ISLAMABAD: What do a wedding gown, a package of live butterflies and a 75-gallon fish tank have in common? According to Uber's latest Lost & Found Index, they were all forgotten in ride-hailing vehicles, offering a quirky glimpse into modern life, and humanity's enduring tendency to leave things behind.
Marking the 10th anniversary of its annual report, Uber said its Lost & Found Index has grown beyond a simple record of misplaced belongings into an ”unexpected time capsule" of changing consumer habits, cultural trends and everyday routines.
The report found that mobile phones remained the most commonly forgotten item in 2026, with more than one million reported lost.
Wallets, luggage, keys and headphones rounded out the list of the most frequently misplaced possessions, while New York once again earned the distinction of being the world's most forgetful city.
"From AirPods becoming an everyday essential, to vaccine cards and face masks taking over in 2021, Ozempic making its way into backseats in 2025, and viral Labubu plushies riding shotgun this year, the Lost & Found Index has become an unexpected time capsule of the past decade," Uber said.
The annual report suggests that what people leave behind often reflects the cultural moment.
This year, collectible Labubu toys emerged as a recurring lost item, while fitness-related belongings such as pickleball paddles, protein powder and wellness products increasingly appeared in reports.
Dental accessories, including dentures, veneers and gold grills, also featured prominently.
Some discoveries, however, defied easy explanation.
Among the strangest items reported missing this year were dentures with two teeth, breast milk, human hair, a mannequin, two trees, a child's prosthetic eye and a package containing live butterflies.
Riders also managed to leave behind a mini refrigerator, a dishwasher, a propane tank, an oxygen tank and 20 pounds of duck sausage.
Perhaps most puzzling of all was the 75-gallon fish tank, a forgotten possession that now joins a growing archive of unusual items documented over the past decade.
Food proved equally forgettable. According to the report, drivers found everything from 70 tiramisu cakes and a wedding cake to a full Thanksgiving meal, 50 avocados and a tray of chicken nuggets abandoned in vehicles.
The data also revealed patterns in forgetfulness. Sundays were the most common day for riders to leave belongings behind, while phones were most frequently forgotten on Saturdays.
Wallets and identification cards, meanwhile, were most often misplaced on Mondays.
July 17 emerged as the busiest day of the year for lost-property reports, underscoring the scale of a problem that has become a routine part of ride-hailing operations worldwide.
Looking back at a decade of reports, Uber highlighted some of the most memorable forgotten possessions since 2017, including a lobster, divorce papers, a salmon head, a large painting of Kate Middleton, a toy poodle, a fake butt and a taxidermied rabbit.
To help reunite riders with their belongings, Uber also announced an upgraded in-app feature in selected markets.
The tool allows users whose items have been found by drivers to arrange a dedicated return trip, enabling possessions to be delivered directly to a chosen address.
Despite changing trends and increasingly unusual discoveries, Uber said one lesson has remained remarkably consistent over the past decade.
"Ten years later, trends come and go, but forgetfulness, we fear, may be forever," the company said.
