Unclaimed Baggage

 ========= Old Image Removed =========Array
(
    [_wp_attached_file] => Array
        (
            [0] => 2003/12/suit.jpg
        )

    [_wp_attachment_metadata] => Array
        (
            [0] => a:5:{s:5:"width";i:640;s:6:"height";i:437;s:4:"file";s:16:"2003/12/suit.jpg";s:5:"sizes";a:9:{s:6:"medium";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:16:"suit-336x229.jpg";s:5:"width";i:336;s:6:"height";i:229;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:9:"thumbnail";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:16:"suit-140x140.jpg";s:5:"width";i:140;s:6:"height";i:140;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:9:"wbhm-icon";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:14:"suit-80x80.jpg";s:5:"width";i:80;s:6:"height";i:80;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:20:"wbhm-featured-square";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:16:"suit-600x437.jpg";s:5:"width";i:600;s:6:"height";i:437;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:18:"wbhm-featured-home";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:16:"suit-455x311.jpg";s:5:"width";i:455;s:6:"height";i:311;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:22:"wbhm-featured-carousel";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:16:"suit-388x265.jpg";s:5:"width";i:388;s:6:"height";i:265;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:28:"ab-block-post-grid-landscape";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:16:"suit-600x400.jpg";s:5:"width";i:600;s:6:"height";i:400;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:25:"ab-block-post-grid-square";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:16:"suit-600x437.jpg";s:5:"width";i:600;s:6:"height";i:437;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:14:"post-thumbnail";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:16:"suit-125x125.jpg";s:5:"width";i:125;s:6:"height";i:125;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}}s:10:"image_meta";a:12:{s:8:"aperture";s:1:"0";s:6:"credit";s:0:"";s:6:"camera";s:0:"";s:7:"caption";s:0:"";s:17:"created_timestamp";s:1:"0";s:9:"copyright";s:0:"";s:12:"focal_length";s:1:"0";s:3:"iso";s:1:"0";s:13:"shutter_speed";s:1:"0";s:5:"title";s:0:"";s:11:"orientation";s:1:"0";s:8:"keywords";a:0:{}}}
        )

    [_imagify_optimization_level] => Array
        (
            [0] => 1
        )

    [_imagify_data] => Array
        (
            [0] => a:2:{s:5:"stats";a:3:{s:13:"original_size";i:276566;s:14:"optimized_size";i:187952;s:7:"percent";d:32.039999999999999;}s:5:"sizes";a:9:{s:4:"full";a:5:{s:7:"success";b:1;s:8:"file_url";s:44:"https://news.wbhm.org/media/2003/12/suit.jpg";s:13:"original_size";i:97497;s:14:"optimized_size";i:58342;s:7:"percent";d:40.159999999999997;}s:9:"thumbnail";a:2:{s:7:"success";b:0;s:5:"error";s:77:"WELL DONE. This image is already compressed, no further compression required.";}s:6:"medium";a:5:{s:7:"success";b:1;s:8:"file_url";s:52:"https://news.wbhm.org/media/2003/12/suit-336x229.jpg";s:13:"original_size";i:24113;s:14:"optimized_size";i:17341;s:7:"percent";d:28.079999999999998;}s:9:"wbhm-icon";a:5:{s:7:"success";b:1;s:8:"file_url";s:50:"https://news.wbhm.org/media/2003/12/suit-80x80.jpg";s:13:"original_size";i:3537;s:14:"optimized_size";i:3417;s:7:"percent";d:3.3900000000000001;}s:13:"wbhm-featured";a:5:{s:7:"success";b:1;s:8:"file_url";s:52:"https://news.wbhm.org/media/2003/12/suit-600x338.jpg";s:13:"original_size";i:53010;s:14:"optimized_size";i:38280;s:7:"percent";d:27.789999999999999;}s:20:"wbhm-featured-square";a:5:{s:7:"success";b:1;s:8:"file_url";s:52:"https://news.wbhm.org/media/2003/12/suit-300x300.jpg";s:13:"original_size";i:27192;s:14:"optimized_size";i:19466;s:7:"percent";d:28.41;}s:18:"wbhm-featured-home";a:5:{s:7:"success";b:1;s:8:"file_url";s:52:"https://news.wbhm.org/media/2003/12/suit-455x311.jpg";s:13:"original_size";i:40262;s:14:"optimized_size";i:28858;s:7:"percent";d:28.32;}s:22:"wbhm-featured-carousel";a:5:{s:7:"success";b:1;s:8:"file_url";s:52:"https://news.wbhm.org/media/2003/12/suit-388x265.jpg";s:13:"original_size";i:30955;s:14:"optimized_size";i:22248;s:7:"percent";d:28.129999999999999;}s:14:"post-thumbnail";a:2:{s:7:"success";b:0;s:5:"error";s:77:"WELL DONE. This image is already compressed, no further compression required.";}}}
        )

    [_imagify_status] => Array
        (
            [0] => success
        )

)
1665228464 
1072137600

33 years ago, Doyle Owens got to thinking. What happens to all of that luggage the airlines lose? And more importantly, what could he do with it? Armed with 300 bucks, he bought a carload of unclaimed baggage and set up shop in Scottsboro, Alabama. Today – it’s a thriving business that attracts nearly a million visitors a year.

Cantrell “My name is Brenda Cantrell. I’m the marketing and media relations manager. It’s like Christmas every day! When you come in you just never know what you’re going to find. We stock over 7,000 items every single day.”

“There’s just about anything you might take on an airline trip. Clothes, books, CD players. There are also bins of tweezers, nail clippers, shampoo and cologne. But that’s just the beginning.”

Cantrell “A 19th century replica full suit of armor came in a few years ago. One of the more fascinating pieces was in our jewelry boutique. It was a 5.8 carat diamond solitaire ring. With that particular item it was wrapped up in an old cloth tucked in the corner of a suitcase. You know, who knows if the person even knew it was there.”

Jean Davis “My name is Jean Davis and I’m from Soo St. Marie, Ontario – originally from England.”

Jean and her husband Brian are doing a little Christmas shopping.

Jean Davis “Amazing! Because we never realized there was so much stuff that would be lost. There’s everything! We bought some gold chains. One’s for a present and one’s for myself.

Brian Davis “The amount of the stuff and the condition the stuff’s in!”

Jean Davis “The clothing doesn’t smell like you’d expect to find in second hand stores. We noticed there was no smell with it. No odor.”

Cantrell “We do sell used undergarments, but we do launder them just as we do everything else in our store.”

Yep, there’s big business in selling used underwear and everything else the store peddles. And with travel picking up again after a 2-year slowdown, company President Brian Owens, the son of the founder, says there’s plenty of merchandise.

Owens “The airlines do a tremendous job in the tracing process. They’re losing fewer bags, but yet still there’s enough stuff.”

Cantrell “Right now we have an incoming cart rolling in and this is always a fun experience. Our shoppers just really have a hay day with this.”

Reporter Ott “This cart literally just stopped and people are surrounding it.”

Cantrell “Yeah, it’s like bin diving – is what we like to call it. They just get their hands in to dig out and get out whatever they can. They have no idea what’s in the bottom of that bin, if they need it or not. They just want to get their hands on it and see if it’s something that they want.”

Springsteen “My name is Bob Springsteen and I’m from Scottsboro, Alabama.”

Reporter Ott “Okay – so I’m a novice. Let me in on the secret. What’s the key to getting the best stuff here?”

Springsteen “Be early and come often and stay late. It’s real simple.”

Great advice for locals … others might want to plan a longer trip. Just keep an eye on your suitcase if you do!

 

 

Research on metal-organic frameworks gets the chemistry Nobel Prize

Susumu Kitagawa, Richard Robson and Omar M. Yaghi will share the prize. Their structures can "capture carbon dioxide, store toxic gases or catalyse chemical reactions," the committee said.

Pumpkin: A favorite sign of fall, with a bit of shady history

Pumpkins are a harvest symbol and part of our nostalgia for a simpler time. But while the word "pumpkin" has been around for centuries, the plant dates back thousands of years.

Hundreds of hikers rescued from Mount Everest after severe snowstorm

About 900 hikers, guides and other staff who were stranded by a weekend snowstorm on the Chinese side of Mount Everest have reached safety, state media said late Tuesday.

The costs of Israel’s longest war, for Israelis

Israelis are paying heavy costs for the longest war in their history: a mental health crisis, trauma, unprecedented division during wartime, animosity abroad and apathy for Palestinian suffering.

Democrats take legal aim at ‘the Radical Left’ language during shutdown

Democrats and a federal union argue that Trump administration language posted on federal agency websites and some emails blaming a shutdown on the "Radical Left Democrats" violates a 1939 federal law.

These numbers show how 2 years of war have devastated Palestinian lives in Gaza

It's been two years since Hamas-led militants attacked Israel, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages. In response, Israeli leaders promised a punishing offensive. Here are some numbers showing the war's toll.

More News Coverage