Nowadays, it would be best not to rush on pocketing any dollar bill you see on the street. Whether the person you were following dropped the bill or it was casually laid in a public area, you should be wary of thinking “finders keepers.” Otherwise, it could be your easy ticket to being an online sensation due to honesty.
Setting up honesty pranks is popular among content creators on social media. They would intentionally drop things or leave valuables and would capture how people would handle finding the said items. It is unfortunate for people to live in a world where being honest by returning things to their rightful owner is considered unusual. Thankfully, there are still people who work day-to-day and perform noble deeds.
Thrift shop manager’s stint on honesty
The ease of finding the owner of lost cash is difficult, so the manager of Pick of the Litter’s thrift store in Burlingame, California, Oliver Jolis, did a remarkable thing. He returned US$5,000 to a woman who regularly donated to the thrift store.
Jolis and a staff member were sorting donations when they poured the contents of one particular bag. A few bills initially fell out from a shirt, and then the entirety of the amount racked up to a heaping US$5,000. The manager and the employee were surprised.
So the heaping amount of cash did not prevent them from paying attention to the old piece of paper that was among the bills and had car insurance information. Their co-workers did not hesitate to lend a hand in getting the owner at the other end of the line.
Generosity: An unexpected thrift shop product
After she answered Jolis’ questions rightly, Jolis told the woman: “Come on down; I’ve got something for you.” The thrift store manager returned the cash and thanked the generous woman who regularly confers on the shop for donating.
His noble deed did not surprise one shop patron. Jolis was famous for being Pick of the Litter’s friendly manager. The Peninsula Humane Society runs the shop, and its sales benefit the animals; the non-profit organization helps medicate, treat, and re-home animals with families and individuals.
Is honesty still a ‘cool’ virtue?
Initiating a reunion between a lost-and-found item and its owner might seem like remarkable zeal. However, a 2019 study suggests a high probability of you getting your lost wallet back.
The research was conducted within 335 cities across 40 countries, with over 17,000 wallets strategically misplaced. Most people returned the “lost” wallets. Unexpectedly, wallets containing cash had higher return rates than those with none.
So you can assume that the majority perceive honesty as an extraordinary virtue. You can also say that there are cool guys like Jolis out there.
It is hard to dethrone “Honesty being the best policy” as a mainstream answer to finding lost items. Existing as a worn-out trite phrase must not discourage people from abiding by this principle.
The challenge: Generosity on honesty
Because of one thrift store manager, there is inspiration to believe that most people are honest. A hope exists, one to hold on to that it is possible to have a world where lost-and-founds could have a happily-ever-after ending.
There is a challenge for today’s people to strive for a world where guys like Jolis are not once-in-a-blue-moon heroes, but everyday exemplars.
