Anyone who has ever lost their luggage knows it can be frustrating trying to get it back, but for those who cut their losses, misplaced items can get a second life at Unclaimed Baggage, whether in its store or in its mobile museum.
“Ninety-nine percent of the time, luggage is reunited with its owner,” Sonni Hood of Unclaimed Baggage told Fox News.
The small percentage that isn’t recovered finds its way to Unclaimed Baggage, the self-proclaimed only retailer for lost luggage in the country, and there are some strange things to be found.
Hood says for a bag to be considered “unclaimed,” it must be sitting at the airport for over 90 days. Through Unclaimed Baggage’s partnership with major airlines across the nation, the retail company can purchase the luggage and resell its contents or display them in a traveling museum.
Over 7,000 items are added to the shelves at the retailer’s physical store in Alabama each day, Hood said, and online, about 5,000 are added a week.
Hood shared some of Unclaimed Baggage’s weirdest finds.
“The most shocking thing we ever found was definitely the real live rattlesnake that was tucked away in an inside pocket of a duffle bag. He was alive. We did not sell him, he was released,” she said. “We have also found real human shrunken heads, which are probably the two weirdest.”
When asked what the most expensive item found in an unclaimed bag was, Hood said a men’s platinum presidential Rolex watch retailed for $64,000 and sold for $32,000 in 2014.
As someone who has made a business out of the massive amounts of lost luggage, Hood shared some helpful tips on ensuring checked bags make it back to their owners.
She suggests travelers place a luggage tag on the outside and the inside of their bags and make sure all of the information is up to date. For those who have a lost bag, they should give specific details about its appearance to the airport staff, describing any markings on the outside of the bag that would make it easily identifiable.
The Unclaimed Baggage Travel Museum will have a layover at the Dallas Farmers Market this Saturday, August 6, from 9:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m.