Why do things seem to suddenly disappear and then show up months later?

United States
June 15, 2010 7:45pm CST
I was looking for my topical acne cream for months and couldn't find it for the life of me. Then today, my mother couldn't find her tweezers, so she told me to rummage through my bathroom drawers and look for it. I didn't find the tweezers, but I found the cream. It was odd because I thought I looked there previously, but there it was, seemingly unmoved by time. Why do things suddenly seem to disappear and then show up at a later time?
5 people like this
20 responses
@carmelanirel (20942)
• United States
16 Jun 10
I think you have the same little trolls I do... Seriously though, I don't know for sure why this happens..Like the missing sock that appears much later. (Different problem from when the washer/dryer eats the sock..lol) Maybe when we really need it, we are too quick too find it and so we overlook the item..Or whatever was covering it had been moved..It really frustrates me too..Because I will find items that I won't use for months, like a seasonal item.._
• United States
16 Jun 10
Oh my goodness! My dryer eats socks too! LOL I feel like each time I dry the clothes, at least one sock goes missing and then I don't have a pair! How annying! Seasonal items are the worst because you usually find them when the season is gone and then you put it away for the next season, and when it finally comes around, you can't find it again. What a vicious cycle! I wish I had trolls that came in the night and hid stuff. Then I'd have an excuse why I can't find something.
2 people like this
• United States
16 Jun 10
My trolls may just as well be my husband or son.. But can't tell them that, they just look at me as if to say, "I have no idea where it is."
1 person likes this
• United States
16 Jun 10
Oh no! The trolls aren't just playing tricks on you, they're keeping secrets from you too! What nasty buggers! You gotta control them better! Just kidding. Yes, my family does the same thing. "Mom, did you see my glasses?" "Sorry, I have no clue where that is. Did you try tracing your steps?" "Yes. It isn't there!" "Oh. Well, I don't know."
2 people like this
@sunnycool (12714)
• India
16 Jun 10
This often happens with me when i search for my books before i rush to my college in the early hours----they just get lost in those bulk and it would be awwww so irritating when someone else picks it for us---my sister gets holds of them sometimes---and then i feel like why on earth i didnt find it before.
1 person likes this
@sunnycool (12714)
• India
16 Jun 10
Lets assume this way----if you couldnt find your car keys then it obviously means that someone is lucky
1 person likes this
• United States
16 Jun 10
I gotta go to work! I need those car keys! It's not like my work is close to home! I'm not that much of a danger on the road! If my car keys suddenly disappeared, I'd just steal your car keys and speed away. (As long as it isn't manual transmission, that is.) Just kidding.
1 person likes this
• United States
16 Jun 10
I rush around in the morning looking for my books for college too, but I've never had them disappear on me. I guess mostly because my books are kept on my bookshelf at all times. I've had other things go missing too though, like my car keys and glasses. It's so irritating.
1 person likes this
@reene0225 (351)
• United States
16 Jun 10
I am constantly loosing things and finding them months later. Just last night I found my son's bedtime bath wipes and a few other things I forgot I took on vacation back in April. It was still in the suit case. I guess I just forgot to unpack some stuff. I seriously thought the suit case was empty. Then I decided to move it and noticed it was a bit heavy.
1 person likes this
• United States
16 Jun 10
Suitcases are such a pain to unpack. Partially because they have all these zippers and hidden compartments. It's hard to find everything you put in there. What a pain! I constantly lose things too. And then find them when I least expect it or don't need them. It's so annoying sometimes.
1 person likes this
@qianyun6 (2067)
• China
16 Jun 10
Hello, StephanieAnnC! I have met this problem too many times. I often lose things and can't find them anywhere. But suddenly they appeare just under my eyes. But I remembered I had searched the place very carefully! I don't know what's the exact reason, but I think, maybe when i desired to find it, "FIND IT" filled my mind, and this would cause a blank in my mind. So when my sight saw it, the image of it couldn't come into my brain, so I missed it. And after a period of time, when I accidently looked there, the condition could be much better. My mind wasn't full and could receive the images.
1 person likes this
• United States
16 Jun 10
How strange that it happens so often though, right? I think maybe it's almost because we go into a panic because we can't find the item and our brain just overheats. Too much stress on the brain, I guess. And then, when you finally calm down and relax, the item shows up because you can think freely again.
1 person likes this
@elrvld (120)
• Argentina
16 Jun 10
Somepeople say that the gnomes make them disappear and appear when they want it... :P I dunno, but that things happen a lot, I always lose my keys, and I find them later in a weird place... :/ I dunno what this things happen...
1 person likes this
• United States
16 Jun 10
Those naughty gnomes! They like to play tricks us on and make us go crazy! I feel like they move things around to. I find my things in places I didn't think I left them. But then again, I probably did leave them there but don't remember.
1 person likes this
@Iamgood (38)
• Canada
16 Jun 10
Well, they do not really disappear and show up somewhere else so there must be a logical explanation for these things. I guess you just didn't check it enough. Yes, sometimes things disappear for me and I can't find them even if I am looking all over the place, but for some reason, a few months later, I find them again even though I am not looking for them. Weird huh?
1 person likes this
• United States
16 Jun 10
Obviously there is a logical reason why it's not in a place that you thought you checked because objects don't just grow legs and run away. But it's just so odd how things evade your sight and then then 'show up' later on. It's awfully frustrating, but a nice feeling when you find it months later.
1 person likes this
@Opal26 (17679)
• United States
16 Jun 10
Hi Stephanie! That happens in my house all the time and it really drives me crazy! But, lately things just disappear and never show up! Years ago my friends thought that there was some sort of "spririt/ghost" in my apartment and so did I! Things used to disappear, move and alot of other strange stuff would happen! And all of a sudden in the last year or so my earrings have gone missing, just one in the middle of the night when I am sleeping and they are not in the bed or anywere or when I am in the house and can't be found anywere and that has happened with 2 different pairs of Gold Earrings and one Gold Ankle Bracelet and I never used to lost good jewelery before! And one time I lost a purple lighter and months later found it in my draw with my socks!
• United States
16 Jun 10
Apparently your spirit has a love for anything gold! I wouldn't buy gold jewelry if it kept disappearing on me! I'm pretty sure there's no spirit in my house. I just think I don't see them because I'm a panic when I'm looking the object I need. Then, it 'reappears' somewhere else. How annoying.
• United Kingdom
16 Jun 10
I sometimes think that we are not alone in our household! I'm pretty sure that there are tiny gremlins running about whilst we are asleep and that they have need of some of the things we use whether it be cream, tweezers or whatever!. On a serious note this has always been a mystery, it just happens and no one knows why! I think the most common item that is lost is that one sock when you should have a pair! Where did the other one go? When you take your clothes out of the wash, one sock! Hell! I think I will have to use the leftover sock as a duster now! There are so many things that we cannot understand in this Universe and well lost and found items definitely falls into that category! Andrew
• United States
16 Jun 10
I agree with you! Socks disappear the most. I think the dryer eats them, but that's just me. You never know. Gremlins need things to! They just go about the wrong way in getting them. Somebody needs to show those gremlins a lesson!
@slovenc1 (2089)
• Slovenia
16 Jun 10
I don't know how it is possible that sometimes the thing you need the most hides so good. There were many times i searched for things and turned my room up side down nd still didn't find it. The worse thing is if you can't find keys, you are certain you lost them and you buy new ones, than you find old ones in a jacket. Another thing i can't understand is how the "peep" can the wires of earphones get so tangled after one second in a pocket.
@slovenc1 (2089)
• Slovenia
16 Jun 10
Thanks, i like it two. Do you want me to find you one? Say what you want and i'll do my best. Thanks for your comment, the earphones bother me even more than loosing stuff. I actually looked on watch and i spent 6 minutes untangling them once.
• United States
17 Jun 10
Thanks for asking me! I actually know how to animate certain things, so I could make one if I wanted, I'm just lazy. Where did you find yours? OR did you make it?
• United States
16 Jun 10
I thought I'd note that I like your avatar. I think I stared at it for ten seconds. Keys are the worse to lose. I think I put them down somewhere, but they aren't in that spot. It's frustrating. I usually go and re-buy things I've lost and then find the musing item the next day. I wonder that too--about the earphones. They get so tangled for no reason. Then it takes forever to untangle them.
@juggerogre (1653)
• Philippines
16 Jun 10
It happens to me sometimes. I don't really bother thinking why it showed up there after searching there and not finding it. All I care about is I'm happy that I found it. Probably I really didn't check it thoroughly or someone played a prank in me and hide it then put it back there after I checked it. Lots of reasons actually but the most important thing is I found it there.
• United States
16 Jun 10
That's what makes it all the better! If you aren't happy to find it, then you really didn't lose it in the first place, you know what I mean? I'm usually very happy to find things that I've lost, especially if they mean a lot to me!
@amelly (1554)
• Malaysia
17 Jun 10
right now i was looking for my white shirt which i could not find since last year..i searched it like crazy..i know i must have it in my room but somehow i can't find it..that is soo like human..i mean we put our stuff and arrange them neatly but somehow finding things will still be a nuisance for us..hope i can find it someday...it is my favourite
@amelly (1554)
• Malaysia
18 Jun 10
yup...sure happens to me sometimes....seriously i hate it when that things happen!!i will be like'where the heck i put my .............'and i will start to ask everybody in the house when they don't even know where i put all my stuff///but when i found it....i was soooo relieved...
• United States
19 Jun 10
Yes, finding them is like obtaining a new discovery. It feels nice. LOL I hate losing things in the first place though. It's annoying.
• United States
17 Jun 10
Oh no! You'll find it when you least expect it. I tore my room apart looking for things and I still can't find them. It's such a pain. And then my mom walks into my room and it looks like a tornado hit it. "What happened to your room?" "I can't find my shirt/glasses/keys/inset noun here."
@jesgil (95)
• Philippines
16 Jun 10
it happened to me many times already. our neighbors told us that there are some spirits inside our house. at first i did not believe it but everytime there is something missing, i just whisper "please bring back my stuff" then my things will appear at the unexpected place inside our house. maybe it is true that there are spirits in our house. so scary!!!!
• United States
16 Jun 10
That's creepy! You never know. Or maybe you just snap out or you searching mode and relax and then find them again. Who knows.
• United States
16 Jun 10
OMG, I think about this very same thing all the time. It has to me very frequently. I totally hate looking for something that is apparently lost. Time wasting is one of my biggest pet peeves. I totally hate going in circles and looking for something no matter what it is, it is the fact that there is no evident reason why it would not be where I whole hear-ted believe I left it at a certain place. Especially if it is the same place I normally leave the item. It absolutely drives me nuts more than any type of harm that could possibly come my way. Than out of nowhere, bingo I am looking for something else I believe now is lost and would'nt you know it, there is the prior item I was looking for months ago that suddenly re-appeared. Too odd, especially when yes the item did not have legs, I checked there a zillion times and there has been no one in my home to have moved it. So I know the feeling.... As the terrible feeling makes me doubt myself when I know for a fact I had left it there to begin with. I suppose in the heat of the moment and or stress about finding the object I become blinded by blindness. hummm...
• United States
17 Jun 10
Odd, isn't it? I tend to connect very well with people, but I thought I was quite unique...in an awkward and strange way, that is. I don't think y ou're strange or awkward in any way!
• United States
16 Jun 10
I walk around in circles too. And I keep looking at the same area where I normally place the object. I'm like 'It HAS to be here.' but it isn't. And I don't know where else to look! It's frustrating!
• United States
16 Jun 10
Girly, girl... I am finding that you and I are much one and the same....:)
@puccagirl (7294)
• Israel
16 Jun 10
These things happen to me all the time, and it really drives me crazy!! I always thought I was just really forgetful or unlucky, so I am kind of glad to hear that I am not the only one, hihi! (no offense!)
• United States
16 Jun 10
Nope. You aren't the only one! It happens to all of us! Look at h ow many people responded to this discussion! Don't worry. You aren't going crazy!
• India
19 Jun 10
I wish to list down the numerous things which disappeared like this and got back later. 1. Stamps & coin collection. 2. Cricket Bat 3. Some CDs 4. many computer parts like ram, hard disks, pen drive
@ellie333 (21016)
16 Jun 10
Hi Stephanie, I have this happen all the time, I will put something down go to get it and it is gone, at one time we even put it down to spiritual activity. I have a drawer like that I know something is there and look an look and cannot find and next time looking for something else, there it is. The other day I wanted to wear a particular necklace which I thought was in my handbag of that went with theoutfit that I had worn it with last, nope couldn't find it, then went to the bag to get my lipstick and there it was after the event I wanted to wear it for grrr. Huggles. Ellie :D
@Hatley (163776)
• Garden Grove, California
16 Jun 10
hi stephanieAnnc I know everyone else is going to say there is always a logical reason and you just forgot or you moved them and so on. well I have one that's more fun,Gremlins did it Just like they took one of my husbands socks, and just stuffed them away somewhere so I could look silly running around the apartment trying to find the other socks.So they grab things we really use a lot,hide them for awhile then put them right back where they belong. Well thats my theory and I am sticking to it.
• United States
16 Jun 10
I agree with you! Those little buggers just like to tease you and watch you run around like a chicken without your head. They laugh at you as you make a fool out of yourself. Those things are truly evil, I swear!
@dawnald (85146)
• Shingle Springs, California
21 Jun 10
My Aunt Barbara would say it's gremlins...
@sender621 (14893)
• United States
16 Jun 10
Tou know that when you stop looking for something, you will find it. Onjects will remain in hiding for months. When you give up the hope of ever seeing it again, there it is. Never fails to hsppen.
@elvieb02 (695)
• Philippines
16 Jun 10
Sometimes that happens to me also, there are few things that I knew where I placed them but when I needed them, they would just disappear and even if i turn every stones in the house, I couldn't still find them but then suddenly when you don't need them, they will just appear in your plain sight. Strange uh?