A woman accidentally flushed her ring down the toilet. How she got it back 13 years later.
The ring was an anniversary present for 33 years of marriage.
Woman reunited with ring she lost 13 years ago
Losing a ring is not an uncommon occurrence. People lose rings all the time, but there's a particular fear that comes with losing the precious item down the drain, mostly because you're likely to never see it again. Especially if it gets flushed down a toilet, which is why one woman had written off the anniversary ring she lost down the commode more than a decade ago.
Mary Strand received a beautiful, unique diamond ring for her 33rd wedding anniversary from her husband, Dave, according to NBC affiliate KARE 11. The ring slipped off of her finger 13 years ago when she was in her bathroom, and by the time she realized what had happened, it was too late.
“It was swirling around. I truly dove for it, and it went down the drain,” she told KARE 11.
Surely, the woman was frantic trying to rescue the ring before it took up residence with the fish, but Strand had no luck grabbing the ring before it swirled out of sight.
Hope was not immediately lost though. In a wacky coincidence, Strand's husband owns a drain and sewer company. The woman knew she had someone at her disposal who knew a thing or two about drains and would have the ring out in a jiffy. Dave did everything he could, according to KARE 11, including removing the entire toilet and searching the sewer line with a camera, but the couple had no luck recovering the ring.
"I was thinking, 'He'll never buy me another ring,' that's what I was thinking," Mary laughed while telling the outlet. "I felt really bad, because it was a gift."
\u201cRecently, we found a ring at one of our regional wastewater treatment plants. This is a rare occurrence, and we want to return the ring to its owner! Please contact us if you lost a wedding ring down the drain: MCES-Inquiries@metc.state.mn.us or 651-602-1269.\u201d— Metropolitan Council (@Metropolitan Council) 1680294910
Years went by with Mary assuming the ring had been lost forever until the Metropolitan Council posted on social media that a diamond ring was found at one of their waste treatment plants. Turns out, while workers were cleaning out the gunk from a machine, they spotted something sparkly that happened to be a diamond ring. The story about the found ring began circulating, which caused hundreds of people to inquire about it, but the Metropolitan Council wasn't letting the ring go without proof.
They compared the ring to photos that were submitted, but it was Strand's ring that looked like a match. According to KARE 11, two separate jewelers examined the ring and confirmed its likelihood to be a match for the photo of Mary's ring before it was eventually returned.
What a wild ride of coincidence that reunited a long-lost ring with its rightful owner. Hopefully, the ring has been properly sized—and sanitized—and there will be no more mishaps around drains that lead to another incredible tale of happenstance. Maybe, for their next anniversary, Dave will buy something that's easily tethered so it doesn't meet the same fate as the ring.
You can watch Mary be reunited with her ring at the Metropolitan Council below.
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Urgent dash to the bathroom! 🚪🏃♂️
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There's a reason why some people can perfectly copy accents, and others can't
Turns out, there's a neurodivergent link.
A woman in black long sleeve shirt stands in front of mirror.
Have you ever had that friend who goes on vacation for four days to London and comes back with a full-on Queen's English posh accent? "Oooh I left my brolly in the loo," they say, and you respond, "But you're from Colorado!" Well, there are reasons they (and many of us) do that, and usually it's on a pretty subconscious level.
It's called "accent mirroring," and it's actually quite common with people who are neurodivergent, particularly those with ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder). According Neurolaunch, the self-described "Free Mental Health Library," "Accent mirroring, also known as accent adaptation or phonetic convergence, is the tendency to unconsciously adopt the accent or speech patterns of those around us. This linguistic chameleon effect is not unique to individuals with ADHD, but it appears to be more pronounced and frequent in this population."
Essentially, when people have conversations, we're constantly "scanning" for information—not just the words we're absorbing, but the inflection and tone. "When we hear an accent, our brains automatically analyze and categorize the phonetic features, prosody, and intonation patterns," writes Neurolaunch. For most, this does result in copying the accent of the person with whom we're speaking. But those with ADHD might be more sensitive to auditory cues. This, "coupled with a reduced ability to filter out or inhibit the impulse to mimic…could potentially explain the increased tendency for accent mirroring."
While the article explains further research is needed, they distinctly state that, "Accent mirroring in individuals with ADHD often manifests as an unconscious mimicry of accents in social situations. This can range from subtle shifts in pronunciation to more noticeable changes in intonation and speech rhythm. For example, a person with ADHD might find themselves unconsciously adopting a Southern drawl when conversing with someone from Texas, even if they’ve never lived in the South themselves."
People are having their say online. On the subreddit r/ADHDWomen, a thread began: "Taking on accents is an ADHD thing?" The OP shares, "My whole life, I've picked up accents. I, myself, never noticed, but everyone around me would be like, 'Why are you talking like that??' It could be after I watched a show or movie with an accent or after I've traveled somewhere with a different accent than my 'normal.'
They continue, "Apparently, I pick it up fast, but it fades out slowly. Today... I'm scrolling Instagram, I watch a reel from a comedian couple (Darcy and Jeremy. IYKYK) about how Darcy (ADHD) picks up accents everywhere they go. It's called ADHD Mirroring??? And it's another way of masking."
(The OP is referring to Darcy Michaels and his husband Jeremy Baer, who are both touring comedians based in Canada.)
Hundreds of people on the Reddit thread alone seem to relate. One comments, "Omfg I've done this my whole life; I'll even pick up on the pauses/spaces when I'm talking to someone who is ESL—but English is my first language lol."
Sometimes, it can be a real issue for those around the chameleon. "I accidentally mimicked a waitress's weird laugh one time. As soon as she was out of earshot, my family started to reprimand me, but I was already like 'oh my god I don’t know why I did that, I feel so bad.'"
Many commenters on TikTok were shocked to find out this can be a sign of ADHD. One jokes, "Omg, yes, at a store the cashier was talking to me and she was French. She's like 'Oh are you French too? No, I'm not lol. I'm very east coast Canada."
And some people just embrace it and make it work for them. "I mirror their words or phrase! I’m 30. I realized I start calling everyone sweetie cause my manager does & I work at coffee shop."