# So, you've stumbled upon Steve Fossett's wallet while sneaking a pee behind a rock **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 2, 2008, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-youve-stumbled-upon-steve-fossetts-wallet-while-sneaking-a-pee-behind-a-rock/466237 "2008-10-02T22:08:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Rick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9f8e36/32.png) [@Rick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2008, 5:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-youve-stumbled-upon-steve-fossetts-wallet-while-sneaking-a-pee-behind-a-rock/466237/21 "2008-10-03T05:40:38Z")
[Joke told by the Disneyland employees to people waiting in line for the Jungle Cruise] Would the person that lost the roll of twenty dollar bills with the rubber band around them, please come forward. We found your rubber band.[/Jtbtdetpwilftjc] I have turned in wallets with money before. No reason to believe I would do different here. ---
**Author:** ![Revenant\_Threshold](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f1d935/32.png) [@Revenant\_Threshold](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revenant_Threshold)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2008, 6:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-youve-stumbled-upon-steve-fossetts-wallet-while-sneaking-a-pee-behind-a-rock/466237/22 "2008-10-03T06:43:11Z")
I think in a situation like that i’d turn it all in. Not a huge amount of sense in stealing from what’s likely to be a crime scene of some kind. The idea of finding it in the middle of the street seems to have entirely dumsquizzled me though. Intellectually, that 500 quid is mine. But actually imagining taking the cash out before sending the wallet back gives me a pretty strong heeby-jeeby-ness. Curses. ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2008, 7:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-youve-stumbled-upon-steve-fossetts-wallet-while-sneaking-a-pee-behind-a-rock/466237/23 "2008-10-03T07:39:48Z")
> [@Yarster](#): > > with money amounts that big, I’d start to wonder if drugs/ransoms were involved and if the money was somehow marked. The money is not marked. There is, however, a transmitter in the carrying case. ---
**Author:** ![One\_And\_Only\_Wanderers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/838e76/32.png) [@One\_And\_Only\_Wanderers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/One_And_Only_Wanderers)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2008, 7:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-youve-stumbled-upon-steve-fossetts-wallet-while-sneaking-a-pee-behind-a-rock/466237/24 "2008-10-03T07:59:16Z")
in this particular case, will the finder get any cash from interviews etc due to the news worthiness of his find? Add me to the hand in the cash list. ---
**Author:** ![placebo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e274bd/32.png) [@placebo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/placebo)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2008, 8:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-youve-stumbled-upon-steve-fossetts-wallet-while-sneaking-a-pee-behind-a-rock/466237/25 "2008-10-03T08:47:01Z")
If I take the money and hand it over to charity, possibly saving a life or two, am I still a jerk? ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2008, 10:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-youve-stumbled-upon-steve-fossetts-wallet-while-sneaking-a-pee-behind-a-rock/466237/26 "2008-10-03T10:41:54Z")
I’d turn it in, especially since it’s evidence. The only reason I’d even consider taking it is because I give better than even odds that if I turn in the money the cops will steal it for themselves. I might compromise and chuck the money in a fire I suppose. ---
**Author:** ![Dag\_Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@Dag\_Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dag_Otto)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2008, 12:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-youve-stumbled-upon-steve-fossetts-wallet-while-sneaking-a-pee-behind-a-rock/466237/27 "2008-10-03T12:29:04Z")
> [@Yarster](#): > > I don’t think I’d compromise my morals for $1,000 in cash. Remember that the OP has already pegged you as one who sneaks a pee behind a rock. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2008, 12:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-youve-stumbled-upon-steve-fossetts-wallet-while-sneaking-a-pee-behind-a-rock/466237/28 "2008-10-03T12:39:50Z")
The Feds would, sooner or later, be all over that site like a cheap suit. No thanks. ---
**Author:** ![ShelliBean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f9ae1b/32.png) [@ShelliBean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShelliBean)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2008, 12:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-youve-stumbled-upon-steve-fossetts-wallet-while-sneaking-a-pee-behind-a-rock/466237/29 "2008-10-03T12:52:31Z")
Hmm, I’ve thought about this and \ and just like that - poof - ShelliBean was gone… \ OK - maybe the only thing keeping me from taking it would be the fear of getting caught. But I still believe what the old joke says - we’re all whores, just some of us have a lower purchase point. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2008, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-youve-stumbled-upon-steve-fossetts-wallet-while-sneaking-a-pee-behind-a-rock/466237/30 "2008-10-03T13:46:25Z")
I’d be afraid of getting caught, too, but I’d probably keep the money. ---
**Author:** ![Frustrated\_Wonderer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a4c791/32.png) [@Frustrated\_Wonderer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frustrated_Wonderer)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2008, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-youve-stumbled-upon-steve-fossetts-wallet-while-sneaking-a-pee-behind-a-rock/466237/31 "2008-10-03T13:58:47Z")
He´s a millonaire and he´s dead (probably), his wife would not want the 1000$ left over from his wallet to remember him by. I´d take it, screw the feds. ---
**Author:** ![PunditLisa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/4af34b/32.png) [@PunditLisa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PunditLisa)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2008, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-youve-stumbled-upon-steve-fossetts-wallet-while-sneaking-a-pee-behind-a-rock/466237/32 "2008-10-03T14:07:10Z")
> [@placebo](#): > > If I take the money and hand it over to charity, possibly saving a life or two, am I still a jerk? If you murder someone, and the hospital uses his organs to save five other people, would you still be wrong? Taking money that belongs to someone else is stealing no matter how you rationalize it. ---
**Author:** ![Cluricaun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/bb73d2/32.png) [@Cluricaun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cluricaun)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2008, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-youve-stumbled-upon-steve-fossetts-wallet-while-sneaking-a-pee-behind-a-rock/466237/33 "2008-10-03T14:41:42Z")
I’d take the whole thing and start using his credit cards at random locations across the country buying all sorts of weird stuff like 200 rolls of gauze, 8 square feet of white leather, some sewing needles, and a banjo then stop and wait to see if it makes the news. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2008, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-youve-stumbled-upon-steve-fossetts-wallet-while-sneaking-a-pee-behind-a-rock/466237/34 "2008-10-03T14:46:24Z")
> [@PunditLisa](#): > > If you murder someone, and the hospital uses his organs to save five other people, would you still be wrong? > > Taking money that belongs to someone else is stealing no matter how you rationalize it. Absolutely. So the question then becomes, “First, is stealing always wrong, and second, am I always right?” ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2008, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-youve-stumbled-upon-steve-fossetts-wallet-while-sneaking-a-pee-behind-a-rock/466237/35 "2008-10-03T15:01:08Z")
> [@Dag\_Otto](#): > > Remember that the OP has already pegged you as one who sneaks a pee behind a rock. Which is neither illegal nor immoral out in the deep wilderness. Note that since he was a millionaire, I’d excuse your theft if you desperately needed the money to feed your family. But it’d still be stealing. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2008, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-youve-stumbled-upon-steve-fossetts-wallet-while-sneaking-a-pee-behind-a-rock/466237/36 "2008-10-03T16:12:16Z")
Robbing a dead man’s wallet isn’t my kind of evil. My evil deeds are less about personal profit & self-aggrandizement than causing the innocent and/or my enemies to suffer. Dude’s dead, so he can’t suffer any more, and I don’t want the other villains to think I’m a wuss. Plus it’s tacky. ---
**Author:** ![Nars\_Glinley](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nars_glinley/32/8177_2.png) [@Nars\_Glinley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nars_Glinley)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2008, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-youve-stumbled-upon-steve-fossetts-wallet-while-sneaking-a-pee-behind-a-rock/466237/37 "2008-10-03T17:24:55Z")
> [@neutron\_star](#): > > I’d take the money, wipe my prints off the wallet, and toss it in a mailbox. I’d hide the wallet in a wall for someone to find 30 years later. ---
**Author:** ![Sitnam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Sitnam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sitnam)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2008, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-youve-stumbled-upon-steve-fossetts-wallet-while-sneaking-a-pee-behind-a-rock/466237/38 "2008-10-03T17:46:49Z")
I’d turn in the jacket, wallet and ID’s too the authorities to sooth the family, then keep the $1000. The Fosset family can afford it. ---
**Author:** ![OtakuLoki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ac8455/32.png) [@OtakuLoki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OtakuLoki)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2008, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-youve-stumbled-upon-steve-fossetts-wallet-while-sneaking-a-pee-behind-a-rock/466237/39 "2008-10-03T18:01:17Z")
I don’t know for certain, but before I can answer: Is this money in spendable condition? i.e. has the year or more it’s been exposed to the elements left the money such that you’ll have to resort to turning it into the Federal Reserve to have them verify it, and then issue new currency for the same value? If I had _any_ question about the ability to spend the currency, there’s no temptation to take the money. If the cash looks as clean and crisp as if it came out of an ATM this morning? I’ll be tempted. Very strongly tempted. I hope I’d turn the money in. But I’m not 100% certain. ---
**Author:** ![ShelliBean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f9ae1b/32.png) [@ShelliBean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShelliBean)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2008, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-youve-stumbled-upon-steve-fossetts-wallet-while-sneaking-a-pee-behind-a-rock/466237/40 "2008-10-03T18:31:27Z")
> [@WhyNot](#): > > Absolutely. So the question then becomes, “First, is stealing always wrong, and second, am I always right?” Add to that - should it matter if the person you are stealing from is a millionaire or not? I am disturbed by the people who say they would steal from a millionaire - as though having had the means or will or ability to make money for themselves makes it ok for you to take it. I voted for stealing the wallet. But I’d steal from y’alls broke asses, too. 😃 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-youve-stumbled-upon-steve-fossetts-wallet-while-sneaking-a-pee-behind-a-rock/466237.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-youve-stumbled-upon-steve-fossetts-wallet-while-sneaking-a-pee-behind-a-rock/466237.md?page=3)