Lost & Found In New York
12 months’ worth of things forgotten in an Uber
by Thomas McCracken
What do a live turtle, a DNA test, and an umbrella have in common? Hopefully just this one thing: they’ve all turned up alone and unclaimed in the backseat of an Uber.
On April 8th, SHED RAIN teamed up with the rideshare brand to host an NYC pop-up in honor of their 2025 Lost & Found Index—an annual publication of “the most commonly forgotten and most unique items left behind in Ubers.” And rest assured, the list did not disappoint...
Some items came as no surprise: wallets, keys, luggage, and roughly 1.7 million phones. Others were a little more perplexing, like a five-gallon bucket of beans. While some of the index data is just plain interesting, like the fact that red is consistently the most left-behind color, or that people are most likely to forget umbrellas on Thursdays and Fridays.
Photo courtesy of Uber
The pop-up itself was part-peculiarium, with an exhibit featuring some of the more unique items left behind, and part-community event, with Uber reps providing guidance on how to reclaim lost items. There were even index-inspired giveaways like headphones, lattes, and cheeseburgers.
And, while cheap, flimsy umbrellas may be expendable enough to make the list, our sponsorship included giving 200 attendees a top-quality SHED RAIN umbrella they won’t soon forget.
Photo courtesy of Uber
Ultimately it was a fun opportunity to engage, educate, and enjoy the silly side of that facepalm moment we’ve all experienced. The Uber team was grateful for SHED RAIN’s collaboration and thrilled with the success of the event, saying they are “already brainstorming ways to scale it for next year.”
Photo courtesy of Uber
You can read more breakdown and analysis of the 2025 Lost & Found Index from Uber here.