Frankly Madam, try less social isolation and more interaction with the world around you. This is certainly a First World “problem.”
57
The really don't look that "cool" on people.
27
Airpods: big ripoff and cash cow for Apple and Steve Jobs' heirs.
Our son bought his dad a pair for his b'day and he drops one of them out of his ears at least daily.....but luckily around the house only so far.
He says the noise cancelling is fantastic, but ......why? Why cancel normal noise?
23
This service keeps people off the tracks. It is very, very expensive when someone is hit and service is disrupted.
25
Once I saw two MTA workers retrieved an earpod from a track of an uptown 6 train on 96th St. The owner just shouted “thanks”, and ran up the stairs and gone. And the two bored looking MTA men followed. Everything took less than a minute ( but I’m sure the owner had been waiting quite sometimes for them to arrive , nonetheless , they showed up and did their job). Like nothing happened, but I was amazed that the MTA sent “two” men to retrieve “an”earpod! Yes lost and found is amazing when it works in your favor. My son left his phone , it was a good phone on LIRR and I told him to forget about it just needed to figure out how to get a new one. But he called anyway, guess what? Somebody gave it to the conductor and left it at lost and found. Two days later , his phone was back to him. Again, I was amazed !
46
What’s wrong with EarPods? They cost $29 and if one falls out of your ear, reach down, pick up the wayward tethered pod And place it back into your ear. No major loss and no need to bother MTA with one percenter “problems.”
41
Working in Japan, my husband left an expensive lap top behind on the super fast Shinkansen. Was returned same day.
Japanese culture.
46
It's really not such a big loss since the batteries last only two years anyway. :-0
14
Years ago, I was with a friend as she rummaged for her keys at the door of her rental house. The deck was designed with space between all the boards. Sure enough, she dropped her keys and they went right through one of the spaces. Someone had to be called, and they removed a board in order for us to get the keys, but it was hours later. That made me super aware anytime I rummage for my keys or anything else for that matter. I recall NYC having more open grates and such than anywhere I've been.
12
Once, my earbud cords got snagged on another passenger as I was exiting the train at 72nd street, sending my iPhone shooting right through the narrow gap between the train and the platform. Knowing I had just a few minutes to try to get it before another train came, I ran up to the person in the booth to see if they had anything that would help. Like a garbage picker or something like that. They did not. But, I did spy a broom...so I ran out to the newstand outside, bought a pack of gum, shoved a stick in my mouth, swpied the broom, ran back down, stuck the gum on the end of the broom and got my phone, all with a few minutes left to spare before the next train arrived, and returned the broom. It's one of my best MTA stories yet.
158
My school library circulates “playaways” to the students. They are portable listening devices with a single dedicated book. They come with wired earphones but we long ago decided that kids should provide their own earphones. Who would want to share earbuds?
4
Hats off to the MTA. Con Ed via 1-800-75-CONED will also retrieve lost items down one of their manholes or sidewalk vaults.
30
*Sad about having to spend $90 to replace something, so goes and buys flowers at an expensive store* Humans of Late Capitalism!
59
I once had an AirPod drop out of my ear into a toilet on a Delta flight. And yes I did reach in for it (had not used it yet). I good wash with soda detergent bleach had sanitizer later it was back in use
5
@David with all due respect, others had used it before you.
33
Fabulous.
6
My Dad grew up in Brooklyn and said when he was young he and his brother would find long sticks, put some bubblegum on the end and try and retrieve money that had been dropped down subway grates. He was born in 1921 so this would have been a long time ago. Subway was a nickel.
25
@DTD
My mother used to say "a nickel is a lot of money."
16
Nice to know that public service still exists; the last time I was in NYC I got a bit lost in the Little Italy/Chinatown area. The patrol cops were splendid, polite, dutiful, and most helpful in redirecting me.
But this story also illustrates the foolhardiness of wearing wireless era-buds. They are designed to eventually fall out. Wired earbuds, when they fall out, are easily retrievable.
31
Forty years ago I dropped a key down a grate in NYC and someone ran home, came back with a long pole and gum and believe it or not, we retrieved the key.
26
Who knew?
4
Grate luck.
94
You know what would be cool is if Apple started making AirPods with, like, a little matching tether—whoah, and what if they put, like, a little socket right on your iPhone, so you could anchor your AirPods right to the phone, so if they ever fell they'd never actually hit the ground?! (Makes mind-blown gesture.)
I fret about wanting to deep-clean my EarPods every once in awhile just from having been in my ears or fallen onto a car seat.
I fully wash my two-year-old Apple Watch with mild soap and water every couple of weeks (after all I swim with it in a saltwater pool) because I don't want it on my wrist after sweating and cooking and cleaning.
I can't fathom putting something into an orifice of my body that has landed on a city street or gone down a grate into the muck.
Maybe that's just me?
33
Obviously that’s why the subways are so screwed up. Too much manpower—sorry, personpower devoted to retrieving overpriced headphones to an overly entitled citizenry.
16
Once, when I was sitting in a window seat on Southwest Airlines, I dropped my Airpod into a broken part of the plane wall. It is forever lost and now part of the airplane. $60 to replace it.
Godspeed, my dear, expensive, tiny Airpod.
5
@KC
Boeing is working on a fix for that. You'll be able to retrieve it in, oh, about 30 years.
16
I am sure that this same act has happened to people who wear hearing aids. My husband has had them pop out, and I've been outside at 2 a.m.armed with a flashlight looking for the missing aid. Instead of being churlish, Mr. Spang ought to realize that the MTA offering such a service is a kind thing to do. Hearing aids cost thousands of dollars each, buddy, not $100.00.
35
One more reason why "wireless" may not always be the best solution. Or, of a capitalist pushing a cost on to the "commons" without paying for it. Ain't modren life wunnerful?
6
@Flick Lives -- is that like FLICK the kid from the stories Jean Shepherd used to tell on WOR-AM at like Midnight (written down in "In God We Trust, All others Pay cash")? OMG..... also in the Xmas Movie too, i guess. That is funny.
2
Years ago on a rainy day I dropped a twenty dollar bill onto the subway tracks at 6th Ave and 47th St. Considered jumping down into the pit to get it, as I was young and fit, but then saw a train coming and decided not to chance it. Was my 20 bucks lost? The train pulled in and when it left I saw my money was still down there. Just then I saw a nice- looking young lady coming down the stairs toward me, carrying an umbrella and chewing gum. I explained my situation and asked if I could borrow her umbrella and put the gum on the end, she agreed. So I got on my belly and inched toward the pit with the umbrella extended, reached down into the pit and fished the money up. A hit! So I returned the umbrella (discarded the gum), pocketed the money and thanked the lady profusely. And offered to take her to dinner and spend the money I had just retrieved. No luck there, so one hit and one miss. Another cute day in Fun City! You can't make this stuff up.
62
Ah, no wonder subway fares keep climbing. They have to employ people who retrieve what a few of us lose.
8
@CacaMera
It's called customer service.
13
@CacaMera This doesn't seem like a new/recent service.
2
I once accidentally dropped my phone while on the 2 train, as we pulled into the 149th street station. I then completed the tragedy by kicking it off of the train, on to the tracks.
While I was staring at it dejectedly, a man dressed all in white, jumped on to the tracks and retrieved my phone. He climbed back up, handed it to me without a word, and walked away.
Yes, I did thank him profusely.
28
Apple, if you are listening, please make a version of airpods that are fitted as a pierced earring. My earring does not drop through grates . You could create interesting colors as well. Why not glow in dark orange or yellow. Because I am a brunette I would prefer black or brown versus white.
20
@Jan Whitener
I think a pierced-earring wearable device is a good idea. I'd prefer silver/grey metal or white, which many of their products already are, but I can see the appeal of bright, glow-in-the-dark colors and hair or skin-matching tones.
6
And where to the recovered, unclaimed items go?
Auctions by the MTA
1
After retrieving it from the bottom of a subway pit, you "cleaned" it and put it back in your ear ? Will pass on that. I have the wireless beatsx ear buds that are attached with the croakie type thing like with sunglasses so when one falls out it's safe.
5
If only we went back in time. Suddenly wired head phones don't sound so bad anymore. Or wireless head phones where there was a clip that wrapped around your ears.
10
I'm most surprised by the author giving up waiting for the agent after he was late by 15 minutes. Have more faith!
10
More evidence why the whole unwired ear bud movement is absurd. To pay $250 for Apple ear buds......partly because they removed the phone jack, right?......boggles this guy's mind.
I pay $5-7 for wired earbuds. I never lose them. I never need to charge them. I have a horrible rate of BT audio products (not buds!) dying, so there's that, at least for me.
And that a careless person's Apple Addiction is a news story? I guess Trump acted like a normal person yesterday.
6
@Jus' Me, NYT
That’s a lot cheaper than Apple’s wired earbuds. Apple is genius at getting people to spend $$$$ on unnecessary items, myself included with my iPhone 7 and final generation Classic iPod.
4
@Jus' Me, NYT $250 is for the "pro" version which I think are supposed to fit better, her paid, like mentioned in the article, were $160.
The NYTimes also posts more than one article a day, there are plenty of Trump articles on the main page.
5
If only there were a way to stop the earbud from falling like this. Perhaps...a strap of some kind...that connects it to...maybe the other ear bud? No, no that seems too complicated and difficult. Wait, what if they connected to each other and the device?! No, no we have to change or eliminate all the functional ports from our devices, that simply can't be done without an additional dongle you need to buy (honestly, who came up with that word).
This is an engineering challenge too great for me. Hopefully someone else can resolve it.
20
The lost umbrella trick. Go to any lost and found and say "I lost my umbrella." "What color is it?" "Black with a plastic handle." "One of these?" [spreading four out on the counter] "Oh yes this one."
Think of the world as a giant umbrella bank. People make deposits (losing their umbrella) and others make withdrawals at the umbrella banks.
23
I loved this story because it was such a triumph over the "undertoad" that John Irving's 1978 novel "The World According to Garp" introduces . . . that dreadful surrender to loss and disappointment. I applaud the author's faith and pluck. I also worry about comments that suggest this kind of retrieval is somehow sinful or entitled. Get a life!
10
"But an hour passed and nobody showed up."
So this is a guy who is in the middle of the day coming from perhaps all the way on the other side of NYC, and because he's 15 minutes late you decide to bail on him?
And the process had worked well so far - you had found out to call 511, called, and got an agreement that they would send someone out, and found that yes, this is a service they do routinely. If you had waited a reasonable amount of time, like maybe another 45 minutes, and he still had not come, why would you not just call back to the 511 number and find out what was going on - ?
Sometimes it takes perseverance to get something done.
13
@achilli
He was 45 minutes late. That is when she decided to buy some flowers nearby and when she got the call she actually RAN back.
5
@achilli
Right. Things happen to other people, too, including MTA workers. Bravo for Mr King.
5
Once at a Universal owned hotel my wife dropped her earring down the drain. I called a maintenance person and they came and opened the drain trap and were able to retrieve it.
3
I consider myself lucky in that with mildly oily skin, I'm positively unable to lodge **any** type of ear-pod (corded or bluetooth) in my ear canals as they fall right out the moment I remove my fingers. A good thing too as I get far better audio quality with my over-ear phones (and my loop-around sport phones for the gym).
6
Any idea how much that cost to retrieve your priceless ear bud? The maintenance worker probably has a total cost in excess of $100 an hour. Maybe his time would be better spent fixing broken turnstiles and elevators, not to mention the decrepit signalling system.
10
@Stephen Spang
Things drop from human hands all the time ,their grate
caught an innocent earbud and took it away from it's innocent owner , the mans job it to retrieve items not fix turnstiles ,he is not in the mechanical repair department.
38
This is a story that makes me think, oddly, that civilization is not lost. Say what you will about the MTA, but for the MTA to provide this service is a kindness.
65
Lost an AirPod a month ago when I took off my earmuffs to talk to some people while out on my morning walk in the park. I didn’t realize it until quite awhile afterwards and retraced my steps for a long time but with the piles of dead leaves everywhere it seemed hopeless, so I went home and had lunch. Decided to have one more try later and went further back than before and there on the only patch of bare ground anywhere around it sat waiting for me. I was particularly pleased, as several weeks before I had dropped one down the drain in the bathroom sink (retrieved but useless) and my husband was beginning to be more than a little peeved.
6
It's for the best. Now you can join the real world and avoid the oncoming traffic. It's called growing up.
10
@Darrel Lauren
Thanks for making us aware that being an adult involves not listening to music while walking around in public. I feel much more grown up now.
13
@PJ doesn’t have to be musics. EarPods wearer here but for podcasts only ,many podcasts , one after the others. I listen to music while I’m at home cooking or cleaning from my “radio”!
The MTA need to focus on service, not retrieving lost items left by entitled riders.
12
Retrieving lost items is a service.
45
@JD I suspect that if you're truly 'entitled', you're not riding the MTA.
15
Oh geez
9
My airpod story involves a swimming pool. When the entire unit, including buds, flew from my pocket and into the pool my first response was to jump in, clothes and all, to retrieve. No dice (or rather no airpods). Without goggles they were impossible to see at close range on the pool bottom. I resorted to an old trick honed through long association with a dancer and picked up the case with my toes. Only to find the pods themselves were still on the pool bottom. The same toe dexterity retrieved them. I was resigned to the airpods being wrecked by water, as a Google search assured me they would be. But a week immersed in uncooked rice did the trick and they are still going strong. And I am feeling pretty good that my 70 year old toes could still act on their own.
67
I once accidentally washed one of my AirPods with a load of sheets, having forgotten that I had it on during the night, which I usually do so I can listen to podcasts if I wake up in the middle of the night (I only wear one on the side I’m not lying on) . Apparently it fell out of my ear sometime during the night. I discovered it while transferring the sheets to the dryer and sadly assumed it was ruined. Nope, it was fine and still going strong. I was very happy.
8
As an occasional visitor to New York, I am positively impressed by the subways. Particularly in comparison with the old graffiti days. I complement the MTA workers whenever I can.
23
Well, this is a problem I don't have to worry about. I am an adult and when ear buds were first sold I discovered that my ears are too small and ear buds always pop out. Now it is a moot point because I wear hearing aids. Apple was not thinking of hearing impaired customers when it did away wirh the jack on its phones through which headphones could be connected.
14
@Pdeadline My hearing aids, bought at Costco, connect to my iPhone with an app via Bluetooth. I highly recommend Costco's hearing aid center, where hearing tests, follow-up appointments, and cleanings are all free. (But I totally agree with you about the jack.)
19
@Pdeadline I have new Resound hearing aids that connect to my iPhone by Bluetooth. I can listen to music or answer the phone without anyone else having to listen.
7
I cannot wear earbuds. The pinna of my ears do not have the surface that is supposed to hold them in. I never realized I was a mutant until this whole in-ear headphone thing happened.
14
@James McGill You should try again. I could never get the original iPod (wired) earbuds to stay in my ears. Recently I was recently able to test the regular AirPods and to my surprise they held in reasonably well. I requested the Pro version for the holidays, and those are actually held in primarily by the seal from the rubber tip. I think the biggest risks to them falling are fumbling with your fingers when taking them out or putting them in, and probably doing anything with a hat on your head (that covers your ears).
4
I dropped an AirPod through a grate in Brooklyn one night and rescued it the following day by putting a neodymium magnet in a bag, and tying that onto the end of a piece of twine. First and last parts of the operation were the trickiest – getting the magnet past the grate itself. A few people walked past as I was there fishing on the sidewalk, who knows what they thought I was doing. Worked though!
28
Amazing that people will spend that much money for something so easily lost, that adds to the litter problems, when so many alternatives exist. So silly.
13
I guess it’s just like spending money on silly things like wedding rings and other jewelry that can and have been lost. We all have small valuable things and it’s nice to know that if they are lost, there are channels and ways to retrieve them.
58
While not the MTA, my wife left behind her small purse/wallet on a train in Brussels. During the time she didn't realize it was missing, an employee found it doing a sweep of train before departing, and because it contained some items such as cash, credit cards and her US driver license (she had passport on her), the employee took out her business card, left the wallet in Brussels station lost and found, then continued on to his home town, further to the north in Belgium. He then e-mailed her later that night from his home letting her know where her wallet was (and how he found her business card).
At this point, she had already cancelled credit cards, but her dread was more on replacing her DL. In the end, she was reunited with her stuff (cash included) and was extremely grateful to an employee that was also dealing with the transit strike in France.
It's great to hear good stories every once in a while!
46
A friend of mine took off her very expensive gold and diamond wedding ring and placed it in her lap while she put on hand cream, then forgot to put it back on.
She noticed it only a couple hours later, and phoned the subway authorities. They figured out which car she'd been on and sent a special crew to search for it -- and found it!
This occurred in Frankfurt, Germany -- but hopefully the MTA would do the same.
25
Wonderful to hear about the MTA. I left a pair of Bose noise cancelling headphones under the seat after a Delta flight. I realized it almost immediately but wasn't allowed back on the plane. While another passenger might have swiped them, I doubt it since the reason I overlooked them was because they were in with a blanket and newspaper. I was careless in checking I had everything. I gave Delta info on exactly where they were but never even heard back...and I was a Diamond Elite! It's heartwarming to know that NYC cares.
16
In 2009, I lost my wallet at a Tokyo zoo and was encouraged to report it lost to the police. Although the form was long and tedious, that very same night I got a call on my host family’s line saying they found it in the fish pond and to please pick it up at the station the next morning. Not only was everything still in the wallet, albeit damp, but I learned two officers had dutifully searched for it. They even put a smiley face sticker on the plastic bag it was returned in! That’s a lot of effort to find a tourist’s lost item in a pond! I was impressed by the honesty and effectiveness of the Japanese culture. I would’ve counted my wallet lost/stolen forever in any American city. This article was great to read and gave me a little bit of faith!
106
@JM The Zürich public transit system has an excellent reputation for returning lost items, with everything cataloged for perusal online. I expected to avail myself of this when my son left his iPhone on a train in the city, but didn't even have to: we used Find My Friends to watch the phone go into the city center, turn, and come back to our stop, where we re-boarded the train and picked it up right where it had been left.
14
@JM I lost my wallet in the American Museum of Natural History in NYC and someone turned it in with the credit cards and my license still in it. This was about 30 years ago. There are some honest people. I remember feeling relieved when a guard handed my wallet to me from the lost and found.
Also, I got a letter in the mail a while ago with some unknown person's name on it who doesn't reside at my address's social security card in it. The card was visible through the envelope's window. I put "return to social security" and "person doesn't live at this address" on the envelope and gave it to the postal person to send it back to social security. I was surprised that they mail out these cards in identifiable envelopes. I even googled searched the name and could not come up with this person in a google search. Social Security needs to be more careful. Someone could have used that number dishonestly.
I also dropped an important ID card on the tracks once in a NYC Subway station, I called the MTA and they did send someone to retrieve it, it took about 30 - 45 minutes of waiting. The worker had a special long wanded tool with a part that gripped objects like a claw and used this tool to retrieve my ID card. Never go onto the tracks to retrieve a lost object, the workers are used to getting these calls for help getting back lost valuables.
Thank you MTA workers!
23
It may be surprising but there are many services like this. Even for things that people commonly complain about, yet seek no solution. My city has their own smartphone app where you can make a report of all imaginable nuisances, from graffiti to potholes to overgrown vegetation. In my old town, I simply googled the phone number for city hall, to tell them that my local road was totally iced over and causing traffic problems. They said they would get a truck out there. When I got home from work it was cleared. In this day and age of connected technology, it's never been easier to get a simple problem fixed. All you have to do is ask.
8
Another option: I dropped mine down a grate and retrieved it using dental floss tied around a magnet, secured with duck tape. AirPods are magnetic!
64
My mother grew up in New York City during the 1930's. When she was a child, she would stick some gum on the bottom of a small rock tied to a string, and lower it through the grate to recover lost coins. She didn't get rich, but loved the challenge.
42
@Les Bois
I'm 71 years old and grew up poor in East New York, Brooklyn. One of the ways we kids would make extra money for a 26 cent Saturday movie matinee was to 'fish'
for coins through subway grates. Back then, the mother lode was a quarter or a half dollar. We all had access to a heavy lock and string, and chewing our one cent Bazooka bubble gum, we headed to the few bus-stops we knew were situated over the A train subway grates that lined Pitkin Ave. Bus riders would need to rummage through their pockets/pocketbooks to find change or a token, a perfect recipe for the fumble and lost money. After attaching the sticky gum to the bottom of the lock, we lowered the plumb line through the grates when we saw our treasure. We certainly didn't get rich, but the free Saturday matinees sure made it worth the effort.
35
@Les Bois they still do it untill this day, we called them "subway fisherman".
4
That is a great photo accompanying the lead. A visual storytelling.
9
I will never again get upset at having to untangle the wires of my $5 earbuds.
146
@Dan Frazier I'm with you. There's a good reason that I buy cheap earbuds, although I'm a big spender: I buy $30 bluetooth earbuds. I keep a couple of spares for when I misplace my usual set. They eventually show up, although sometimes it takes a few months before they come out of hiding.
I know for sure that if I spent $159 on a pair of the fancy Apple earbuds, I'd lose one within a week.
13
The "MTA to the Rescue" theme here warms the cockles of my heart!
14
I’m not sure I would want something back that fell into the subway system. Isn’t there a bit of a health issue here?
21
@Michael Livingston’s Oh, please. Americans are so paranoid about dirt that they are losing the very ability to fight germs by over cleaning.
Here's an idea: Wipe the recovered ear buds with rubbing alcohol. Or, hand cleaner. Alleged problem solved.
12
The new AirPods have a removable rubber tip that goes into the ear. That removable tip can be washed and sanitized.
7
That's the Number One reason why I will never own a pair of wireless earbuds! I just know the both of them wouldn't be in my possession for a full 24 hours. My wired earbuds get knocked out of my ears daily and several times by the collar of my coats, so I just know the wireless buds were not meant for me. I've actually seen that happen, a young girl was walking down the street on the subway grate and her mom called her name and when she turned around one fell down the grate,"Ma, look what you made me do" first thing that came out her mouth, with good reason of course.
21
Bought AirPods... lost AirPods... bought new AirPods
Lost case... bought new case.
So far so good.
Love my AirPods!
4
Several years ago, while preparing to divorce my wife, I went house hunting with my then girlfriend. I dropped my car keys into a grate. I enlisted the help of a fellow fishing in a park lake nearby. “Hey, want to fish for something worth your time?” The guy dropped his hook into the leaves and mud with rabid intensity until he snagged the ring and brought the keys up. He was so happy, he refused the $20 I offered him. What I didn’t realize, was that sometime during this operation, my soon to be ex-wife’s lawyer walked by. My ex had a good laugh at my expense when she next saw me, but at least I didn’t have to walk home.
5
Just curious. Why does one need ear buds anyway?
20
Because the sound quality and noise cancellation is incredible. I was a doubter and never bought them until this past autumn when in NY and tried the new ones. Unbelievable how they are so small and comfortable and they COMPLETELY block outside noise.
Nobody NEEDS them, but they are a great addition to a phone while commuting via train/bus or exercising.
5
@Brian to listen to music or watch videos?
3
How can AirPods fit in an earlobe, discreetly or otherwise?
14
They don't fit everyone's ear lobes. They definitely don't work with mine. But give me a good set of Grado or Beyerdynamic headphones anyway.
4
I hope that you left Mr. Garfield a tip.
8
@RmW
Why do you believe Mr. Garfield deserves a tip? I believe it is Mr. King who deserves a very big tip, especially after chasing and calling after the customer who had left the scene.
3
@RmW It's likely MTA employees can't accept tips.
1
This article is exactly why I try to adhere to rules about how I use my phone and wireless earbuds when I'm on the move: Only wear one earbud at a time to stay alert. Never attempt to put in or take out an earbud if in motion or on the subway-- try to stick with doing that when you're in a space where it won't be a hassle if an earbud drops. Take out (or at least secure) your earbud before adjusting your coat's hood or taking off your coat/hat/scarf because earbuds will go flying.
Make sure your phone is secure in a pocket or bag when getting on/off the subway -- one jostle from a crowded subway door and your phone can go flying if it's in your hand.
So....mostly common sense.
30
I once dropped something valuable onto the subway tracks. I went to the subway booth and told the clerk, who promptly called the MTA.
Ten minutes later, two guys came by, went down to the tracks and got it back for me.
Success! Thank you, MTA!
112
I had a similar positive experience with the MTA. I was running to catch a subway train and in the process my phone fell out of my sweatshirt pocket, bounced once on the platform, and fell nicely into the gap. I went right to the booth where the MTA employee made a call, and 10 minutes later another employee showed up with those grabby things, and I got my phone back!
46
The greater issue seems to be that Apple and others have designed and overly-expensive "solution" (wireless earbuds) which are designed in such a way that they are easily lost, requiring the purchase of an overly-expensive replacement unless one is lucky enough to recover the lost bud which, I suspect, most people are not.
I refuse to hang a hundred fifty bucks loosely on my ear where, sooner or later, it's going to fall out and may or may not be recoverable.
106
You and I see common sense. But many others (happily) consume.
Apple is smart. And profitable.
And most people focus most of their attention on screens, earbuds, flowers to cheer themselves up, or unwieldy customer service. (Not knocking the MTA, just the trash and disposable consumption.)
Who is taking the time and saving the money to do good in the world, the country, the city? Could it be you or me if we sorted out our priorities?
7
@David
It's a cash cow for Apple. Even food delivery folks wear them these days, and yes, it gets lost and we replace them at $90 a pop, I have 2x and both times I ended up finding them in my apartment in clothing I had worn, but didn't remember putting in a pocket. Apple is pleased.
7
The same people who spend money on that overpriced Apple consumer stuff would likely scoff at the price of my pro studio Grados.
3
Same thing happened to me while walking in TriBeCA. I was resigned to never getting back and walked down the stairs to the subway to go home, defeated until I remembered a fun activity I sometimes do with my 9 year old by a subway grate near Greenwood Playground in Windsor-Terrace: fishing for subway treasure. I left the subway without getting on the train and looked for the nearest hardware store, which I found about 4 blocks away. I bought some string and some tiny high powered magnets ($7). It took about 20 minutes of trial and error but I eventually got my ear bud back to cheers from a small audience of tourists that had gathered on the sidewalk who stopped to watch.
180
@Scott Tepolin
Great story! Must have been fun to watch!
14
@Scientist TBH I was sweating bullets - not only because I wanted my ear bud back (at one point I pulled it all the way up to the grate and it dropped back down again but because I felt I had to perform for the audience! Luckily it had a happy ending :)
72
@Scott Tepolin As a kid growing up in THE BRONX, we attached some chewing gum(partly chewed) to a key lock attached to a cord to retrieve coins. What was retrieved was used to buy soda which cost 25 cents back then.
29
It probably cost the MTA more than $200.00 to retrieve a $90 earbud.
90
Maybe so but it’s one of the strings that bind the city together. Anyway, I’m sure he was on the clock anyway.
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More like 50-80 grand a year because that guys job is to retrieve items.
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Amazingly amazing article.
So inspired by your (near) loss
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Most helpful NYT article I’ve read in years!
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If the depth below the grate is less than about 6 feet, just buy a cheap telescopic and magnetized retriever. You can probably get one on Amazon for a few bucks. AirPods have metal bits on them and should be held by the magnet.
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I wouldn't bother the MTA with an air pod retrieval. The act of retrieval costs the government money (time is money) that could be better spent on maintenance at the subway. Something with sentimental value, monetary or more life value (a phone with all your info/contacts etc, is an item worth their time. Eat the 90 dollars and accept that wireless ear pods have the downside of falling out and being more easily lost that ones with a cord.
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Newer iphones don’t have a jack for headphones. There are no options other than than wireless.
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@Laume actually there are headphones for the iphone with the same plug-in as the charger that work like normal 3.5mm jack headphones.
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@Laume Yes there are. You can purchase a Lightning to 3.5 mm headphone jack adapter.
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Yet, another reason to not waste money on earbuds. I am perfectly happy with my $35, wired earbuds. The sound is great and if I do ever lose them, well, no biggie.
Also, I'd love to be the guy working for the MTA who finds all of these electronic items. The guy can make a nice bundle on ebay and craigslist.
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@Ben M
Many new smartphones (since 2 years now, I guess) have eliminated the 3.5 mm connection where the wired earbuds are plugged in. Hence wireless earbuds.
And that includes Apple as well many Android manufacturers. Reason? To make them water-tight, reduce weight, manufacturing costs, etc.
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Thanks for your advice, but all of us work to make money to pay bills and decide what items we would like to purchase.
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@Paolo di Napoli My iPhone XR, bought 3 weeks ago, comes with lightning cable headphones, not 3.5mm.
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I know money is money but I would not put that back in my ear no matter how much I sanitized it!
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@c.marie2012 I wrap mine in Saran Wrap.
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My worst nightmare has always been that my keys fall in a storm sewer. As far as headphones or ear pods/buds or whatever they are called, cheap is good, wired is better. I thankfully still have my Bose ear buds that I bought in some airport store more than a decade ago because I packed my headphones in my checked bag. I had more money than brains back then.
My niece tried to bring me into the new decade by giving me i-pod styled earphones. They promptly fell out and one almost got lost in the sofa. I thanked her for the really nice thought but I am sticking with what works for me. She is enjoying them. We do not have a subway, but I told her to watch out for the storm sewer grates.
Glad you got you i-pod back. Thank you for letting us know you can at least try to get dropped items back.
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