never to be seen again. Been looking since Thursday.

Working on a Yamaha 6hp 4stroke outboard, the oil plug bolt and a Grommet on the lower unit "disappeared". I never walked away with them, I laid them right beside the other parts -> GONE. I've searched high & low & left & right. Gone.
Maybe a crow flew in and grabbed them when I had my back turned?

It did cause me to clean my toolbox up really well, even sprayed a couple of coats of white paint in the bottom.

Pant pockets/trashcan/ everything off of bench/hung in a socket? - nope/>>> damn crows or a Ghos-s I reckon

BTDT! . I looked for the bolt for an O3-A3 one time for a year. A week after I got the replacement, I found the old one. Somehow, in stashing the rifle, the bolt release got triggered and the bolt slid out down into a dark recess.

Not the only such incident either.

Laying on the trailer frame?

Have the hood off and lay em in the bottom cowl?

If you have cuffs in your pants or have them rolled up, check them. I had that happen once and spent 45 minutes tearing my garage apart looking for a lost screw, and it dropped out of my rolled up pants cuff getting ready to take a shower. I've also "lost" parts in my shirt pockets when I put them there so I won't lose them.

And the time a spring for a Savage rifle went sproing. After getting and installing the replacement, I found the original stuck in a crack between the logs, just over head high.

In 1980, I was helping my Uncle rebuild a three point mounted post hole auger. We took the center point off the auger, and I set it down somewhere in a 24' by 36' (quite cluttered) shop.

Two hours later, we were fabricating a new center point for the auger. The original has not been found to this day.

Trash can??
Had a check in my hands once when I got out of the truck one night after work. Gathered up what few trash items were in the truck from that day. Check got tossed with the trash.

Same deal, looked high and low until I just happened to remember the trash.

Did that with my tax return one year, and had to do a do-over.

I remember it well, because as a college student with only summer and part-time semester jobs, I paid more taxes that year than President Nixon. Who says crime doesn't pay?

So, see? Nixon's income mostly just disappeared. Somehow. He's one of us!!!

Engine laying on a workbench table , beach towel over table , everything taken off the table checking anything either part could have been in.
Searched down inside bottom cowl bright light , turned engine upside down etc. , nope.

just started back working on it after leaving it sit for over a year, reason>. I took the lower unit off to change the impeller, a Collar that lines the unit up rolls off the table. I watched it roll off the concrete edge of the carport, bright daylight - watched and saw right where it went. Never found it , went and bought one of the big magnet nail picker upper things roofers use. Found all kinds of metal stuff but not the collar. It was rolling at a speed that it might have went 6'' over the edge - 8-10'' drop. Freshly cut lawn - very little grass anyway.

Firing pin for my Hi-Power got launched into outer space
or another dimension. Not sure which.

Uh-huh. M 70 firing pin collar, or retainer- some little damned thing anyway.

Found it with a magnet out on the gravel drive ( range? about 55 feet) , and on the next attempt, made sure the garage bay door was down. That was a good move - the 3rd attempt was the charm.

Did you check your pockets? Haha

10mm sockets.

I did get a good tips off of YT [youtube] , I put a new impeller in my 2.5hp Yamaha -started it sitting in a 5-gallon bucket of water. No water peeing out - aw-shucks- .
YT guy said use a fine wire and work it around in the out-port - tiny spiders lay eggs in there. Sure enough little wad of grey matter spider web BS in there. Back in the 5-gal. bucket - works fine , except it idles way too high for some reason. So I gave up on it and started trying to get the 6hp going.

I'm already pissy Jeffery and you ain't helping matters .

Anaconda , yes all 10mm sockets ,, makes for an easy tool-kit.

5gal buckets on job site...

Detents for an AR receiver. Someday when I’m bored, I think I’ll launch one over the chronograph to see if it will read that fast!

Happens round here too. So much, in fact, that we use the term lightning musta struck it. Black holes do exist you know.
Still searching for my Rogue keys, house & tool box keys and a Spyderco Endura that I had carried for almost 30 years. Disappeared when I came down with Covid and had to be hospitalized and away from home 14 months.

My compressor, out of the bed of my truck this past Tuesday night.

OP. You probably sat it next to the keyboard to type this and then when you were done, picked it up again. Been there, done that type of thing.

Story of my life.

Wetback?

Probably took out the Challenger.

Jag’ Wild Turkey and reputation

And your truck was in your driveway or your girlfriends?

Just about 2 years ago when I was at a store that sold all kinds of goodies, I bought a pound of Longshot, a box of 9mm bullets and a handful of fishing lures. The clerk put it all in one bag. The bag made it home and the powder and bullets made it to the reloading room, but the lures were never seen again, and I've been looking for almost 2 years.

More closely related to your situation, Ol_Mike, I was changing the lube in the front axles of my little MF diesel tractor and misplaced one if the drain plugs. Couldn't find it anywhere and tried to find a replacement at all the local stores. It looked like a pretty basic ⅜ pipe thread plug, but it wasn't. I tried a few different plugs before I followed a hunch that came into my head about a week later. That damned plug was right where I left it,...in the console storage of my work truck.

We sweep the indoor range every few days into a 5 gallon bucket. When we sort the empties we find all sorts of things.

Mostly:

Grip screws.
red dot plate screws and the plate.
Sight screws.
Allen keys.

They get scotch taped to a postcard at the sign-in book.

I have 3 really great camo left hand hunting gloves. Warm, cool and cold weather.

What dumbass would steal only right hand gloves. I know no one with only one hand.

I took apart my Colt Woodsman a couple of years ago to give it a good internal cleaning. I got it all apart without a problem. As I was laying the parts out, the recoil spring went flying. I wasn't even sure which direction it went in, it happened so fast. My indoor shop isn't very big but has lots of shelves. I tore that room apart looking for it and just couldn't find it. It's not a small spring either. The pistol is a Match Target from 1938. It's been in my family since my Great Uncle bought it new in Greeley, Colorado. I figured finding a replacement spring would be impossible. Next day I went to look again. As soon as I walked into the room I looked at my water heater, all tucked nice and tight into a corner. I tried to reach behind but couldn't get my hand back there. I went and bought one of those extendable magnets. After several attempts, and coming out with some long lost nuts, bolts and other magnetic crap, the spring appeared at the end of the magnet. After a big sigh of relief, and thinking about the whole episode, I figured that was the first place I should have looked. I hope you find what you're looking for!

Under the towel?

My good youthful looks, and my hair!!

The same dumbass that "steals" my right hand gloves.

Been looking for a G23 mag that's full of HP's for three weeks now...

In between the truck seats?

In my family when someone passes away, the guns that they owned "disappear" and when you ask other family members about said guns, they get shocked looks on their faces and have no earthly idea what you are talking about.

Those stupid little AR detents and springs! 😖!

1) bought one of those little cheesy, stainless parts bowl with the magnet on the bottom
2) bought one of those extendable mechanics magnets

No idea HOW many of those stupid detent and mini roll pins I've dropped on my (filthy!) shop floor!
So far, the extendable magnet hasn't let me down!

If I had half the value back of the stuff I've lost, I'd be a relatively rich man! 😉

I have a magnet on a stick, a metal detector, several flash lights for the sole use to find missing parts. I have brown indoor /outdoor carpet in my shop/reloading/man cave. That carpet eats small parts. I used to think I was the only one that had several socket sets with the 10mm socket holder empty. I see now that it's a thing to lose 10mm sockets. I should have started a club or something.

No idea.

Jfc , here I thought that shid only happened to me. You guys are making.me feel like a regular guy...mb

My pecker disappeared once I hit about 225.

If you ever watch the TV program CSI, they were alway using a flash light in the dark looking for clues.

Well it also works looking for those small parts. It focuses you to looking at a small area.

ive lost lots of "oh jesus" springs tearing into stuff, best was i lost 3 pocket knives in 3 weeks, all eye-brand good ones.
kid i sold my truck too found them in a black hole between the seats when he was installing boom boom speakers, brought them back to me the day the 4th one came in the mail.

I went to Cabelas on Thursday to pick up a rifle ordered from website. I needed the email from Cabelas to identify the order, and the printer was unavailable. So I took this laptop with me.

I did the transaction on the rifle, which required moving between three different stations and computers.

Anyway, I gathered the rifle, and headed across the store looking for associated items, when I heard a clerk ask "Who's laptop is this?"

Oh crap!

The alignment collar for the lower unit was the most puzzling thing ever, like I said I watched it roll off the carport at slow speed. Never to be seen again.
I thought about offering a reward for it and no doubt someone would find it right where I spent hours looking.

I dropped an RCBS bullet pulling collet 15 years ago in my mostly organized reloading room. Looked for it for months and gave up and ordered another one. 6 or 9 years later found it laying on the little toggle doodad that locks caster wheels in place. I had moved the roller cart thing numerous times and have no earthly idea how it didn't fall off of that spot.
I laid it back on the toggle thingy - move it 2-3 feet and it would fall off .. it'll drive you crazy .

The little square threaded doodad that the bolt screws into on a motorcycle battery, lost one of those on a spotless garage floor once. Repeat; never to be seen again.
I literally laid down on the floor of the garage and had a cussing temper tantrum

Way too many items down the hole ice fishing. Sorels, car keys, (actually retrieved a set with mechanics wire and a 6x9 speaker), flashlights, canned beverages, coffee cups, etc. I haven't had a phone go swimming yet, but it's only a matter of time.

Hot water heater started running only warm water and figured a burned out heating element. Went into the shop to retrieve my volt/ohm meter but it wasn’t in its usual place. Checked tool cabinet, kitchen cabinets, utility room drawers and cabinets, truck tool box, behind the seat, everywhere. Ended up ordering another one at the tune of $125.
Several months later while looking for something else, there it was, laying in the shop floor in a plastic grocery bag, underneath some other stuff. How the he11 it got there and in a plastic grocery bag, I’ll never know.

At 67 I still play with dirt bikes. I have 10mm sockets and wrenches sprout legs and walk off on a regular basis never to be found ever again.

I’m so bad a losing things, I lose things I don’t know are lost. I found a marine box to a 700 Remington on my bench once. Then after a long time realized it went to a 25/06 I had. I took it apart and cleaned it about two years prior and left it out and didn’t know it. Shot two deer with it without a magazine box. It chambered a round just as good without as it did with. I did put it back in. I can’t be trusted LOL!!!

Happens much more often the older we get

...... That's what scares me. Sometimes I think it might be Alzheimer's.

Had a dog that liked to grab stuff and only gave it back for treats......socks, gloves....usually stuff you could visibly see in his mouth.....

He would do the same for hardware items if i was putting something together......

He had me cussing the universe after i couldn't locate a small packet of specialty bolts for a patio fire bowl.. .dam near had the entire thing boxed up to return it to the store when i finally noticed his mouth wasn't quite shut completely....sly bast a r d.

I have found an amazing amount if small stuff that disappeared by the washing machine after the wife emptied my pockets doing laundry.

I am fuu.cked!!

Not even 50 yet and this schitt started in my 20s.

Too much going and my mind goes 180 mph.

Caulking guns! I know for a fact I’ve bought over a dozen through the years. When I’m dead and gone the kids are going to wonder where all the dam caulking guns came from as they go through my chit.

Republican ballots in democratic districts.

Bb

Keep a heat gun in my work trailer for heating up cold plastic pipe for installation over barbed fittings. Or at least I used to.

A while back, I thought I was being the nice and thoughtful spouse. I was occasionally slipping a couple of bucks in the outside pocket of my wife's purse. Thought it would be a nice surprise for her. Turns out, being the 'knowing where every penny resides" person she is, she honestly thought she was losing her memory and was taking vitamin supplements to counteract it. She eventually figured it out and told me to stop.

Ratchet straps and chain binders... Just seem to evaporate...

Fella I worked with, went to a farm action some distance away with his brother. Spent the day at the auction, drove home that afternoon. They stopped at Wendy’s for a combo and ate the meal while driving. He had some sesame seeds from the buns to get under his dental plate. He removed his exspensive dentures to get relief and wrapped in the Wendy’s napkin and placed them on the truck seat. They vanished! He looked thru the garbage, retraced his route to the auction, looked on the side of the road (his brother littered), tore his truck apart, literally removed the bench seat. No denture! Took him over a week to get replacements and he had to teach classes toothless and eat soft meals during the wait. It was several thousand dollars plus the ridicule from his buddies. We still talk about until this day as evidenced by this post.

Guitar picks! Where in the fook do they go? Is there some kind of dimension that they go to that we are not aware of?

i used to have a bunch of beer koozies i had made to pass out at the ranch, all looked the same, and at that time i drank beer pretty steady.
ocassionally id loose a beer, set down someplace i knew where it was, and it would disappear, so i get another one, no worries.

lost one one day, about 30 minutes later i saw a beer in a koozie on the top shelf in the shop and had no idea why id have set it there. grabbed it and took a big pull.
guess it was one id lost weeks ago, cause that can was full of green, black, and white slime.
after that i stopped using koozies, shouldve quit drinking instead

I am near sighted, wear glasses for distance only, which I pull off at the bench and then go back looking for them later. Already have a set of magnifiers w split frames around my neck, so. Bad part is I have 5 benches in my shop, in 3 different rooms. I get great exercise hunting my glasses, very regular like. The distance glasses are transitions, so they go clear in a few minutes, making them harder to see if hiding on a powder keg or such.

Just yesterday, I was going out of the walk in door and realized my glasses were still in the reloading room, sitting on a 3# coffee can of brass, so back I went, diagonal criss cross through the entire 1800 sq ft shop building, then back. I have spent days looking for my glasses. Working on a boat, while it is in the water, is never good. Don't ask.

I walked down ~150 feet of driveway, at the ranch, and realized I'd lost a hearing aid!
Couldn't find it. Hired hands young kids asked if I'd give them $5 to find it - I told them "Heck I'll give you $100 if you find it!"
Showed them where I walked. 3 kids / 3 days. It's still there somewhere!


Another is my brain - if anyone happens to see it, please send it home!

You brought the plug into the stores with you to show them what it looks like, didn't you?


LOL

During my short gunsmithing years decades ago, I swore I was going to build a big electromagnet into the ceiling. Flip switch, and just pick dropped part off the magnet.

That would have saved many hands-and-knees hours.