What Was the Worst Thing You Left on Your Roof?

A photo of a lion sat on the roof of an old car.

I wondered where I’d left my lion. Photo: Harry Dempster/Daily Express/Hulton Archive (Getty Images)

You know the scene, bags on your back, arms full of supplies for a long trip and a phone in your hand. You pop something on the roof of your car to free up a hand so you can open the door and pile all your accouterments in. Next, you clamber in behind the wheel, start the car, and set off. Only to hear a suspicious clattering from the roof that reminds you about that coffee that you propped up there and is now starting to trickle down the rear window. Great start to the day.

We’ve all been there and it’s a mistake that can be made by the best of us. So today, we want to celebrate the weird and wonderful things you’ve accidentally left on the roof of your car before driving off.

This is a safe space, so whether it’s house keys, a bag of shopping or the aforementioned takeout that’s been forgotten up there, we want to know.

We were discussing this in Jalopnik towers recently and you’ll be unsurprised to hear that this is a mistake by many at the Global H.Q. We’ve left hats and gloves up there on a cold day, cups of coffee, phones, and even a CD or two when we were driving around in cars that still played those.

So, whether it’s body paint, mirrorballs, or a few big ideas, what have you left up there?

Head to the comments section below and let us know the worst things you’ve left on the roof of your car before setting off on a long journey. We’ll leave this up over the weekend and collect together some of the best responses to share in a slideshow on Monday.