Throughout recorded history, humans have been losing personal items and finding others, and the emotions accompanying these events have ranged from despair to joy. So it should come as no immense shock that Lost and Found Day has been invented, in order to acknowledge the impact these situations have had on our lives.
Although this event is celebrated on no set “day” (it varies from location to location), this does not take away from its importance in the least. In essence, Lost and Found Day has been set aside to encourage us to return any items that we may have found during the past year to the people who have lost them and who may be extremely worried. Likewise, it is also a great occasion to try to find any personal belongings which we have lost and put an end to the frustration of having to go without something we need.
History of Lost & Found Day
Lost and Found Day was officially announced on November 19th, 2012, but the concept of having a place where people can come to possibly recover things they have lost dates back 1805 when Napoleon Bonaparte opened the first lost and found an office in Paris. Objects found on the streets of the city could be brought there, and those looking for them could go there to see if their items had been brought in.
Since then, the concept has spread all over the world. Transport for London’s lost property offices collects about 130,000 objects every year, ranging from the obvious choices such as mobile phones and wallets to more unexpected and unusual ones, like wedding dresses, urns containing ashes of the deceased, wheelchairs and even kitchen sinks.
