You drop something into a well-used porta-potty (e.g., a county fair, music festival, large construction site). You are fairly certain that the item can be recovered and restored to undamaged condition. You must, however, go shoulder deep in excrement and porta-potty juice to recover the item. No PPE available. Dish soap and hose available for cleanup immediately following.

Question:
What dollar value must this item have before you will actually attempt recovery.

Choices:
$10 or less (nominal value, i'm getting anything I drop)
$10-100 (a few dozen dollars)
$100-500 (a couple hundred bucks)
$500-1000 (about a thousand)
$1000-$2000 (a couple thousand dollars)
$2000-100,000 (a lot of money)
$100,000 - $1,000,000 (essentially no amount of money can make me do it)

 

When I shot a lot of pistol matches I was always very careful when I had to take a dump in a porta potty. Dropping my gun in the shitter was something I avoided, but I heard of it happening.

For clarity, by shoulder deep I mean reaching into the pile up to your shoulder (not wading into a lagoon of poo that is shoulder deep).

Find a trash bag and glove up.

quote:

Originally posted by shiftyvtec:
Find a trash bag and glove up.

Outside the parameters of the hypothetical, but I understand that is what most people would do given a real life situation. I'm sure there's still some dollar amount that is below the threshold--like, nobody would go in after a book of matches.

Pay a freshman frat boy $35.00 to retrieve my $475.00 pocket knife

I was at basic training for the second time in 2010 at Fort Knox, KY. (I was there for OSUT in 1992)

One moron individual dropped his rifle in one of the old block house crappers that has been there at least since 1992. I know that because I used that range in 1992 and occasionally during our Annual Training for my Civil Affairs Unit which I served from 01/2010 to 12/2015.

I have been in some horrendous situations both in LE and as a Medical Examiner but it would take something very valuable for me to go in after it.

Shit no.

I voted $100,000 but I'm not sure I'd do it even for that--I'd find a maintenance crew and pay them to recover it.

flashguy

quote:

Originally posted by Aeteocles:
For clarity, by shoulder deep I mean reaching into the pile up to your shoulder (not wading into a lagoon of poo that is shoulder deep).

To me that means your head is under the poop level. I'm not sticking my head in that.

None of the above. Assuming there was nobody nearby I could pay to do the recovery, Mrs.BurtonRW and I agree that the item would only be recovered if it held some irreplaceable/sentimental value.

-Rob

Not many of you would make very good plumbers! I had a good friend and customer who had an apartment building with a plugged up sewer. He went down with me, sure enough, shit balls all over the floor. As I was cleaning the sewer, he stayed his distance say "I don't know how you can do f'ing that"

Just said I was used to it, then picked up a piece of shit and tossed toward him, he damn near puked.

quote:

Originally posted by BurtonRW:
None of the above. Assuming there was nobody nearby I could pay to do the recovery, Mrs.BurtonRW and I agree that the item would only be recovered if it held some irreplaceable/sentimental value.

-Rob

Ha ha! Sentimental value for you or for her? I don't have to ask which of the two of you would be going in!

My nephew dropped his cell phone in one. The next day, he had a brand new cell phone.

I'd find sticks or something to fish it out or pay someone else to get it. It's not just the excrement - you could get a nasty virus like hepatitis that could ruin your life.

Well.... on a submarine under way, the "stuff" goes into the Sanitary tank #2. There is or at least was, a PM that had to be done inside the tank. Being the low man on the totem pole when I first got on the boat I had the pleasure of donning garbage bags and a respirator and going in after it was pumped. I did it for E3 pay but I'd need a bit more than that these days.

Fortunately, there is nothing in this world that I own over $2k that fits in a shitter.

quote:

Originally posted by BurtonRW:
None of the above. Assuming there was nobody nearby I could pay to do the recovery, Mrs.BurtonRW and I agree that the item would only be recovered if it held some irreplaceable/sentimental value.

-Rob

So, how much sentimental value does a 400 oz gold bar have ($760k value)?