Unclaimed Baggage Center (Alabama) : The unique store’s concept of reselling of lost or unclaimed airline luggage in the United States

The store got its start in 1970, when an entrepreneurial-minded part-time insurance salesman had the idea of selling luggage that was left behind at a bus station in DC. He started buying bags from the station and selling their contents on tables outside a few days a week.

He then expanded the practice to airlines, moved back to his hometown, and thus the UBC was born.

Merchandise is 60 percent clothing, while other items include cameras, electronics, jewelry, sporting goods, books, and the luggage itself. UBC has many stories of more unique items, such as a full suit of armor, gemstones, a complete parachute, a guidance system for a F-16 fighter jet, and even a live rattlesnake.

The on-site museum is where one can find the more exotic, rare, and valuable items. Among the items on display are a violin dating from the 1700s, Egyptian artifacts, and “Hoggle,” the gnome-like gatekeeper from Jim Hensen’s Labyrinth.

More than one million people visit the store each year.

According to many sources