Hacker News Reader

Was surprised at same types of thing the first time I visited. I believe this question is answered by this new york times article below about Japanese lost and founds. I've asked my friends about the phenomena and they attribute it to a sense of duty/routine - normally nobody even thinks twice about turning in a lost item.

http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=990CEED71131F...

View on HN

I've lost my wallet quite a few times over the past 10 years in the US, and I've recovered it all but once. Once it came through the mail (missing a single gift card). Today it was waiting for me in Walgreens.

I've found wallets and cell phones, and tracked down the owners, too.

The US isn't the den of iniquity breathless journos like to pretend it is.

I attribute it to a sense of basic human decency that nearly everyone manages to maintain if one isn't suffering from crushing poverty.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com