Shopping is one of my favorite pastimes. And finding unusual things to buy from unusual places is especially enticing to a shopaholic like me.

That’s why I was so excited to learn about the Unclaimed Baggage Store which, just like its no-nonsense name suggests, sells all kinds of items that were lost in transit or never made the trip back to their original owners. This store not only exists as a brick-and-mortar shopping mecca in Alabama but as an online presence at
www.unclaimedbaggage.com. 

Over the last 50 years, the Unclaimed Baggage Store has uncovered an array of unusual finds including a bear pelt packed in salt, a camera from a space shuttle, an Egyptian burial mask, a live rattlesnake and a shrunken head. Sadly, those curiosities are no longer available.

However, the loot that I recently found online included some unusual items that have me wondering why stuff like this was being transported in someone’s luggage in the first place.

A steering wheel (which is being sold for just $29.99)

An adult size Sleeping Beauty-style dress

A 12-pack of toilet paper rolls (I guess you can never be too prepared.)

A Hoover vacuum 

A wedding cake topper

Pre-owned (but, hopefully, not pre-worn) chicken diapers (not chicken-patterned but for chickens!)

If you, like me, enjoy the thrill of the hunt or if you’re looking for an out-of-the-ordinary gift for that hard-to-buy-for person in your life — and you don’t have a problem with pre-owned stuff — you might want to check out the Unclaimed Baggage Store. But beware of any future shrunken heads or rattlesnakes!

EMILY SCHILLING is editor of Indiana Connection