Unclaimed Baggage, a retail store that sells lost luggage in Alabama is opening a museum in Scottsboro to show the standout oddities the business has collected in its 53 years of operation.
The store, which is headquartered in Scottsboro, will open an Unclaimed Baggage Museum on Friday, April 21, at the company’s 509 West Willow Street location.
More than 100 items will be put on display as "found treasures," according to Unclaimed Baggage’s Public Relations Manager Sonni Hood, who made an announcement on April 11 from the lost luggage retailer’s YouTube account.
All the displayed items were unpacked from suitcases that were left unclaimed, Hood explained in the promotional video.
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Unclaimed Baggage wrote in a press release that its curated collection includes historic finds such as ancient Egyptian artifacts from 1500 B.C., primitive hair tools, plaques from antiquity, suits of armor, a violin from 1772, a 19th-century box camera and a Victorian-era hand fan.
Other notable unique finds include an Hermes necklace from the 1980s, a basketball signed by Michael Jordan and a Hoggle dwarf puppet mask from Jim Henson’s fantasy film "Labyrinth," which starred David Bowie.
"People are endlessly curious about the variety and wonder of items discovered in unclaimed bags," said Bryan Owens, CEO of Unclaimed Baggage, in a statement.
"We’ve seen it all," he continued. "Our store is like an archeological dig, with unclaimed treasures telling stories about people and culture over time and from all parts of the world."
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Unclaimed Baggage was founded in 1970 by Owens’ father, Doyle Owens, who started the business after he purchased a load of unclaimed bags from a travel company and sold the contents to the public, according to a promotional video for the Unclaimed Baggage Museum on Vimeo.
The lost luggage retailer continues to source its inventory from domestic airlines, transportation companies and other travel businesses, according to Unclaimed Baggage's website.
"Airline passengers waiting for their bags upon arrival are almost certain to see them riding atop the bag carousel," Unclaimed Baggage’s "How it Works" webpage states. "That’s because airlines use sophisticated tracking technology to reunite over 99.5% of bags with their owners right away."
"If a bag is truly lost, airlines pay out a claim to the passenger," the lost luggage retailer went on. "It’s only after an extensive three-month search that an unclaimed bag is deemed truly orphaned, a fate realized by less than 0.03% of all checked luggage! That’s where we come in."
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For the "found treasures" museum exhibition, Unclaimed Baggage partnered with museum archivists and specialists who helped the retailer with item research, exhibit designs and display installs for the unique items, Hood explained in a promo video. The museum items will be displayed in 10 groupings.
The Unclaimed Baggage Museum grand opening will take place on Friday at 11 a.m. with a special ribbon cutting ceremony and museum staff discussions. Games, treats and cake will be available for the celebration.
On Saturday, the museum will be open from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. and guided tours will be available for visitors. The museum will keep celebrations going with food trucks, music, vendors and games.
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The Unclaimed Baggage Museum will continue after its opening weekend as a permanent addition to the Scottsboro-based Unclaimed Baggage store.
