# Surprises In Your Purse **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [January 14, 2010, 6:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/surprises-in-your-purse/524905 "2010-01-14T06:43:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Incref](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/f17d59/32.png) [@Incref](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Incref)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2010, 5:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/surprises-in-your-purse/524905/41 "2010-01-15T05:28:35Z")
The weirdest thing in my purse at the moment is a condom… Weird as I bat for the other team. I also have a bottle opener, but that comes in handy with surprising regularity! ---
**Author:** ![Maiira](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f04885/32.png) [@Maiira](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maiira)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2010, 6:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/surprises-in-your-purse/524905/42 "2010-01-15T06:14:16Z")
I have a tiny little toy snake in my purse. I just found it on the sidewalk one day, and decided it was cute, so I kept it. I also have used tissues in there, because sometimes I’ll blow my nose and not have any place to put the tissue. I try to empty those out as soon as I can, but I sometimes miss one or two. ---
**Author:** ![HazelNutCoffee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ac91a4/32.png) [@HazelNutCoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HazelNutCoffee)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2010, 6:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/surprises-in-your-purse/524905/43 "2010-01-15T06:46:03Z")
I have a box of paper clips and a box of staples. And probably some forgotten caramels as well. ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ec8ea/32.png) [@salinqmind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2010, 6:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/surprises-in-your-purse/524905/44 "2010-01-15T06:57:07Z")
I have a tape measure, too, I use it a LOT more than you’d think… For years I carried a very pretty 1" long plastic fish that had been a decoration on a birthday cake, as a good luck charm. My luck has been only so-so, but maybe that’s because the fish is keeping the rotten luck away, and this is as good as its gonna get. ---
**Author:** ![Baffle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/dec6dc/32.png) [@Baffle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baffle)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2010, 7:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/surprises-in-your-purse/524905/45 "2010-01-15T07:29:27Z")
I have a paper cutter, a graphing calculator, and plans for a set of wooden deck chairs in mine right now. ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2010, 8:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/surprises-in-your-purse/524905/46 "2010-01-15T08:34:00Z")
> [@PookahMacPhellimey](#): > > Two little toy owls called Tiberius and Claudius. > > They aren’t surprises, though. I put them there. But they might be surprising to other people since I don’t really have a cutesy imagine or so I hope. I used to carry a stuffed owl Beanie Baby that my daughter gave to me, her name is Owlberta. I quit carrying her around because one of my dentist’s assistants believes that owls are bad luck, and I don’t want to make her (the dental assistant, not Owlberta) nervous when she’s adjusting my dentures. And I just added that teensy pair of survival binoculars to my shopping list. I’ve had reason to want a pair of binoculars and/or a flashlight when I’ve been out and about lately. Plus, it’s from AS&S, so it’s almost guaranteed to be cool. Maybe I should get several, for stocking stuffers next year. ---
**Author:** ![prettymouth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/87869e/32.png) [@prettymouth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/prettymouth)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2010, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/surprises-in-your-purse/524905/47 "2010-01-15T13:37:26Z")
i always have a pebble in my purse… and also, a billy club. ---
**Author:** ![PapSett](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ecc23a/32.png) [@PapSett](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PapSett)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2010, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/surprises-in-your-purse/524905/48 "2010-01-15T14:01:12Z")
I guess the most useless thing I have in my purse is my ticket stub from my vacation last year… I went to see Grease on Broadway, a friend was playing Kenickie. It was my first time to NYC. I haven’t seen that friend ssince, his life has taken him in a different direction, and somehow, keeping that ticket near me seems to keep a tiny sliver of that friendship near. Silly, I know. The most random thing I ever found in my purse unexpectedly was one night at work, I reached in to get something out and found a squeaky dog toy. I guesss one of the pooches thought I mightr get bored… 😃 ---
**Author:** ![OpalCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8edcca/32.png) [@OpalCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OpalCat)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2010, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/surprises-in-your-purse/524905/49 "2010-01-15T16:49:42Z")
A comb. “Hey,” you say, “that’s not weird!” But it is, because it’s been in my purse for a couple of YEARS now and I’ve NEVER used it. I thought I would, but I just like brushes better, so I never use it. I don’t take it out of my purse because it’s flat and doesn’t take up much room, and I keep thinking it could be good in an emergency hair situation someday. ---
**Author:** ![Wile\_E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c37758/32.png) [@Wile\_E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wile_E)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2010, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/surprises-in-your-purse/524905/50 "2010-01-15T18:28:39Z")
Owls are bad luck for small nocturnal prey animals but I didn’t think they were considered bad luck otherwise, is that a cultural thing? ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2010, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/surprises-in-your-purse/524905/51 "2010-01-15T18:40:50Z")
Owls are associated with ghosts, bad luck, spirits, etc. ETA: A quick Google search tells me this is fairly common in the world, from Africa to North American Natives. ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2010, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/surprises-in-your-purse/524905/52 "2010-01-15T19:35:01Z")
The dental assistant is part Native American, and apparently she was just raised to believe that owls and representations of owls are bad luck. It’s a good thing that she doesn’t work with my podiatrist’s assistant. THAT one is a birder, and particularly likes owls. She has owl pictures and figurines all over that office. ---
**Author:** ![Markxxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@Markxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Markxxx)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2010, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/surprises-in-your-purse/524905/53 "2010-01-15T20:00:08Z")
I had a co-worker from Tanzania and over there owls are indeed very bad luck. They bring death and illness to children. I’ve also known Arabs who have told me owls bring bad luck to kids. Seems to make sense since the Arabian Penninsula and East Africa are long connected by trade. There is an owl by my flat and I live in the city of Chicago. It’s a barn owl and it’s hard to see him but you can hear him hooting. ---
**Author:** ![Emeria](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/3be4f8/32.png) [@Emeria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Emeria)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2010, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/surprises-in-your-purse/524905/54 "2010-01-15T23:11:09Z")
> [@Yeticus\_Rex](#): > > My wife has ants in her purse. It used to be surprising, now it’s just annoying. This made me do a double take. A portable ant colony? Time to get a new purse, perhaps? I have After Bite in my purse, which is always surprising to others because I live in the city and work an office job. I think it’s perfectly logical, because I horseback ride, and especially in the summer I found I’d arrive at work and absentmindedly scratch at flybites from the evening before. This can make coworkers :dubious:, not to mention it’s downright uncomfortable, so I carry the remedy around with me. ---
**Author:** ![Yeticus\_Rex](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/a698b9/32.png) [@Yeticus\_Rex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yeticus_Rex)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2010, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/surprises-in-your-purse/524905/55 "2010-01-16T01:25:38Z")
> [@Emeria](#): > > This made me do a double take. A portable ant colony? Time to get a new purse, perhaps? Throws candy in her purse and forgets about it…leaves the purse by the garage door from the laundry room to the garage and the ants are real year-round diehards…finding ways in from the outside…her purse is a convenient fast food joint on their journey. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/surprises-in-your-purse/524905.md?page=2)