Dublin Airport has had its fair share of mysterious finds
A headstone with the inscription "You will never be forgotten", a toilet seat and cistern, and a live turtle are among the more bizarre items left behind by passengers at Dublin Airport.
Despite the epitaph "you will always be remembered, never forgotten", the owner of the headstone seemingly forgot all about their dearly departed and misplaced the memorial at the drop-off point to the departures area at Terminal One a few years ago, according to DAA spokeswoman Audrey O'Hagan.
A toilet seat and cistern were also found abandoned at the departures entrance in the airport.
A life-size mannequin, human ashes, false teeth and a glass eye were also items consigned to the airport's lost and found section, where they can be reclaimed within a year.
A large of number of abandoned crutches and wheelchairs have also wound up in the lost and found, leading airport staff to wonder whether "some miraculous recoveries have taken place within the terminals", according to Ms O'Hagan.
The DAA's listing of items recently left and available for collection for a limited time also raise some interesting questions about who has been passing through the gates.
A "brown envelope" was left behind by a passenger on July 14, while a set of "cast iron dungeon keys" was found on June 11.
One passenger attempted to transport a large boulder from an Irish beach as a souvenir for their garden, even though it weighed a hefty 15kgs and could have been used as a weapon.
A large anchor chain link was also taken off another passenger for similar reasons, while chainsaws and angle grinders have been consigned to checked-in luggage for security reasons.
While airport staff are used to seeing pretty much everything go through the X-ray scanner, they were taken aback when a passenger tried to take a kitchen sink in their hand luggage, Ms O'Hagan said.
A passenger tried to get on a flight with a live turtle in their pocket, finally handing it back unharmed to a family member who was not flying.
Xenon808 on August 21st, 2017 at 23:50 UTC »
I took a class from someone who used to work for Spirit Airlines in San Juan. She saw a plastic tub on the counter with the label "grandpa" on top. She kept it for about a year and then realized she couldn't just throw a person away.
She took him home and keeps him on her mantle and at Christmas, puts him in decorative tins. It freaks her daughter out but she finds it comforting.
SpitsFire2 on August 21st, 2017 at 23:14 UTC »
I'm a mortician. You'd be surprised how many families will badger us daily re: "when can we pick up the cremated remains?" Only to then leave them in the trunk of their car for months afterward... Edit: oh my gosh, haha, this escalated...
smartcool on August 21st, 2017 at 19:18 UTC »
And now the rest of the story--the deceased was a pilot.