I can't remember it I already posted to this thread, but...
Well, I cheated a bit; I was a courier in DC for several years. And I watched the pavement carefully for tire hazards. Naturally, I saw lots of stuff that was not hazardous, but was interesting. Here are the highlights of what I found.
A Buck folding hunter knife. Battered, but not dead. A new one would have been like $60. For, like, $8 or so, Buck gives your knife the "spa treatment." Good as new. Plus, of course, I found it!
A big ass adjustable wrench. Suitable for headset nuts or use as a lethal weapon.
Numerous pieces of gold jewelry including a heavy herringbone bracelet and a fabulous gold ring with diamonds and rubies. A goldsmith friend made some of it into a custom piece.
A wad of five one hundred dollar bills. Based on the location I found it, likely either drug money or money that a hooker had lost. Impossible to return.
Several wallets. One of the wallets with useful ID, I returned one to a very ungrateful owner. I felt good about doing it, regardless.
An assortment of plyers, wrenches, screwdrivers, many sockets and allen wrenches, and one entire tool box.
OH, and...a little puppy dog! Yeah, this little guy was wondering around, avoiding cars. No humans in the immediate area seemed to know from whence he came or where he belonged. I put him in my jacket, and carried him around for an hour or so. I planned to get him to an animal shelter after work. In my travels, I met a suit. He said that he had wanted to get his kids a puppy. It seemed like the thing to do. So I handed him over and hoped for the best.
Those are the most notable highlights. It'll all be in my book if I ever write it.
Saul