If you’ve traveled enough, there’s a good chance you’ve lost your luggage before. Sure, it’s annoying as hell, but most people get it back within a few days. However, some people, for whatever reason, never claim their lost luggage, and the airlines then auction it off for charity. That’s where isthisyourluggage.com comes in.
The site, run by some anonymous person, collects this auctioned off luggage, and takes pictures of it to put on the site. Yes, this person opens the lugguage, takes out all of the items, and photographs them. Yes, this is creepy.
But it’s also a great web oddity. The main page of the site features pictures of each suitcase, you can click on any of them and get taken to a page that shows the pictures of each item inside. If you click on this picture, it zooms in, giving you a closer view of the items. I haven’t noticed anything too out of the ordinary, though one bag has a sort of strange nurse’s outfit, which may or may not double as a stripper outfit.
At least the creator of the site is honest. As they write on the about page, “I GO TO THESE AUCTIONS AND BUY THE CASES SO I CAN PHOTOGRAPH THEM FOR MY WEIRD VOYEURISTIC PASSION.”
[via twitter/mbaratz]
Always try to travel with your carry-on only. It’s true what they say, there’s only two types of luggages: carry-on and lost luggage.
Seriously…
Ditto to the n-th degree
The site, run by some anonymous person, collects this auctioned off luggage, and takes pictures of it to put on the site.
A quick whois turned up this info
Registrant:
Kathryn Hopkins
57 Plantation Ave
Leeds, LS17 8TB
United Kingdom
Perhaps it should be noted that there is a Kathryn Hopkins on the Gaurdian as well
Here is a cached version as it appears to have been changed to Proxy Inc.
http://74.125.5...MsKkbOZe6fX1JBQ
isthisyouripaddress?
It’s one of Google’s gazillion or so IP addresses.
This one is perma-english, so it’s useful.
It’s creepy? Really? I love snooping (I get to do a fair amount of snooping at my job, not through peoples’ clothes, though..yeah, that would be creepy). I’d be interested in what else might be there. the clothes are boring.
Yeah, where are the toiletries?
Yes a very large portion of the population would find this type of thing creepy.
The question to ask is “would you like other people doing it to your stuff?”
If I was never to get it back, then who cares if someone I don’t know rummages through my stuff. It’s not really creepy if it’s lost and never finding its way back to the owner…just a tiny bit creepy.
Speaking of such, the article doesn’t mention if the owner of the site sells it back or keeps it.
This ain’t creepy. Ronald McDonald is creepy. Walmart greeters are creepy. This is actually kind of cool.
Ronald McDonald is creepy. That is true.
Sorry what’s creepy about Walmart greeters exactly, or are you just a misanthrope? Finish the thought, because people at work– I’m just not seeing it.
Really, this needs explaining?
Recipe for Walmart Greeter:
- One senior citizen
- One struggling social security system
- One struggling medicare/medicaid system
* Take senior citizen, and deprive them of love/attention from their family. Also strip them of social benefits sufficient to live on. Pour into a corporate-mandated training program. (”Always wear a smile”). Let bake in big box store for 8 hours, while being largely ignored by customers who don’t give a rat’s ass for phony corporate hijinks designed to improve “customer engagement and interaction metrics”.
Creepy.
Their socks are like mine… Not a matching pair in the set! We must have used the same dryer!
Something isn’t right. I count 11 pair of boxers and a single pair of pants in one of the photos (okay, and one pair of shorts). Just doesn’t add up. Sure, they could have had multiple suitcases, but guys never travel with more than one.
Not buying any of this. Silly, indeed. How do i get my 5 minutes back?
This site is tiny. Those suitcases were abnormal. What about toiletries? Random items? I’ve never in my life packed lugged that ONLY had clothing.
What’s creepier is that this is Tech News.
I had to laugh with the sexy nurses uniform in one of them!! Some guy out there will be very dirty his missus lost her luggage!!
Best site idea ever probably.
Really ? Better than Google and Twitter and Facebook or do you just like sounding like Comic Book Guy ?
This is a classic hoax, smells fishy from miles away!!!
Fake. Nice PR campaign. We’ll wait and see what is advertised
Love it!!! Lets wake until Mike Arringtons underwear will be shown – muah ha ha ha
Reminds me of bagladies.com, that site shows contents of lady purses. Awesome.
Not sure why this is creepy: after all, it’s purportedly UNclaimed baggage. As for what the site might be selling, my first thought that this is a salvage site with a twist. Whatever isn’t saleable is photographed for the fun of it. Another reason to do what your mom always told you: always pack clean undies.
Guys,
I too have hard time to bite it too.
It makes no sense for each luggages’ contents.
Seems random.
This site are good. I lost one bag in air france. i got back by this sites. but the cost was highest i think, my bag had 4 underwears only. this site charge me 100$ to sending bag to Tirana, Albania.
Liar, you don’t live in Albania.
fooey!
The airlines should setup something like this so people can find their luggage… maybe minus the underwear pics.
I’ve quickly put together a remix of the IsThisYourLuggage site using a zooming metaphor.
OpenZoom, Is This Your Luggage?
http://gasi.ch/...s-your-luggage/
Awesome demo of OpenZoom! Prezi will be sad.
I like the IsThisYourLuggage site too. The photos are tasteful and have nice composition. Don’t think it’s creepy at all. The “VOYEURISTIC” thing in the About text sounded like he was kidding.
Post of the day… I will be sharing this with coworkers later
We do the same thing (return lost luggage) but without the CREEPY factor of taking pictures of peoples dedicates
http://www.RewardingReturn.com
Our labels actually work on everything (portable electronic devices, wallets, luggage, you name it!)
why dont they just put the auction itself online? I heard somewhere in North Carolina, there’s a store that sells all of people’s stuff if it’s not claimed in a certain amount of time.
It think different and may be helpful If I was never to get it back, then who cares if someone I don’t know rummages through my stuff. It’s not really creepy if it’s lost and never finding its way back to the owner…just a tiny bit creepy.
haha, well you gotta make a living some how. there is this one giant store somewhere in the mid-west that sells items from unclaimed luggage, i saw it being featured on the travel channel. according the airlines protocol, if you lose your luggage the airlines will reimburse you for your lost items, so technically the airlines now owns your luggage if it mysteriously shows up and they can do whatever they want with it. but traveling these days you have to be cautious and secure, take a look at some travel security tips on justaskgemalto.com
Funny: Someone take pictures of 5 supposedly suitcases; upload them online on a “minimalistic” and unattractive website, pretends there are real lost suitcases and get techcrunch exposure… how easy!