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by culturestate 2452 days ago
I don’t think they’re suggesting that everyone on earth has purposefully become a thief at one point, but that sometimes it just happens.

I’ve definitely walked out of a supermarket with a bottle of water that I picked up while shopping and forgot to pay for - I still stole it, even if unintentionally.

2 comments

How often do you unintentionally walk into someone’s unlocked house and steal something, though?
In the Canadian North, it's traditional to leave your summer cabin unlocked over the winter so that if someone is lost in the woods they can come in and warm up. It wasn't unusual to come back find that someone had used it over the winter.
I've unintentionally stolen dozens of lighters from the houses I've visited while I was a smoker.
That's... not what the parent upthread said, though.
> I’ve definitely walked out of a supermarket with a bottle of water that I picked up while shopping and forgot to pay for - I still stole it, even if unintentionally.

You only steal it if you realize it and don't return back to pay. Happened with me a few times, the cashiers will really appreciate it.

Does that also apply when the cashier gives you too much/not enough return cash?

A while ago my to-go order from McD somehow included an extra cheeseburger.

Was that maybe a "present" by the company to a loyal customer? Should I have gone back and paid for a cheeseburger I never ordered? But if I give it back to them, they would just throw it in the trash anyway because they can't sell it to another customer.

I did this with an entire rucksack full of groceries once when I was tired and used the self-checkout. When I came back the cashiers expressed surprise that I even did!