Odd things on the side of the road :0)....(add your own)

[Tap]

I love to watch the side of the road as I am driving.  Living in a biggish city, so on the freeway we see lots of chairs, pillows and couch cushions that have flown out of someones open bed truck. Which always makes me feel a bit bad for them.  One time there was a table and a string of chairs over a few miles. LOL I always wonder what their expression is when they get to their destination. LOL

 

Random toys make me sad.  It is often a teddy bear or something similar, and you wonder if someone left it on top of the car, or if it was sent flying out a window.    Once, there was a pristine, white, mechanical dog on the left side of the freeway by the median on a 3 lane freeway.  I wondered if the  mechanical barking did the driver in and they tossed it .  Day after day, I drove by and saw it get dirtier and dirtier.  It was really kind of sad because my daughter had a similar one growing up.

 

Near the colleges and gyms....Single shoes, or even pairs of shoes.  Lots of clothing pieces.

 

I have seen a few full ladders. Full size tools. Buckets of paint spilled down the freeway. Sheets of plywood, drywall and siding. Mattresses (not ones that people dump, but new looking ones) make we wonder how the driver didn't notice this huge white thing flying off the back, in the rear view mirrors.

 

Several times I have returned school books that I find on the city streets to nearby schools assuming a teenager drove off with them on top of the car.

 

The newest, oddest one.  A watermelon. Just laying on the side of the road.  LOL How do you drive off with a watermelon on top?  If it was in the back of a truck, I can't see if flying out. :confused1: Maybe someone was walking and got tired of carrying a watermelon?

 

 

How about you.  Seen any stray watermelons lately?

 

 

 

Edited May 25, 2017 by Tap

[Cindy in FL.]

A pig's head.

[Stacia]

Not on the side of the road, but at Disney years ago, we stayed in the Fort Wilderness cabins. We were with my family & had two cabins. On the roof of one of the cabins, there was an uninflated life vest from an airplane. My sister & I climbed up & got it. :lol: (I think my sister still has it; she & her dh go to lots of events & costume parties & such, so she has it for that use.)

 

It does make me wonder if it fell out of a plane (how??? -- not like you can roll down the windows & toss it out), or a plane was crashing, or what.

 

It was just odd.

[gaillardia]

A tot's car seat

A play pen

I will remain silent about the shoe(s). Thugs.

Wire dog crate.

Camping supplies on the interstate. Called the police about that since the items were all over the fast lane(s). Tent, sleeping bags, poles, cooler. Blankets and other stuff.

 

[Rebel Yell]

Awww I lost my stuffed monster when I was little- someone opened a car window and it flew out in the air current.

 

Mostly just hubcaps, roadkill, and trash here.

Edited May 25, 2017 by Rebel Yell

[Barb_]

Great thread. We live near 1-10, which just about everyone knows goes directly from Florida to California. Once around Christmas I was driving to a destination and saw clothing all over the highway for 2-3 miles. I imagine a soft carrier gave out or someone thought they got their hardtop closed. I cringed.

 

When my oldest rolled our van--she walked away with bruises--it had been full of toys, board books, booster seats, shoes, and other family-related detritus. A few days later I drove by the spot and saw some of my kids' things. THAT was unsettling even though I knew the ending was a happy one.

 

Still laughing and wondering about the pig's head.

[J-rap]

Once I passed a man, very serious and disheveled looking with a long beard, riding one of those very, very high bikes (like what you'd see in a parade) along the side of the road.   I waved at him and he swore at me.

 

I know that wasn't an object, which is maybe what you were asking about, but it's what really stands out for me when I think of odd things I've passed on the road.   :)

 

 

[Barb_]

Awww I lost my stuffed monster when I was little- someone opened a car window and it flew out in the air current.

 

Mostly just hubcaps, roadkill, and trash here.

One of my older girls was tormenting the oldest with a noisy toy when she was little. I told her to cut it out but she couldn't help herself and squawked it in her face one last time. Out the window it went. I scolded both, but dh and I were stifling giggles. She was making us crazy too.

[Cinder]

Wire dog crate.

 

We ran into a large wire dog crate on the interstate one night. It was pitch black and by the time we saw it, it was too late. Scared the crap out of us all. Fortunately it didn't cause an accident--just a couple scratches to the car. And the crate was empty, so that was good too.

[Liz CA]

At a rural spot there was this little girl shaking a sign with the name of a nearby establishment. I passed by there twice a day to and from work. She was out there most days during those times. The first day it hit a 100F, she was out there as well and I was thinking how awful to have her working in the direct sun, not even a hat on...when I looked closer I finally realized (after weeks of passing by her) that she was not a real person but one of those "fake sign shakers."

 

Other than that, depending on the area, I have seen everything from a pack of diapers to paint cans to various items of clothing. :)

Edited May 25, 2017 by Liz CA

[Ausmumof3]

Last week we passed some people trying to retrieve a chest of drawers that fell off their trailer. This week it's still there

Edited May 25, 2017 by Ausmumof3

[dancingmama]

Not an object, but the strangest thing I passed were two grown men riding a motorized cooler. No, not scooter, COOLER. It was actually several coolers strapped together somehow like a train. And they were riding it along the side of the highway. It was most bizarre.

[Carrie12345]

Not exactly a weird thing to see, but a weird experience.

 

Our Envirothon advisor had been passing a deer carcass off to the side for a long time.  (This is perfectly normal here.) Once it was clean, she had taken the rib cage to show the students.  She left it outside of our meeting space, in a bag, for after class time.  When she went to get it, it was GONE!

 

We figure a maintenance person had grabbed and disposed of it, but what in the world must have gone through their head?!?  "Hm.. a bag of bones next to a car in the parking lot. I'll just toss that with the banana peels and used paper towels."

[Xuzi]

A decorative pumpkin. It rolled around the side of the freeway for a few days before it disappeared.

[EMS83]

Wait, so was the watermelon whole or broken??  This is very important!  :D

[Guest]

I saw a watermelon once. It was broken in two, but it wasn't smashed to bits. I did puzzle over that for a while.

[gstharr]

Any interest in turning this into things picked up from the side of the road?  I'll start. When the now 6th grader, was around 5 .y.o,, he had a whole fleet of Power Wheels, all road side finds.  Nearly all of these $300 toys had been abandoned because of dead battery. a generic battery for $30 and they were good to go.  Also found every Little Tikes and Step2 toy made. One playhouse was huge, we still have it.  It has been used as a playhouse,  chicken coop, and now a storage shed.  My list is endless. 

[Cecropia]

A large hotdog novelty pillow. A frozen turkey.

[Rachel]

A couple weeks back I was meeting my husband at the park and ride. I had the kids in the car and as I was turning around we passed a black garbage bag that had an awful dead body smell and ribs sticking out of it. We were pretty certain in was a deer carcass, but we called the sheriff just in case.

 

Many, many years ago my husband and I saw a streaker on the side of the road. It was in the afternoon near some apartments. He was college aged so we have always assumed he lost a bet.

[Butter]

A person dressed as Chewbacca.

 

Some people dressed as Transformers and one dressed as Spiderman.  Spiderman was twerking.

 

San Antonio can be a strange place, man.

[Home'scool]

Once when I was in high school we had to bring our cat to the veterinarian. We had the cat in a cardboard cat carrier and had written his name, along with our last name, in big bold letters on the box. We had to leave the cat at the vet and were driving home with the cat carrier when we realized the cat had peed all over the cardboard carrier. My mother was already super frazzled (per usual) so she made us roll down the window and throw the box out. And there the box sat, on the side of the road, with our last name emblazoned on it, for the next two weeks! Every time I drove past it I cringed.

 

Another story, but not something from the side of the road: I was walking my dog in the woods. We were about a mile in from the road when I saw a HUGE pile of shoes about 20 feet off the trail, just dumped in a pile. The pile had to be up to my knees. I can't imagine someone dragging all these shoes into the woods, going off the trail, and then dumping them by a tree?!

[Plink]

I must live in a pretty clean area. The worst I have seen is bungee cords and life-jackets that must have flown out of trailers.

 

The idea of intentionally throwing something out of the window actually shocks me.

[solascriptura]

I often see mattresses on the side of the road.  

[Teacher Mom]

Every year around fall, a farm near us will use wrapped bales of hay to create a serviceman. So far I have see an Army guy, an Air Force guy, and, last year, a Marine. I look forward to seeing it every year because of the imagination and hard work that goes into the design. It sits right by a highway and makes me (and a lot of others) smile.

[MercyA]

My parents love their "roadkill" finds, sometimes discovered while driving or walking but more often when my dad is riding his bike to work. They've found a surprising amount of silverware (?), towels (eww), lots of change, unopened beer (yes, they drank it), and other miscellany.

 

Totally off-topic, but when my dad was riding his bike home at lunchtime recently, he overheard a teenage guy making some very lewd and unwelcome comments to some girls. (Our high school has open lunch.) My dad followed the guy back to the school and went in and told the vice-principle what he had been saying. Mr. J said he would take care of it. I  :001_wub: my dad.

[Desert Strawberry]

i don't have anything interesting, but D said at his remote site, he passes donkeys frequently, either wild or released by smugglers once they cross the border. he said he usually sees one or two, just out wandering by the rode. i asked him pick one up and bring it home, but it won't fit in his Ford Focus :( 

 

his workers at the power company were on the roads all the time. they would stop and pick up coolers that fell out of people's trucks. one was full of beer on ice. one was filled with deer sausage. 

[Rachel]

I must live in a pretty clean area. The worst I have seen is bungee cords and life-jackets that must have flown out of trailers.

 

The idea of intentionally throwing something out of the window actually shocks me.

Where I go hiking is a rural area that doesn't have trash pickup. The amount of litter is unnerving. People just dump their garbage along the side of the road, where it eventually washes into creeks, and pollutes the water.

[Onceuponatime]

I must live in a pretty clean area. The worst I have seen is bungee cords and life-jackets that must have flown out of trailers.

 

The idea of intentionally throwing something out of the window actually shocks me.

I wish I could say this. For some reason our general area is full of people who think the side of the road is the place to empty their car of fast food containers, beer bottles, and accumulated car trash. It drives me crazy.

[Carrie12345]

I must live in a pretty clean area. The worst I have seen is bungee cords and life-jackets that must have flown out of trailers.

 

The idea of intentionally throwing something out of the window actually shocks me.

 

The sides of the roads around here can get shockingly disgusting, but I never saw anyone actually DO it until a couple of months ago.  I came off the highway and turned out behind a car that had just pulled out of the Burger King across the road.  As they waited for their chance to turn onto the highway, I saw multiple bags and cups fly out the passenger's window.  Right in full sight of dozens of people!!!  2 seconds ago, they could have dumped their trash in Burger King's trash cans!

 

I have no idea what's wrong with people.  Do they not know that other people occupy this planet, too?

[Carrie12345]

Once when I was in high school we had to bring our cat to the veterinarian. We had the cat in a cardboard cat carrier and had written his name, along with our last name, in big bold letters on the box. We had to leave the cat at the vet and were driving home with the cat carrier when we realized the cat had peed all over the cardboard carrier. My mother was already super frazzled (per usual) so she made us roll down the window and throw the box out. And there the box sat, on the side of the road, with our last name emblazoned on it, for the next two weeks! Every time I drove past it I cringed.

 

 

What in the world prevented you from picking it up and properly disposing of it?  Who do you think took care of it on your behalf?

[J-rap]

Any interest in turning this into things picked up from the side of the road?  I'll start. When the now 6th grader, was around 5 .y.o,, he had a whole fleet of Power Wheels, all road side finds.  Nearly all of these $300 toys had been abandoned because of dead battery. a generic battery for $30 and they were good to go.  Also found every Little Tikes and Step2 toy made. One playhouse was huge, we still have it.  It has been used as a playhouse,  chicken coop, and now a storage shed.  My list is endless. 

 

We picked up several pieces of furniture (not from the same place or on the same day) from the side of the road for our first apartment!

[bluemongoose]

I don't know home'scool, but I assumed they were a child in that story...not an adult that could stop the car and pick it up.

[bluemongoose]

I cannot edit...on phone. I see it says high school in the post, but still, not all high schoolers drive. And my parents wouldn't have pulled over for something like that. They also wouldn't have told me to throw it out in the first place, but they did have me do stuff I didn't quite feel right about at some point or another. So I do understand not having the authority to change something that makes you cringe.

[Carrie12345]

I don't know home'scool, but I assumed they were a child in that story...not an adult that could stop the car and pick it up.

 

 

Oops, that's what I get for multitasking. Sorry!

[Cinder]

A couple years ago there was a new pumpkin patch in a dirt/gravel area by the road near me. It appeared overnight and magically grew a couple dozen full-sized pumpkins without the benefit of vines.  :tongue_smilie:

[Amber in SJ]

2 things:

 

Homeless encampments.  Groups of improvised tents, shopping carts and massive amounts of trash.  Men, women, children & dogs.  All in the dirt patches as you come off the freeway on to the regular streets.  In the news they are referred to as "our unhoused neighbors."

 

Patches of wildflowers.  When the kids & walk (everywhere because I don't drive)  we always take a garbage bag and a packet of seeds.  We pick up trash as we go and when we go over the overpass we shake out the seeds.  I try to always get CA native seed packets.  We have seen poppy patches, sunflowers, and other wildflowers grow.

 

Amber in SJ

 

 

[trulycrabby]

Our area is amazingly clean: Just a few dead armadillos, opossums, and a bobcat. :(

[Amber in SJ]

Slight hijack moment....

 

Dh can not stand to see people litter out of their cars.  He is not a road rage kind of person, but when he sees someone throw something out of their car window he goes ballistic.  His least favorite is cigarette butts.  If someone flicks a cigarette butt out the window you will hear a lecture about toxic environmental pollution that you will never forget.

 

Dh also rides a Harley (Road King Classic) and at times looks like that Ragnar guy on the Vikings TV show with the beard, etc.

 

On one memorable occasion he was stopped at a light & someone has tossed out a cigarette butt ahead of him.   He picked it up.  Followed the guy for a little ways and the next time they were stopped at a light, he split the lane to get up close to the guy, motioned for him to roll down his window then threw the cigarette butt back in.  

 

Did I mention he is passionate about not littering from cars?

 

Amber in SJ

[antsam]

Lol! Just saw a notice on our neighborhood site that someone's lawn mower had slid off of their truck and their husband didn't notice it was gone until he got home! How timely! I didn't see the lawn mower but thought of this thread!!

 

Jodie

[MercyA]

I asked my mom if she remembered any other interesting things they've found by the side of the road. Off the top of her head, she said a pool float with cup holders, a peg rack, and several heavy-duty chains and padlocks (?). 

 

We're not proud. I'm a trash-picker from way back.  ;)

Edited May 26, 2017 by MercyA

[Guest]

I wish I could say this. For some reason our general area is full of people who think the side of the road is the place to empty their car of fast food containers, beer bottles, and accumulated car trash. It drives me crazy.

Makes me nuts. We live down a long driveway that empties onto a busy state road. The end of my driveways often ends up with McDonalds bags, gatorade bottles, water bottles, chip bags and other food trash. It makes me furious.

[Guest]

Slight hijack moment....

 

Dh can not stand to see people litter out of their cars. He is not a road rage kind of person, but when he sees someone throw something out of their car window he goes ballistic. His least favorite is cigarette butts. If someone flicks a cigarette butt out the window you will hear a lecture about toxic environmental pollution that you will never forget.

 

Dh also rides a Harley (Road King Classic) and at times looks like that Ragnar guy on the Vikings TV show with the beard, etc.

 

On one memorable occasion he was stopped at a light & someone has tossed out a cigarette butt ahead of him. He picked it up. Followed the guy for a little ways and the next time they were stopped at a light, he split the lane to get up close to the guy, motioned for him to roll down his window then threw the cigarette butt back in.

 

Did I mention he is passionate about not littering from cars?

 

Amber in SJ

Love it!!! "hey, buddy! You dropped something!"

[gstharr]

There has been a tipped over Target shopping cart with a bunch of old clothes or towels or some other kind of cloth on the side of the road to dd's dance studio for about 3 months now. The nearest Target is 3.8 miles away. I wonder what happened every time we pass by and why no one from the local homeless population has touched it. 

 Just because they might be homeless, does not mean that they don't have standards.

[Bensmom]

At a rural spot there was this little girl shaking a sign with the name of a nearby establishment. I passed by there twice a day to and from work. She was out there most days during those times. The first day it hit a 100F, she was out there as well and I was thinking how awful to have her working in the direct sun, not even a hat on...when I looked closer I finally realized (after weeks of passing by her) that she was not a real person but one of those "fake sign shakers."

 

Other than that, depending on the area, I have seen everything from a pack of diapers to paint cans to various items of clothing. :)

 

Wait! What is a "fake sign shaker???" Now I am wondering if I have never seen one, or if I thought it was a person. I'm so confused here!

Edited May 25, 2017 by Bensmom

[sarasue7272]

My husband brought me a lovely Very Bradley towel he found on the road. I washed it on hot and I'm not ashamed!!

[Rachel]

Wait! What is a "fake sign shaker???" Now I am wondering if I have never seen one, or if I thought it was a person. I'm so confused here!

We have one that's a mannequin, there is a motor on her arms so her sign moves.

[MercyA]

Wait! What is a "fake sign shaker???" Now I am wondering if I have never seen one, or if I thought it was a person. I'm so confused here!

 

I had to google it. Apparently you can get an economy model for $299 or a premium model for $499, your choice of hair color. :) You can see some in action here. I find them slightly creepy. 

[scrapbookbuzz]

Slight hijack moment....

 

Dh can not stand to see people litter out of their cars.  He is not a road rage kind of person, but when he sees someone throw something out of their car window he goes ballistic.  His least favorite is cigarette butts.  If someone flicks a cigarette butt out the window you will hear a lecture about toxic environmental pollution that you will never forget.

 

Dh also rides a Harley (Road King Classic) and at times looks like that Ragnar guy on the Vikings TV show with the beard, etc.

 

On one memorable occasion he was stopped at a light & someone has tossed out a cigarette butt ahead of him.   He picked it up.  Followed the guy for a little ways and the next time they were stopped at a light, he split the lane to get up close to the guy, motioned for him to roll down his window then threw the cigarette butt back in.  

 

Did I mention he is passionate about not littering from cars?

 

Amber in SJ

FABULOUS!!!  :hurray:  to your DH!

[Random]

We live along a busy interstate highway and dh has picked up quite a few things that have flown out of vehicles- a few really nice tarps, chains, locks, coolers, snow sleds...that's all I can think of at the moment.

 

Unfortunately, there is also a ton of trash.  We live in a touristy area, and every summer (May-Sept) season, there will be lots of dirty diapers, fast food containers, and the like.    It's so gross.  And such a shame.

[Melissa B]

Slight hijack moment....

 

Dh can not stand to see people litter out of their cars.  He is not a road rage kind of person, but when he sees someone throw something out of their car window he goes ballistic.  His least favorite is cigarette butts.  If someone flicks a cigarette butt out the window you will hear a lecture about toxic environmental pollution that you will never forget.

 

Dh also rides a Harley (Road King Classic) and at times looks like that Ragnar guy on the Vikings TV show with the beard, etc.

 

On one memorable occasion he was stopped at a light & someone has tossed out a cigarette butt ahead of him.   He picked it up.  Followed the guy for a little ways and the next time they were stopped at a light, he split the lane to get up close to the guy, motioned for him to roll down his window then threw the cigarette butt back in.  

 

Did I mention he is passionate about not littering from cars?

 

Amber in SJ

 

This is my father. When I was in junior high we stopped at a red light behind a car load of high school students. They threw their McDonald's trash out the window. My father got out of our car, picked it all up and threw it all back in their window. We lived in a very small town with only one middle school and one high school. Everyone knew everyone. Yes, it was talked about all day at school the very next day. :001_rolleyes: He was known throughout town for all sorts of similar "odd behaviors."