I was stuck in San Francisco Airport recently when I noticed a young man frantically searching his pockets and backpack.
When the last boarding call for his flight was announced, a look of helpless desperation flooded over him. As he boarded the plane, you could see the sad resignation in his slouched shoulders - he had obviously lost something important.
About five minutes after his plane left, an announcement over the PA solved the mystery. Someone had left their iPod in one of the airport bars.
Having lots of time on my hands and being a Good Samaritan, I went off to find the lost-and-found people so that owner and iPod could be reunited.
That was an exercise in futility. There are dozens of organisations that handle lost and found in airports. Each airline has one, the private security organisation has one, all the government security agencies have one, the airport police have one, even the bars have them.
In the case of this iPod, I never did discover where it was. But I did find out that lots of people lose them in airports.