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Take 20 wallets. Fill each with $43.77 (enough change for a TTC ride and a little extra for good measure), photo ID, baby pictures, a grocery list, receipts, a contact number, an ATM card, a fancy hankie and a handwritten love note.
Now "lose" the wallets in high-traffic areas across Greater Toronto where people work, play and pray. Now wait.
Would the one stashed beside the $197 bottle of Fonterutoli "Siepi" in the Vintages section of the Summerhill LCBO stand a better chance of being returned than the wallet dropped on the pedestrian bridge in Humber Park? Would lawyers-in-training at Osgoode Hall out-Samaritan the patrons of the Parkdale Public Library?
Over a two-week period, the Toronto Star conducted this admittedly unscientific experiment to challenge the city's honesty.
Of the 20 wallets dropped, 15 have been returned so far. We're trying to reach two additional callers who left messages before this story went to press.
The exercise yielded some surprising results. For one, honesty is different than goodness. Goodness is bigger. It's going out of one's way to return that lost item. It's empathizing with someone you've never met.
And, boy, is Toronto good.
In fact, so many concerned citizens called repeatedly that our special phone line (the emergency contact number left in the wallet) was almost instantly clogged with messages.
"Hi. It's James again. I just wanted you to know that in case I'm in the TTC, just leave a message and I'll call you back. Please call."
Originally posted by intrepid
Well, they were selective as to where they put them. Had it been an area like Jane & Finch all 20 would be gone, along with the ones of those planting them.