A 20 lb (or so) sealed lead acid battery and an inverter, at U Nebraska at Omaha around 2003-2004. I had imported a Sharp SL-C700 and it was very power hungry. Smart phones were barely a thing (blackberries) at the time.
I think I was vaguely aware of the possibility of some unexpected metal shorting the battery and getting hot enough to start fires, so I bought a green rubber bath mat (which I remember had little sucker feet on one side) and wrapped it around the battery.
I finished my undergrad in 2004 with no incidents.
I (still) don’t have any friends, so on 1st year of high school I tried to be as interesting as possible. I kept bringing some electronics, but most interesting was fluorescent light bulb and Tesla Coil. OK, OK, it’s not a Tesla Coil but a slayer exciter circuit, but it’s close enough.
Other stuff I can remember is: USB buck/boost converter (basically a low power variable power supply), USB alligator clips, USB tester, smart load tester (FX-35), battery charge tester, hand crank radio/flashlight combo, low power FM radio transmitter, bootleg NES game console with composite video output, blank DVD, universal TV remote, 5 phones at once and other stuff.
Although, you could say the most unexpected was the HP PSC 1315 printer. One teacher told me I can take it home, and it fit precisely into my backpack.Nowdays, 2 years later, the best you could find is RTL-SDR and the extendable dipole antenna.
Found the top post.
A bottle of mustard. I add it to my hot dog during lunch.
Doesn’t mustard need to be refrigerated?
Idk. 14 yo me did not take very good care of it and it ended up getting everywhere inside my bag a week in
Oh no!!!
I don’t think so. You may just need to use it quicker.
No, it’s mostly vinegar.
A brick.
No, I won’t explain.
I know someone who brought a brick with himself on 1st year of high school.
By any chance, did you also bring a PC motherboard?
Nope.
Ok, thanks.
At least you know you weren’t the only one.
Unexpected for ourselves or for the rest of the classroom/teachers?
Not a lot I can think of but I do remember with horror when a classmate opened his backpack an this cockroach just came out of it running for its dear life
A large green pushbutton with a Molly guard labeled “OK” I found in a scrap pile behind the physics building.
A boa constrictor. Pulled it out in english class and suddenly I was popular for a few minutes
A dead rat. I found it, gave it funeral rites, put it in a tiny plastic coffin, stored it in the freezer. From time to time, I’d take the coffin out, put it in my bag, carry around with me for several hours, so the rat’s soul wouldn’t feel lonely. Then back in the freezer. This went on for at least a year.
Several times I’ve found cash I forgot I stuffed into my bag earlier. Always a pleasant surprise.
Do you ever clean your room and find old christmas or birthday cards you never took the money out of?
Yeah happened a few times lol. Always fun!
In MY bag? Nothing really comes to mind. In someone elses bag tho?
It’s been years and I still remember the guy that carried around a gym bag with wheels of cheese in em in my community college. Dunno if he was selling, but i was always kinda wanted one NGL
Spotted the Skyrim player?
Man was clearly doing a quest for Sheogorath lol
Removed by mod
Cockroaches
In a similar vein…I once had a shitton of termites in my backpack. Freaked me the fuck out. I think a colony got lost.
set of screwdriver, a bag of PC screws and a battery operated soldering iron with some solder
That sounds pretty normal. Although it depends on what school it is.
It was for a year at medical school. :p
just your typical bog standard high-school
I also used to carry around soldering equipment last year but it’s because the irons my school has just aren’t usable
A built Lego set, specifically the 40567 Forest Hideout.
It was not unexpected thing for me though, but for everyone else.
Packets and packets of Tapatio. I would steal a shit ton during lunch in HS. I had so much I had two trash bags full of them
