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Home / Lifestyle

Boneless chickens and insulin pens: Strange things Kiwis leave in Ubers

Jenni Mortimer
By Jenni Mortimer
Chief Lifestyle & Entertainment Reporter·NZ Herald·
5 Mar, 2019 05:00 PM2 mins to read

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Boneless chicken, a rocket ship and a set of knives were left in Ubers over the past year. Photos / Getty Images

Boneless chicken, a rocket ship and a set of knives were left in Ubers over the past year. Photos / Getty Images

We've all been there: distracted in an Uber on your way to a friend's place, an event or the airport.

Perhaps a few "roadies" have added fuel to your forgetful fire and you exit your Uber minus an important item.

Confession: this writer has most definitely been there, leaving a fake pink gun and matching plastic holster in an Uber ride to a Christmas party.

This writer left a crucial accessory to her Christmas party costume in an Uber. Photo / Getty Images
This writer left a crucial accessory to her Christmas party costume in an Uber. Photo / Getty Images

Depending on how attached you were to your lost item, you'll know the feeling of making that sheepish call to plead with your Uber driver to return your precious - or crucial to a great cowboy costume - item as quickly as possible.

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While the majority may be guilty of a set of keys or a wallet left behind, there are those among us who have found themselves scrambling to get their boneless chicken, unicycle or rocket ship back.

According to Uber's latest Lost & Found index, released today, these unusual items are among the things Kiwis have haphazardly shut the door on between January and December of last year.

As phones, wallets and keys top the list of commonly misplaced items, the boneless chicken is also joined by insulin pens and a single pack of butter in the line up of stranger things left in the back of a Prius.

The index also highlights the worst day of the week for leaving things behind: Not surprisingly, Saturdays take the cake, with around 65 items left in Ubers on an average weekend.

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Pinpointing Kiwis' most forgetful day of the year, the Auckland City Limits festival has a lot to answer for: March 3 last year saw 69 items left behind by excited festival folk.

After a few beverages, it's easy to forget what you jumped into the Uber with. Photo / Supplied
After a few beverages, it's easy to forget what you jumped into the Uber with. Photo / Supplied

Here are the top 10 most common items left in Ubers - and some of the strangest:

Most common

1. Phone / camera
2. Wallet / purse
3. Keys
4. Backpack / Bag / Luggage
5. Clothing items
6. Glasses
7. Vape / e-cigarette
8. Umbrellas
9. Passport
10. Headphones / speaker

Most unusual:

1. Wellington student's graduate diploma
2. An entire boneless chicken
3. Two boxes of cream phone chargers
4. A handsaw
5. An EFTPOS machine
6. Insulin pens
7. A single pack of butter
8. A unicycle
9. A chef's professional knife set
10. A rocket (reported missing but never clarified as a toy or other)

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