From MSNBC:
JERUSALEM – An Israeli woman mistakenly threw out a mattress with $1 million inside, setting off a frantic search through tons of garbage at a number of landfill sites, Israeli media reported Wednesday.
The woman told Army Radio that she bought her elderly mother a new mattress as a surprise on Monday and threw out the old one, only to discover that her mother had hidden her life savings inside. She was identified only as Anat, a resident of Tel Aviv.
When she went to look for the mattress it had already been taken by garbage men, she said. Subsequent searches at three different landfill sites turned up nothing.
This would never happen to me. First of all, I’d never buy my mother a new mattress; she only sleeps about four hours a night anyway. How bad could it be? Secondly, I’d be tipped off about the life savings by the clanging of the coins. And finally, we’d NEVER throw anything away. Sell it in a yard sale, MAYBE, but never throw it away.