5 Unusual Places Diamonds Have Been Found

People have found diamonds in Africa, in Russia, even at a park in Arkansas. But as you’ll see below, every now and then the fabled gems turn up in some truly exotic places:

1. A piece of fudge

In 2007, Lafayette, Ind., resident Linda Vancel became terribly panicked that she lost her diamond ring. What she didn’t realize was that the family heirloom had plopped into the fudge she was whipping up for a local bake sale. A few days later, another local resident, Charles Matson, found the ring in the fudge his daughter had given him, just in the nick of time—thereby landing him on this list and not the far-more-embarrassing swallowed-diamonds one. He even returned the ring, a little gooier but still intact, to Vancel, who told the Associated Press: “It renews your faith in people.” Though not necessarily in fudge.

2. A used pair of pants

When Minnesota resident Deb Thompson bought some $3.99 slacks at her local Goodwill in June, she didn’t realize she had stumbled on the Greatest Pair of Used Capri Pants Ever. Feeling in the pockets, she came across a diamond ring valued at more than $5,000. In an act of real goodwill, the Minnesota resident contacted the store to locate who might have lost it. At press time, it still hasn’t located the rightful owner.

3. In a toilet

Detroiter Ashley Cook was cleaning her toilet bowl one day in May, when she spotted something shiny, and quite un–toilet-like: a gold ring wrapped in diamonds, inscribed with “Christina and Jerry forever,” which had presumably risen to her bowl from the depths of the city sewers. “It’s like a token of lost love,” Cook said, before adding the obvious: “It’s amazing how it could pop up in my toilet.”

4. Around a carrot

Swedish woman Lena Paahlsson lost her diamond wedding ring in her kitchen in 1995, and, as one can imagine, had given up hope of finding it. That is, until late 2011, when she was pulling up her carrots in her garden, and lo and behold, there it was, wrapped around a carrot. “It is quite incredible,” said her husband, theorizing that the ring fell into the sink, got mixed with vegetable peelings, and ended up as compost fed to sheep. However, it is still not clear how those carats ended up on the carrot stalk—except as proof that fate can be quite the punster.

5. In an elevator

Here’s a way to spice up your end-of-day commute: A 34-year-old in Russia stepped in an elevator, and according to UPI, found a package containing no fewer than 476 stones. First, she took it to a jeweler, who confirmed they were diamonds. Then she took it to police, who are, needless to say, quite interested in how that package got there. (The video below is in Russian.)

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