Once cracked open, Found Magazine is hard to put down.
The annual publication is a collection of notes, photos and drawings people find lying around public places. Davy Rothbart, creator of the magazine, said it all came together one cold night in Chicago.
Rothbart found a note on his car saying, "Mario, I (expletive deleted) hate you. You said you had to work, then why's your car here at her place?? You're a (expletive deleted) liar. I hate you. PS. Page me later."
"It's so short, but it gave me such a complex picture of what was going on with her," Rothbart said.
Items like angry letters to unfaithful lovers, weird semi-pornographic sketches, some elementary kid's history report and grocery lists, all in their original tattered forms, cover the pages of Found Magazine.
People from around the world send in items they find and title them, but only a small portion of the submissions make it into the magazine. Rothbart said he looks for unique pieces that say something about the people who wrote them. Submissions like a dead, petrified frog, inside of a postmarked envelope like everything else, will not be published.
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"Sometimes stuff is particularly dirty, but you know, you wash your hands," he said.
Rothbart said he can tell when someone tries to make up a submission instead of legitimately finding it because, "truth is stranger than fiction. It's in the minute particulars that feel too crazy to make up." For the most part though, he said, people respect the integrity of the project.
Rothbart said he had no real ambition to make a magazine when he started. He printed only 50 copies of the first one- something for his friends to check out. One of his friends suggested that he just go ahead and print 800 copies.
Rothbart went on a trip to South America, and when he got back, all the magazines had been sold. Nowadays, Rothbart sells 20,000 or 30,000 copies of an issue.
Issue three is due out this winter. A Found book is due out in May, along with a Found CD complied by Rothbart's friend and aide, Jason Bitner. Bands from around the country are writing songs based on Found Magazine entries and Bitner is gathering "found" audio samples like misplaced answering-machine messages.
Rothbart said an item that gets discovered is a new piece of art.
"It's like when you paint a painting or write a song or a story - I think finding something is an equally noble act of creation," he said. "Other people think it's trash, and you see the value in it. You give it new life."
Rothbart said people of many nationalities and ages submit to Found Magazine. The last batch of submissions contained items from a 96-year-old man and a 6-year-old boy.
"I like to credit (contributors) and elevate the status of 'finder,'" he said. "I'm not a great finder. I'm an OK finder. There are some great finders out there though. It's a talent in itself."
