# Have you ever stumbled across something you completely forgot you owned?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-stumbled-across-something-you-completely-forgot-you-owned/993211
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
**Created:** [November 15, 2023, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-stumbled-across-something-you-completely-forgot-you-owned/993211 "2023-11-15T23:14:25Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@WildaBeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildaBeast)
#### Post date: [November 15, 2023, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-stumbled-across-something-you-completely-forgot-you-owned/993211/1 "2023-11-15T23:14:25Z")
So I was just looking through my CD collection for inspiration for nominations for @Mean_Mr.Mustard’s latest song poll\*. There, on the very bottom of a stack of CDs, I found a copy of _David Sedaris Live at Carnegie Hall_. I was completely unaware I owned that. I have absolutely no memory of ever having owned it, no memory of how I got it. I like David Sedaris enough that I might have bought it on impulse if I found it at a used record store or something, and then put it on the shelf and forgot about it. Or did I receive it as a gift, and put it on the shelf and forgot about it? I really don’t remember.
\*That was a bust, by the way. Every actual music CD I own is already in my music library on my phone, which I already looked at, so there was nothing really new there.
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### Author:  [@epbrown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/epbrown)
#### Post date: [November 16, 2023, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-stumbled-across-something-you-completely-forgot-you-owned/993211/2 "2023-11-16T01:38:55Z")
I’m betting for a LOT of people that will be media. I’ll often run across a book I don’t remember buying. I read a review, think it sounds interesting, buy a copy and shelve it - never to return. The worst is when that happens a year or two later and I think “Hey, I meant to buy that!” And get home to discover I already did.
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### Author:  [@ChockFullOfHeadyGoodness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ChockFullOfHeadyGoodness)
#### Post date: [November 16, 2023, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-stumbled-across-something-you-completely-forgot-you-owned/993211/3 "2023-11-16T01:47:00Z")
This past weekend one of the recessed can light bulbs in my bedroom burned out. This is the first time I’ve needed to replace a bulb since we remodeled in 2004. I bought a 2 pack at the store. When I went to put it in the garage cabinet with the rest of the light bulbs, I found another 3 flood bulbs in unopened boxes. When, why and who bought them? I have absolutely no idea.
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### Author:  [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)
#### Post date: [November 16, 2023, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-stumbled-across-something-you-completely-forgot-you-owned/993211/4 "2023-11-16T01:58:42Z")
Twice a day, four times on Sunday.
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### Author:  [@romansperson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/romansperson)
#### Post date: [November 16, 2023, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-stumbled-across-something-you-completely-forgot-you-owned/993211/5 "2023-11-16T02:19:23Z")
I buy books for other people as gifts pretty frequently - I am very grateful for Amazon’s purchase history, so I can check and make sure I don’t buy my giftees the same book twice.
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### Author:  [@Seanette](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Seanette)
#### Post date: [November 16, 2023, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-stumbled-across-something-you-completely-forgot-you-owned/993211/6 "2023-11-16T03:21:21Z")
Only every time I move, clean out a closet…
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### Author:  [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)
#### Post date: [November 16, 2023, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-stumbled-across-something-you-completely-forgot-you-owned/993211/7 "2023-11-16T03:39:45Z")
Yep. Bottom bookshelves, old boxes in the garage, more or less all the time.
Hell, I can buy something and forget I owned it in a week.
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### Author:  [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)
#### Post date: [November 16, 2023, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-stumbled-across-something-you-completely-forgot-you-owned/993211/8 "2023-11-16T03:43:46Z")
So often that I stopped bothering to remember what I owned altogether. I assume I already have one somewhere and only after failing to find it will I go out and buy one and find a place to keep it where I’ll find the one that I did already own.
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### Author:  [@SpoilerVirgin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpoilerVirgin)
#### Post date: [November 16, 2023, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-stumbled-across-something-you-completely-forgot-you-owned/993211/9 "2023-11-16T03:49:46Z")
I don’t even know how many times I’ve gone to buy a book for my Kindle only to have Amazon tell me that I previously bought it. I also just finished my last box of tea, so I ordered a dozen more. When they arrived, I opened the drawer to put them away, and saw six already there.
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### Author:  [@Quondam\_Mechanic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quondam_Mechanic)
#### Post date: [November 16, 2023, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-stumbled-across-something-you-completely-forgot-you-owned/993211/10 "2023-11-16T03:50:15Z")
Who was the comic who invented the term “refrigerator blindness” for buying food items you already had enough of in store? Comes in very handy…
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### Author:  [@HoneyBadgerDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HoneyBadgerDC)
#### Post date: [November 16, 2023, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-stumbled-across-something-you-completely-forgot-you-owned/993211/11 "2023-11-16T03:57:59Z")
I stumbled across an old shot gun about a year ago that I had forgotten about. I had moved it several times in the past 40 years but never really looked at it. I had planned on refinishing it when I got it. I guess I just set it aside and never thought about it again. I did the refinish and it came out great.
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### Author:  [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)
#### Post date: [November 16, 2023, 7:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-stumbled-across-something-you-completely-forgot-you-owned/993211/12 "2023-11-16T07:16:12Z")
We have a bag. It’s a nice Burberry tote thing. An ugly color though. It hangs in the mudroom. No one will claim it. I didn’t buy it. We argue about it all the time. Everyone has a theory. Mostly around me buying it and being ashamed or embarrassed. Heck, I’d use it. It’s the idea that they’ll get validated if I do. I can’t let that happen. Oooh Noooo. Not giving in.
I told the Lil’wrekker to sell it on Poshmark or something. She ain’t done it yet.
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### Author:  [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)
#### Post date: [November 16, 2023, 7:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-stumbled-across-something-you-completely-forgot-you-owned/993211/13 "2023-11-16T07:18:59Z")
> [@epbrown](#):
>
> I’m betting for a LOT of people that will be media.
Yup. I have several CDs that I bought twice (not realizing that I already owned them), and a couple of RPG rulebooks that I accidentally bought for a second time.
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### Author:  [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)
#### Post date: [November 16, 2023, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-stumbled-across-something-you-completely-forgot-you-owned/993211/14 "2023-11-16T13:51:23Z")
When my gf’s ex moved out he left a ton of stuff; tools, skis, more tools, stuff I never identified, etc.
Installing a new kitchen faucet, I needed a basin wrench. I didn’t remember ever owning one, so I was going to the hardware store to buy one.
First I figured I’d look through the drawers in the garage to see if I needed anything else for the project. While doing so I found three basin wrenches. One was definitely mine, I’d just forgotten about it. I was so glad I didn’t buy a fourth.
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### Author:  [@TRC4941](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TRC4941)
#### Post date: [November 16, 2023, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-stumbled-across-something-you-completely-forgot-you-owned/993211/15 "2023-11-16T15:53:33Z")
Just the other day I went into my jewelry armoire (that sounds very fancy but it’s just a bunch of costume jewelry!) for some earrings to wear. I have my earrings sorted by finish and color. I was sifting through the silver earrings and came across a really cute pair - hammered brushed silver (not real silver) with a small brass colored moon attached. I have no recollection of buying them or getting them as a gift. I’ve never seen them before. I love them and wear them quite often now.
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### Author:  [@Misnomer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Misnomer)
#### Post date: [November 16, 2023, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-stumbled-across-something-you-completely-forgot-you-owned/993211/16 "2023-11-16T16:32:12Z")
My 22-year-old “nephew” has been seriously into LEGO for the past several years. I’ve bought him a few sets, and his parents seem to enjoy building them, too, but I hadn’t played with bricks since I was young. I’m a jazz musician, though, and late last year I discovered the [jazz quartet](https://www.lego.com/en-us/product/jazz-quartet-21334) set: I got it for myself in March, and figured I’d see if I liked it. I kind of expected to not have the patience. 🙂
I wound up liking it enough that the next month I decided to dig out an [Eiffel Tower](https://www.lego.com/en-us/product/the-eiffel-tower-21019) set I’d bought in 2017 (friends and I went to Paris that fall; as a joke I’d bought a set for each of us). While looking for that box, I discovered a [Fallingwater](https://www.amazon.com/LEGO-Architecture-Fallingwater-Discontinued-manufacturer/dp/B002IXYSGO/) set that my mom gave me for Christmas in 2010 – I love Frank Lloyd Wright, and had recently gone to Fallingwater for the first time – that I had _completely_ forgotten about! I was truly astounded for a moment, and still can’t quite believe I kept it all of those years (and through several moves). I’m so glad I did, not only because it’s a pretty set but because it’s so discontinued that it’s not even listed on the LEGO site anymore.
Since March, I’ve completed 8 sets of varying size/complexity: next up is the [jazz club](https://www.lego.com/en-us/product/jazz-club-10312).
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### Author:  [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)
#### Post date: [November 16, 2023, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-stumbled-across-something-you-completely-forgot-you-owned/993211/17 "2023-11-16T17:31:14Z")
I’m very impressed. My kids loved and grandwrex _LOVE_ their Lego.
I may get me a set.
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### Author:  [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)
#### Post date: [November 16, 2023, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-stumbled-across-something-you-completely-forgot-you-owned/993211/18 "2023-11-16T17:58:17Z")
All the time.
Didn’t you start a thread like this before?
😉
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### Author:  [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)
#### Post date: [November 16, 2023, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-stumbled-across-something-you-completely-forgot-you-owned/993211/19 "2023-11-16T18:23:22Z")
About a year ago I found a pair of Sketchers walking shoes in the closet that I didn’t remember buying. Which is odd because I only own about five pairs of shoes so it should be something easy to keep track of. I think I bought them then they just got shoved to the back of the closet and I forgot about them. Of course now that I found them I wear them all the time - right now in fact!
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### Author:  [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)
#### Post date: [November 16, 2023, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-stumbled-across-something-you-completely-forgot-you-owned/993211/20 "2023-11-16T18:40:03Z")
> [@Beckdawrek](#):
>
> I’m very impressed. My kids loved and grandwrex _LOVE_ their Lego.
>
> I may get me a set.
Prepare to get a second mortgage. They are cool, but expensive.
We’ve been cleaning out a drawer or a closet every day, and have been finding tons of stuff we forgot we had. Just yesterday we found a fancy cookie maker and some long bread pans from when my wife was making bread for restaurants.
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