71 Losing It The Meaning of Loss

CHAPTER 1 Lost (and Found) WHAT DOES IT MEAN "TO BE LOST"? Every year people lose things on public transportation in London—the city's buses, taxis, and subways. But 2011 was especially bad. Transport for London, which runs London's public transportation system, collected over 207,000 lost things that year. It was a new record. Most of the lost things Transport for London collects are never claimed by their owners. Only about one third of the things find their owners again. The rest are given away, sold, or recycled. And some of them go to an art gallery.

In 2011, Transport for London searched through their collection of lost things. They were looking for art. They found paintings, drawings, photos, and other pieces. They took about 60 interesting pieces of art and put on an art show. The show was called "The Lost Collection." None of the pieces had a signature. Think about an art show of lost art. What is each piece about? Who were the artists? How did they feel about the work? How did they feel about losing their art? Is the work even finished? The Lost Collection invited people to think about these questions. The word "lost" has many meanings. You can lose a piece of art, but you can also lose your mind. To lose your mind means "to go crazy." Both art and minds can be lost on a subway, but only one can be collected and taken to a "lost and found" office! Is losing always a bad thing? People are usually happy when they lose weight. You can even lose yourself in a book, meaning you enjoy it very much. Of course, you can also get lost in real life. That means you no longer know where you are or which way to go, which may not be so pleasant.

CHAPTER 2 The Biggest Loser SOMETIMES IT'S THE LOSERS WHO END UP WINNING. On April 11, 2001, the small Pacific island nation of American Samoa met Australia in a FIFA soccer match. FIFA is the organization that runs soccer's World Cup. Nobody expected the game would be close. Because of passport problems, most of American Samoa's team was not there. From the original 20-player group, only the goalkeeper had made it. The rest of the team was filled with new players. Some were only 15 years old, and most had never played a full 90-minute competitive game before. American Samoa lost 31 to 0. It was the biggest loss in FIFA history. What did the American Samoa team do after losing so badly? They sang. They put their arms around each other and sang to the crowd.

David Smith, the Samoans' Australian representative, said later, "They are fantastic singers. If it was a singing competition, everyone else would have given up by now. Great people, great voices, but they just can't play." Losing is a part of sports. In almost all competitions, there must be a loser. Most of the time, the loser leaves the field quickly while the winner stays and celebrates. But sometimes, as with American Samoa's wonderful singers, the loser is the important story. One of the most famous losses of all time didn't take place in the world of sports but in the world of war. In 480 BCE, Greece was at war with Persia. King Xerxes I of Persia set out with a very large army to control all of Greece. Historians from the time said the Persian army had over one million soldiers, but modern writers say the number was probably lower— between 100,000 and 360,000.

Xerxes led the Persian army to Thermopylae. Thermopylae was a narrow path in central Greece. Only a few people could travel on the path at one time. On one side of the path was the sea and on the other side were tall mountains. To meet them at Thermopylae, King Leonidas of Sparta took an army of only about seven thousand soldiers. The Persian army had far more soldiers than the Spartan army. The Persian army was like a large, traveling city! When Xerxes sent someone to speak with King Leonidas, he offered them friendship and better lands if they allowed the Persian army to pass. If not, however, he promised his army would shoot so many arrows, the Spartans would not be able to see the sun. Leonidas did not agree to let the Persians through, and the fighting began.

The Spartans stopped the Persian army for seven days. On the seventh day, the Persian army found a secret way over the mountains and around the Spartans. When Leonidas learned the Persians had gone around them, he sent most of his small army away. He stayed, along with just a few hundred soldiers. They fought while the rest of his army traveled back to Greece to fight another day. Even though the Greeks lost the battle of Thermopylae, they later won the war. Though the Persian army did control much of Greece, Xerxes had to return home to stop problems in his own lands. The small army he left in Greece lost, and the war for control of the land ended.