Physics gone wild

[Moonshot_1]

Couple days ago I replaced the lights in the instrument cluster on my 99 I/S that I recently got.
Today I noticed that the chrome trim piece on the bottom of the windshield was loose on the left side.
The screw had come undone somehow. Not a problem. So I get the screwdriver and begin to take the left interior panel off to get access to the underside of the chrome trim. I drop the first screw, it hits my shoe and then I hear the screw start to bounce on the cement in the garage. "Tick.....tick.....tick................tick......tick..tick..........tick." Clearly it had gone quite a ways away and in what seemed to be a northerly direction
I get the panel off and the screw for the chrome trim had fallen out but was lodged into the wiring of the interior panel. So I re-installed the screw and made sure it was tight and put things back together and began to look for the lost screw which should be under the car.

It was not under the car. It was not under the mower. It was not under the snow blower. It wasn't under the freezer, it wasn't anywhere. My wife and I pulled a bunch of stuff out of there.
No screw.

I believe the phrase is "Like a fart in the wind"
We wind up cleaning the garage up a bit and by the door, the south door, are a pair of old tennis shoes of mine and it was just a good a time as any to throw them out.

Pick them up and right BETWEEN THE SHOES is the screw.

[paul246]

lol, you were obviously fooled by the "tick echo".

[Patrick]

And here I thought you were about to say you found the screw in the car tire !

[J.Mencalice]

Funny how they grow legs and scamper off into some hidden place and then "SURPRISE"!!!!!
Dang, how did it get wayyyy  over there?
Keep that big magnet handy, I do.

[old2soon]

Ya takes yer eye offin them-PROVIDED ya sees it in the first place  and they go lots further than anybody thought possible!  SOMEWHERE in my shop is a pile of hardware and O-rings and "stuff" that will magically reappear AFTER I sell the Phatt Ghurl!  And most likely some parts from my Oldsmobile will also reappear after they plant me,  RIDE SAFE.

[cookiedough]

I've had the same issue scurring bolts/screws/washer/nuts much further than thought humanly possible.  I once had a screw though fall down on my ATV though for sure from the sound it went further than it did.  I could not find it for the likes of me after 30 minutes of wondering where it went off the face of the earth.  It got lodged into the frame and finally found it could not really be seen either.  Thought for sure from the sound it went furhter than 1 foot down tops. 

[Robert]

You forgot the first rule of Mechanics if you drop a nut or bolt you will not find it till you don't need it unless you watch where it goes. It seems keeping your eyes on it stops the thing from gowing to parts unknown by itself. 

[grandpaweaver]

Yea but, now your garage is nice and clean

[John Schmidt]

Same thing happens all the time in my shop so I know what you went through. I think the missing parts go to the same universe that those missing socks go to. I dropped a special size bolt with hard to find thread, followed the noise until it stopped and headed there to retrieve it. Nope....nowhere to be found. Ended up making a trip to three different retailers before I got a replacement, and bought a couple extra while there. Three months later the bolt shows up. I have a couple of those red seat little hydraulic scooter stools from Harbor Freight, and one extra that I removed the seat from since it no longer would stay up. I use it for a parts & tool caddy to roll around the shop. I also keep one of those magnetic bowls on it to hold various small parts while I'm working, the intent is to not lose any. The magnet holds the bowl to the platform on the bottom of the old stool. The bolt I lost three months earlier had bounced one extra time and stuck to the bottom tray of the tool tray right where the magnetic bowl sits. I had rolled that thing all over during those three months, never once did I think to look underneath. I do now if I drop something, and it has paid off a couple times.