# Is it really that hard to know which piece of luggage is yours? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [October 1, 2013, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-really-that-hard-to-know-which-piece-of-luggage-is-yours/670067 "2013-10-01T03:28:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![spinky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@spinky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spinky)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2013, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-really-that-hard-to-know-which-piece-of-luggage-is-yours/670067/61 "2013-10-03T04:26:19Z")
> [@Topologist](#): > > I am a topologist, but I can only tell bags apart if they have a different number of handles. Well, my suitcase is a torus, but I guess you’d consider that equivalent to a “one handle” bag. ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2013, 6:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-really-that-hard-to-know-which-piece-of-luggage-is-yours/670067/62 "2013-10-03T06:15:14Z")
I use three recycled orange traffic cones as my luggage. I staple some rubber over the holes to keep my stuff from leaking out. Imagine my surprise when I saw FOUR bright orange cones on the baggage carousel !! ---
**Author:** ![anya\_marie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ebca7d/32.png) [@anya\_marie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/anya_marie)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2013, 8:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-really-that-hard-to-know-which-piece-of-luggage-is-yours/670067/63 "2013-10-09T08:58:11Z")
I have ribbons on my suitcase; i get my hookup at Jo Ann Fabrics so you can get any colour you wantand not spend much. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2013, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-really-that-hard-to-know-which-piece-of-luggage-is-yours/670067/64 "2013-10-10T03:37:27Z")
Distinctive luggage tags help. The wife and I use University of Hawaii tags we picked up in the U of H bookstore on our last visit. ---
**Author:** ![TBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@TBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TBG)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2013, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-really-that-hard-to-know-which-piece-of-luggage-is-yours/670067/65 "2013-10-10T20:45:10Z")
> [@Omar\_Little](#): > > Just flew into Phoenix and was at baggage claim getting my bag. I’m standing next to this guy that picked up every black suitcase between 18” and 26” no matter what brand, or how many wheels it had and checked the airline tag to see if it was his. Each time he would say, “I thought that was mine.” > > Is it really that hard to remember the brand and size and style of bag that you packed before you left home? Maybe it was a drug drop or something and he wasn’t the one who put the bag on the plane. ---
**Author:** ![Arabella\_Flynn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8491ac/32.png) [@Arabella\_Flynn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arabella_Flynn)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2013, 5:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-really-that-hard-to-know-which-piece-of-luggage-is-yours/670067/66 "2013-10-12T05:58:31Z")
My luggage is black because the black ones were the ones on clearance when I needed a set of luggage in a hurry. I’ve tied fabric to the handles, and they all sport Tinkerbell luggage tags from a Disneyland trip I took several years ago. I don’t fly all that much, but it does help on photoshoots – at a group deal where everyone’s bringing their own shoes and accessories, you wind up with half a dozen identical black wheelie overhead-bin bags lying around the dressing room. A friend of mine swears blind that the next time she needs to buy luggage, she’s going to go to Las Vegas and get it in the Tropicana gift shop. She wants her baggage to look, and I quote, “like I got it at Prince’s garage sale”. Bonus points if it’s so ugly no one would walk off with it even if you had the Hope diamond inside. 😃 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-really-that-hard-to-know-which-piece-of-luggage-is-yours/670067.md?page=3)