Last year I wrote about borrowing umbrellas, sweaters, or water bottles from the lost-and-found at a university.
... I wrote to some people at The University of Regina and asked them to go to the lost and found to collect a couple of water bottles for me. ... They were somewhat taken aback, and then they realized I wasn't serious. Their plan, in response to my request, was to get all the water bottles and put them on my desk. Too bad it didn't work out; it would have been funny.
Three things dominate the lost-and-found inventory: water bottles, sweaters, and notebooks.
Anyone need/want a sweater?
Why do we feel such reluctance to do these things? Is it perceived as stealing? Or is it just too embarrassing to lie and say you lost something that isn't yours? In a way that's too bad because it might make more sense to borrow things from the lost and found now and then rather than inventory them ourselves.
Here is someone who recommends using the lost-and-found boxes at hotels if you forgot to take a charger with you for your phone, tablet, or laptop [via Jack]:
Inevitably, you wind up in some hotel without the charger or adapter you need. You forgot to pack it. You left it somewhere.
The great thing is that you’re not the first person to leave a charger or cable behind. Lots of people have left theirs behind — in the exact same hotel where you are!
So hie thee down to the front desk and ask. They’ll offer you a lost-and-found box of iPhone chargers, micro-USB cables (for Android phones, ebook readers, some cameras), and even laptop adapters of every description. Borrow the one you need.
Excellent advice. I wouldn't want to rely exclusively on lost-and-found boxes to provide me with chargers when I am traveling; the risk that they might not have one is too great for me to want to rely on them as a source.
But the odds are good that they can help you out pretty frequently. What's better is they are cheaper and more convenient than an emergency trip to an electronics supply store.