Posted on 07/11/2009 9:10:00 PM PDT by rawhide
A lost wallet which contains a picture of a baby is more likely to be returned to its owner, scientists have discovered.
A total of 240 wallets on the streets of Edinburgh last year to see how many were returned.
Some contained one of four photographs the baby, a puppy dog, a family and a portrait of an elderly couple.
Other wallets contained a card suggesting the owner had recently made a charity donation, while a control batch contained no additional items.
Professor Richard Wiseman, a psychologist who supervised the experiment, said 42 per cent of the wallets were posted back in total.
Those containing the picture of the infant were most likely to trigger an honest reaction from the finder, with 88 per cent being returned, followed by those containing pictures of the puppy at 53 per cent.
Of those featuring the family snapshot, 48 per cent were sent to the return address and only 28 per cent of those with the picture of the elderly couple.
Wallets containing the charity cards and the control sample were least likely to be returned, with rates of 20 and 15 per cent respectively.
Prof Wiseman said that the result reflect a compassionate instinct towards vulnerable infants that people have evolved to ensure the survival of future generations.
Prof Wiseman, of the University of Hertfordshire, added: 'The baby kicked off a caring feeling in people, which is not surprising from an evolutionary perspective.
'We were amazed by the high percentage of wallets that came back.'
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
They should have put a GPS Tracking Device in the wallets and arrested anyone who kept them. Not sure what the charge would be, but I would love to see the look on their faces when the Cops showed up.
But heck, that’s just me.
I’ll hedge my bet by carrying a picture of a baby WITH a puppy.
Perhaps we can have a “Wallet Czar” appointed to help us keep track of our wallets.
“Is that a picture of Winston Churchill?”
Pretty much all newborns look like winston churchill to me, even the non-whites :-P
” Those containing the picture of the infant were most likely to trigger an honest reaction from the finder, with 88 per cent being returned, followed by those containing pictures of the puppy at 53 per cent.
Of those featuring the family snapshot, 48 per cent were sent to the return address and only 28 per cent of those with the picture of the elderly couple.
Wallets containing the charity cards and the control sample were least likely to be returned, with rates of 20 and 15 per cent respectively. “
So if they included pictures of a baby, a puppy, the family, and the grandparents, along with a charity card they’d get back 237% of the wallets!
We just need a Libtard Judge to find it.
Nonetheless, that’s pretty interesting. Makes me a bit happier about people.
Put in a card that says you offer a substantial reward if the wallet is returned. That might work better than a baby.
LOL. Exactly. Apparently Churchill himself said so.
I wonder what would happen to a wallet containing a picture of Helen Thomas?
Here’s an interesting one. Worth the read.
Or a note attached to one of the bills that says: There’s a lot more where this came from.
The finder will misinterpret that true statement, and think there’s a reward. In point of fact, there IS a lot more where that came from . . . the Bureau of Printing and Engraving in Washington, D. C.
Thx thx.
ping
Ping to Post #4 - Lou Grant. ;-)
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