Poll: You find $40 on the side of the road - What do you do?

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BathorysGraveland

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Dec 7, 2011
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I'd pick it up. That money could belong to anyone in the area, so fuck trying to track down that one guy. If you hand it in to a police station, suddenly it belongs to 50 different people too. So yeah, I'd take it.
 

Smertnik

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Apr 5, 2010
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I go by the 3-seconds-rule - if the money's been lying on the ground for more than three seconds you're free to take it.
 

Snotnarok

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Nov 17, 2008
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You keep it, times are tough and there's no way to prove who actually owns it, meaning give it to the police and then they ....do what?.

Credit/debit card? Yeah that either finds a police station or I'll shred it for the person. After saying so it reads like it's messed up but I'm sure it's better than the card being used by someone with malicious intent.
 

Seriphina

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Apr 24, 2010
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Consider the person who dropped it! If it was you and you lost 40 quid are you gonna go to the police station? Might return to the scene of the crime and see if anyone has missed it but I think once you have dropped money you know it's gone. :p Finders keepers :p
 

Elementary - Dear Watson

RIP Eleuthera, I will miss you
Nov 9, 2010
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What would the police do? Stick it in a lost property box and after 2 weeks if it is not claimed then it is officially now theirs! :/

To be honest I would keep it, as it wouldn't ever make it's way back to it's original owner, but as I do whenever I have found £5 or £10 pound before (Never found more than that) I would give it to charity...

Coinage I would keep though!
 

Clearing the Eye

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Jun 6, 2012
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I'd take any amount of money I found on the side of the road. If it was in a named clip or a wallet, I'd hand it in to the local police station. But loose money is pretty much entirely untraceable and anyone who claims it's theirs likely has as much claim to it as me.
 

SpAc3man

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Jul 26, 2009
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I live in a neighbourhood where the the local police station closes for the night and doesn't open on Sundays. In an ultra middle class place like this $40 will only be missed for a short while. It is now mine.
 

Goofguy

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Nov 25, 2010
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I would take it and would not feel guilty. Really, there's no way of figuring out who it belongs unless you decide to wait out and see if the rightful owner comes looking for it.

It's two $20 bills, hardly a moral conundrum.
 

DanielBrown

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Dec 3, 2010
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I'd pick it up without thinking twice. If I saw someone in the area that seemed to be looking for something I'd ask them what they were up to and give the money back if they mention dropping some cash.
 

Griffolion

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Aug 18, 2009
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Arontala said:
If it's literally just cash or change, then I'll take it and keep it. If I found it in a wallet, I'd take it to the nearest police station.
This. Bare cash is finders keepers, since it can't be traced anywhere. However it's my responsibility as a generally decent person to report in a lost wallet.
 

Auron225

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Oct 26, 2009
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Keep it - if it was in a wallet then Id turn it in but just money thats lying on the ground, Id keep. If I lost cash on the side of the road, I wouldnt expect anyone to turn it in - Id just feel crap for losing it. So Id keep it but feel bad for whoever lost it at the same time.
 

LawlessSquirrel

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Jun 9, 2010
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Keep it, spend it, leave a nice tip or buy someone something nice. Spread the good fortune, basically.

I'm not turning in some random abandoned money I found on the road...if it were in a wallet or something I'd hand it in, but just money in the middle of nowhere...that's fortune on my side.
 

SomeLameStuff

What type of steak are you?
Apr 26, 2009
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Money? MINE!

Money over $100? MINE!

Money in a wallet? STILL MINE!

Army here doesn't pay very well... And the higher-ups wonder why people are deserting!
 

aksel

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Nov 18, 2009
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I'd keep it. It is highly unlikely that I will find the owner, and the police only puts it in a drawer full of forgotten money. A friend of mine is a cop, and he told me they usually just spend found money on snacks.

A wallet though, that is completely different. You'll definitely find the owner, and I would consider it stealing if you didn't at least hand it in at a police station.

Most amount of money I've ever found was $500. In an unmarked, black envelope. Taped to the underside of a seat at a bus-stop. Dead drop? Maybe. Did I keep it? Definitely!

Captcha: Act of God. If there is a God, I like to think he helped me out...!
 

Watcheroftrends

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Jan 5, 2009
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I'd leave it because there's no clear "right" course of action. Then I'd start to worry that the fact I even saw it might have significance in my decision. Then I'd figure that it's not my responsibilty to do anything just because I can, only if I will gain something in doing so (whether it be the satisfaction of helping someone or money to spend). At this point I'd start to analyze whether we really have a natural sense of justice or if it comes down to an individual's reasoning in situations like this. Then I'd get uncomfortable because the truth is that I wouldn't know what to do. Ideally I'd probably want to observe the money and see what course of action others who come in contact with it take and what follows. Then I'd become disappointed that "life" would make this obsessive endeavor impossible. I'd feel irritated that I'm hindered by the human condition - life itself would interfere with my search for the "answer" to this situation. Then I'd figure that life is so pointless, so fleeting, that I should be able to take the money because it bring a sort of primal excitement and joy. It'd be instantly gratifying and I could even indulge in saying it was fate that I receive the $40. Deep down I'd know, though, that this really isn't true. Is reason or emotion more human than the other? The only thing that's certain is that I have to make a decision. I'd refer to a logic trick: the concept of choosing to leave the money is not the same as it simply being left without my choice. I'd try to remove myself from the situation. I'd attempt to not be human, but only an intelligence. I'd let the event be recorded but not processed. This may be impossible though. Being human may mean I can't stimply let things occur - that I must always have an opinion. Things never are just the way they are. Despite all my reasoning, I've been compelled to type this analyzing a completely theoretical situation. I want someone to read this. I want some answer, or some sort of resonance with another human being. Or maybe this wall of text "just is" as well. This is likely only a brief analysis compared to all factors surrounding this situation. Personally though, I find it stupid that people even post shit asking questions like this because you have to be a total dumbass not to just realize and acknowledge the ambiguity in it, and in life. People are so fucking arrogant to think they have even the simplest of things figured out. You could even say that about how I just became aggressive in those last few lines. And after I'm done, this will sit on this forum, get buried, and never mean anything. Even if you've read this far, you likely won't remember this post or an of its contents after a reasonable length of time.

If you do remember it, it was because it was significant to you. You have related to what I've typed, negatively or positively. Isn't that astounding? To think that you are not alone.
 

MetalMagpie

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Jun 13, 2011
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For a small amount of cash (without a wallet or anything else to mark it out), it's just not worth the police's time. I would hand in a large amount of money, because that could be from a robbery or something.

Otherwise, cash on its own is almost impossible to trace (or to confirm the owner of if they come to claim it). Wallets, on the other hand, should always be handed in.