What comes to mind when you think of storage units? That they are simply a handy place to keep a large amount of items safe when moving house, having a clear out or travelling?
But, if you have ever watched Storage Hunters, then you will know that whilst some units do hold the likes of sofas, desks and TVs – others hold far more weird and wonderful items. For a variety of reasons these items sometimes aren’t collected when the house move is complete or travelling comes to an end – and as a result, you can come across the most bizarre and unexpected discoveries when clearing the units out.
In the show, the contents of these storage units that have been deserted for one reason or another by the owner, are auctioned to the highest bidder. The only catch – they don’t know what is inside when they are bidding. They could be pleasantly surprised or incredibly disappointed.
Here are a few of the geekier finds:
The first Superman comic
In 2011 the winning bidder of a storage unit in San Fernando Valley was to discover he was now the proud owner of Action Comics No.1 – the first Superman comic. It turned out that this issue had been stolen from actor Nicolas Cage’s home in 2000, after he had purchased the comic in 1995 for an estimated $1 million.
Old space equipment
On the TV show Auction Hunters in 2011, the winning bidder was to open the doors only to discover he had acquired something out of this world! The unit held an official NASA countdown clock and rocket – both of which were authenticated by a space memorabilia expert. Fortunately for the lucky bidder NASA did not ask for their items back.
James Bond’s car
A truck driver in Long Island paid $100 for an expired storage unit and found a white sports car on the other side. He was to discover later that it was one of the submarine cars used by James Bond in ‘The Spy Who Loved Me.’ The car had been stored there during promotions for the film many years before and had remained unaccounted for until that day.
Knight Rider
It is not just American storage units that are full of weird and wonderful items, in the UK a storage company were shocked when a customer drove up in a copy of K.I.T.T, the famous Knight Rider car!
Canoe from Deliverance
The 1972 film Deliverance sees four city-dwelling friends get away from everyday life on a week-long canoeing trip in rural Georgia. However, the trip takes a turn for the worst when unwelcoming locals in the woods attack them and chase them as they make their way down dangerous rapids. Rumour has it that the canoe used for these scenes ended up in storage as one of the leading actors, Burt Reynolds, was too disturbed from filming to keep it near him.
If you have some geeky items you need to find space for, then storage units come in different sizes, but find out how much you need before wasting money on something far bigger than you require. Or why not go on your own storage hunt – who knows what treasures are still out there just waiting to be found?
