On a cold Chicago night sometime around the turn of the century, the seeds of a revolution were accidentally planted on the windshield of a young writer named Davy Rothbart.

These metaphorical seeds came in the form of a note meant not for Davy, but a supposed miscreant named Mario. The note read as follows:

“Mario, I f--king hate you. You said you had to work then whys your car HERE at HER place?? You’re a f--king LIAR. I hate you I f--king hate you.” The mistakenly placed note was signed “Amber,” and included the post-script “page me later.”

Rothbart was so intrigued by the anger and hopefulness displayed in the found note, he shared it with friends, family and acquaintances, many of whom had their own found items to share in return.

He decided he certainly wasn’t alone in his fascination with found stuff, and along with friend Jason Bitner, decided to start a magazine devoted entirely to found notes, photographs, to-do lists, and love letters.

Since the first issue released in summer of 2001, the growing FOUND team has gathered hundreds of these items and scrapped together five issues, the latest of which was released this September.

The magazine could not exist without the solid fan base of garbage men, dog-walkers and other finders who daily send in their discoveries from all over the world. The magazine encourages its readers to participate in any way possible.

Items included in the magazine range from the obscenely hilarious to the frighteningly hopeless.

The team has gathered the journals from one woman’s sexless vacation to Hawaii, a “curtesy” notice from the San Francisco chapter of the Hell’s Angels, and a request from an inmate for “Hot Rod Bikes Magazine” with spelling so horrific it nears the point of brilliance.

These “found” gems offer a revealing glimpse into the lives of normal, flawed, everyday people, and allow readers of the magazine to not only learn about the authors of the items, but themselves as well.

When you read a to-do list that starts with “look into college” and ends with “hide guns” and “get weed,” it’s easy to see the fault in the anonymous author’s mindset. But if you look close enough, you might be able to see a bit of your own ridiculous denial and begin to imagine a world where every person is just as noble, just as confused and just as lost as the next.

Found magazine exhibits sincerity and innocence rarely found in today’s independent rags, and offers exactly the kind of painfully honest literature this crazy world of “reality” television and plastic celebrity culture so sorely lacks.

For more information on how to submit your own finds, or to read examples of what is included in the magazine, visit foundmagazine.com or pick up your own copy for only $5 at Atomic Records on the corner of Locust and Oakland Avenues near campus.

Lest they appear in the next issue of FOUND, remember to burn your latest break-up note and shred your most recent to-do list. Don’t forget to keep your eyes peeled for the perfect personal item of a stranger which you can now share with thousands of other curious eyes.

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