) is so rude. I'm not sure where in the world that wouldn't come off as rude.
  - TomMarius 7y ago
    > From the address I saw that the owner lived in my neighborhood Probably went on his foot
    - zuminator 7y ago
      Since they sent me a Xmas card, I reciprocated in kind, also enclosing the gift card with a note apologizing but asking that they give it to a needy person at their church during the holiday season. (They had also sent me an invitation to attend services.) So no additional postage needed.
      - 7y ago

JakeTheAndroid 7y ago

I can't speak to NYC but in SF you absolutely will lose your shit. I have had coworkers get their cars broken into midday after leaving their backpack unattended for an hour or so. Friends have had their backpacks yanked from between their legs on Bart as it entered a station. These are not situations where these items are just laying around, and they were still taken. Coworkers have lost their laptops at bars or coffee shops because they got up for a few minutes. It could be that the value is so well established in this area; if you steal a backpack you are almost guaranteed to get a Macbook. IDK if that is similar in NY.

Aunche 7y ago

My wallet dropped out of my pocket in Manhattan. After maybe 10 minutes, somebody picked it up and proceeded to buy as many things with my cards until I cancelled them.