Explain this

[Sandero]

I was walking my dog this morning in a residential neighborhood and I come upon a 5 gallon white pail... as I got closer it had a lid... and closer the lid had a seal unopened spout in it.

So I looked at the label... Rotella T 15w40 oil... exactly what I use in my engine. Not a soul around... a perfectly new unused abandoned 5 gallon pail of high grade motor oil in front of my apartment.

I walked to my garage 150' ahead, got my fold up hand truck and snagged the oil.

How did it get there? How did they know this is the oil I use???

How weird is that? How does one explain this?

[tuffr2]

I would use a white piece of paper and pour a very small amount of oil into it to see the color. If black it is used oil. If light tan...humm, odd indeed it is probably unused.

Is the road smooth or bumpy. If bumpy it might have fallen out of a truck bed that might have had the tail gate down. Or maybe fallen off a truck with a hauler bed.

Karma...did you lose something of approx. equal value in the last few weeks? Could be Karma balancing out the universe.

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[ryon]

Somebody likes you?

Shell Oil finally decided to sponsor your high school science fair project?

Late delivery from the Easter Bunny?

Meth lab hazardous waste?

Aliens from beyond Planet X?

The answer to the Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe, and Everything (Lubrication)?

Just a few thoughts, but I'm guessing aliens!

[ErikFinn]

Someone playing tricks and replaced the motor oil with veg oil?
Surely not worth risking your boat engine.

[unclemack]

Abandoned? Maybe the guy's wife called him when he'd stopped to repack the load in his pickup? Took the call in his cab, got distracted, forgot about the oil and drove away. Might have raced back only to find his neighbour had "snagged" the proceeds of his last bank job. Might be sitting at home getting madder and madder and cleaning his guns

Maybe it's somebody sick of your dog fouling his lawn so filled the pail with dog **** & left it outside your house?

Least I'd do is leaflet my neighbours. Easy to prove with card payments whether you've genuinely bought something.
If more than one of them claims it then somebody in your neighbourhood's dishonest.

If you can't tell who the dishonest neighbour is then... D'oh!

[senormechanico]

Nothing to add, but I certainly want to know as Paul Harvey used to say,"The REST of the Story".

[Jim Cate]

Dammit! I wondered what became of my oil...


Jim

[ryon]

My name it is Dan Dan,

I am a sailor man.

Somebody took my knife.

Somebody took my wife!

Aw crap! Somebody ripped me off for my bucket of oil too!

[four winds]

Sandero, does your city have a pick-up day? Not sure what it's called, something like leaves and fallen tree limbs every other Tuesday. And discarded items like the old broken push mower or three legged coffee table every other Thursday.

It's common in many cities I have spent time in while cruising. There is always a local scavenger that cruises the neighborhood at daybreak looking for the odd treasure to repair and use or sell. And snatches it up before the city makes their rounds.

Maybe someone recently moved in nearby and found a pail of oil they have no need for, thus has no value to them. Oil is sometimes hard to dispose of resposibly.

Many times I've heard the statement, "Just put it on the curb, somebody will take it or the city will pick it up".

[Sandero]

We do have a pick up day... but it was not yesterday and it was not at a designated location. The pail was next to a utility pole where an abandoned pay phone was... remember them? No laws right there...it's a CBD for a small town... and there are parking meters where the pail was. The pail was pristine and shows no damage as it would if it fell from a truck... not a dent nor a scratch... looks like it came off a shelf of a store. It was clearly out of place there... maybe a pail of spackle... but not motor oil. My neighbors walking there dogs had no interest in it... likely don't even own cars let alone boats. Don't know a single boat owner of any sort in the neighbor hood. Of course Rotella can be used in cars as well as boats.

It could have been left there as an unwanted freebie for someone who needs it to take... Amazing stuff is put out in the rubbish. But again this was at an intersection not a typical trash pick up location.

Next testing...

I plan to open it, test it and decant it if it's the real deal which I suspect it is. There a auto service/gas station 1 block down the street and they do sell oil, but only Golf and Mobil 1... I haven't a clue where pails of Rotella are sold near by...

[Cormorant]

I once was building a new trailer and needed a lot of wire. That day I went to our local dump (transfer station) to drop off our trash. Set to one side were 4 big spools -- hundreds of feet -- of 14 gauge wire. That was when I became convinced there is a god, and he lives at our transfer station.

[tuffr2]

As mentioned before oil is difficult to get rid of. It is considered hazardous waste. You can not put it in a dumpster.

Why would someone leave unused oil on the curb?

1. They were moving and did not want to move a heavy clumsy container of oil.

2. They had a diesel truck. Bought extra oil. Sold the diesel truck. Got stuck with the extra oil.

3. They wrecked their diesel truck and bought a gasoline powered truck. Got stuck with the diesel oil.


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[swarhover]

Use it to make french fries. If it tastes good probably vegetable oil.

[newhaul]

How does it taste and look if like motor oil then use it . Say thanks and pay homage to king Neptune. BTW you can use diesel oil in a gas engine just not the other way around.

[tuffr2]

You can use diesel oil in a few engine? As an emergency. My gasoline car engine calls for 5-w20.

I would not risk putting diesel oil in my gasoline engine.

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