# What would happen to a John/Jane Doe? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 26, 2023, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-to-a-john-jane-doe/989157 "2023-08-26T22:08:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Love\_Rhombus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/love_rhombus/32/10694_2.png) [@Love\_Rhombus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Love_Rhombus)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2023, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-to-a-john-jane-doe/989157/1 "2023-08-26T22:08:24Z")
So a person is brought into a hospital with no I.D. They don’t know who they are, no memory or fingerprint record. What happens next if they never remember and no one comes for them? (Is John or Jane Doe correct? I’ve only heard that in connection with deceased people.) ---
**Author:** ![OldGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/3bc359/32.png) [@OldGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OldGuy)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2023, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-to-a-john-jane-doe/989157/2 "2023-08-26T22:12:08Z")
I’d guess they’d use DNA to try to match him through the various companies. If the patient refused, I’d be suspicious he was faking amnesia. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2023, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-to-a-john-jane-doe/989157/3 "2023-08-26T22:39:03Z")
John or Jane Doe can be used for medical patients of unknown identity. I will note that an injury that genuinely wipes one’s memory has a high probability of killing one. A situation where someone is able to sit up, speak coherently, interact with others, but has no memory of self it likely to be [a psychological issues but that doesn’t automatically mean it’s “fake”](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dissociative_fugue), although questions will be raised. Dissociative fugue is a thing even if it is a very rare thing. A variety of means will be used to attempt to identify the person, including fingerprints, DNA, and simply showing their picture on TV or other broadcast media. If they can’t be identified there will be an attempt to rehabilitate the person to independence and a new identity established. They probably won’t retain a name like “John Doe” but choose something with less baggage. ---
**Author:** ![Love\_Rhombus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/love_rhombus/32/10694_2.png) [@Love\_Rhombus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Love_Rhombus)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2023, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-to-a-john-jane-doe/989157/4 "2023-08-26T22:54:41Z")
Would they be helped to get new identification papers, like a driver’s license? ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2023, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-to-a-john-jane-doe/989157/5 "2023-08-26T23:02:09Z")
Need answer fast? ---
**Author:** ![SpoilerVirgin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4491bb/32.png) [@SpoilerVirgin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpoilerVirgin)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2023, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-to-a-john-jane-doe/989157/6 "2023-08-27T02:30:35Z")
The case of [Benjaman Kyle](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benjaman_Kyle) provides a good example of what might happen to an unidentified person. ---
**Author:** ![Love\_Rhombus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/love_rhombus/32/10694_2.png) [@Love\_Rhombus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Love_Rhombus)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2023, 8:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-to-a-john-jane-doe/989157/7 "2023-08-27T08:16:36Z")
Very interesting, thank you. There’s so many ways to hopefully discover who you were out there. Not a spelling of Benjamin I’ve seen before. ---
**Author:** ![alovem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b38774/32.png) [@alovem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alovem)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2023, 10:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-to-a-john-jane-doe/989157/8 "2023-08-27T10:29:11Z")
What an unsettling gaze in his photo in the Wikipedia entry. Staring out at you with an expression that seems to say, “Do _you_ know who I am?” ---
**Author:** ![purplehorseshoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/purplehorseshoe/32/2996_2.png) [@purplehorseshoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehorseshoe)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2023, 11:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-to-a-john-jane-doe/989157/9 "2023-08-27T11:59:08Z")
I thought that, too, then read that he had cataracts in both eyes when found. I wonder if that expression is the result of spending who-knows-how-long squinting and nearly blind. ---
**Author:** ![Love\_Rhombus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/love_rhombus/32/10694_2.png) [@Love\_Rhombus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Love_Rhombus)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2023, 12:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-to-a-john-jane-doe/989157/10 "2023-08-27T12:17:42Z")
And finding out that he was older than he thought had to be a shock. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2023, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-to-a-john-jane-doe/989157/11 "2023-08-27T15:31:52Z")
Very interesting case - hadn’t read of that before. I wonder how he ended up at the Burger King dumpster? Hope he’s doing much better now. ---
**Author:** ![alovem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b38774/32.png) [@alovem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alovem)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2023, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-to-a-john-jane-doe/989157/12 "2023-08-27T16:48:20Z")
That hadn’t occurred to me, and you may be right. My interpretation’s more entertaining, though. 😀 With all due respect, of course. Poor guy. At least he was (apparently) provided with good care. ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2023, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-to-a-john-jane-doe/989157/13 "2023-08-27T17:07:40Z")
In a thread from 2008, someone asked what would happen to an amnesiac person with no id, to which someone else replied that they wouldn’t have to worry about Krell technology: > [@What if a living person posesses no id?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-a-living-person-posesses-no-id/442967/11): > > And I was thinking “They’re probably safe to trust with Krell technology, then.” smiley ---
**Author:** ![I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/i_love_me_vol.i/32/521_2.png) [@I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I_Love_Me_Vol.I)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2023, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-to-a-john-jane-doe/989157/14 "2023-08-27T20:13:42Z")
> [@Wendell\_Wagner](#): > > In a thread from 2008, someone asked what would happen to an amnesiac person with no id, to which someone else replied that they wouldn’t have to worry about Krell technology: What is Krell technology? I asked Uncle Google and the results did not clue me in. ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2023, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-to-a-john-jane-doe/989157/15 "2023-08-27T20:19:42Z")
https:// www.youtube. com/watch ?v=f2BY yeS-fIU https:// www.youtube. com/watch ?v=6Htq VKs\_xVE Put each of those two URLs together into one line, since we’re not allowed to link to them. ---
**Author:** ![I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/i_love_me_vol.i/32/521_2.png) [@I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I_Love_Me_Vol.I)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2023, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-to-a-john-jane-doe/989157/16 "2023-08-27T20:20:26Z")
Couldn’t you just tell us? ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2023, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-to-a-john-jane-doe/989157/17 "2023-08-27T20:47:40Z")
In the classic sci-fi movie _Forbidden Planet_ the Krell were a super-advanced alien race who had built a technology so powerful that one only had to think of something and it would be created. Unfortunately, the technology was so powerful that it could reach deep into the user’s mind and bring up the most horrible thoughts and feelings one had ever imagined (“monsters from the id”) An amnesiac, having no memories, would not trigger the disastrous flaw that destroyed the Krell and endangered our stalwart Earth heroes. ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2023, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-to-a-john-jane-doe/989157/18 "2023-08-27T21:04:19Z")
It’s about the fact that the person who asked the question in the 2008 thread confused an ID (an identification form) with the id in people’s minds. ID is capitalized on both letters. An id has both letters uncapitalized. ---
**Author:** ![I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/i_love_me_vol.i/32/521_2.png) [@I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I_Love_Me_Vol.I)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2023, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-to-a-john-jane-doe/989157/19 "2023-08-27T21:26:43Z")
I see. And I’ve seen Forbidden Planet more than once but didn’t remember the term “Krell”. Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eyebrows_0f_doom/32/3119_2.png) [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2023, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-to-a-john-jane-doe/989157/20 "2023-08-28T14:11:47Z")
> [@Wendell\_Wagner](#): > > Put each of those two URLs together into one line, since we’re not allowed to link to them. Why do you think you can’t post a YouTube link, and why did you write it out in the most unusable way possible? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-to-a-john-jane-doe/989157.md?page=2)