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Stereotypes abound about New Yorkers — we’re rude, always in a hurry, and unfriendly.
But if nothing else, apparently we’re honest.
At least that’s according to the results of social experiment conducted byReader’s Digest. Reporters who left wallets scattered around 16 major international cities found that New Yorkers were more likely than most to return it to the owner.
The city tied with Budapest, Hungary as the world’s third most honest city, after Helsinki, Finland and Mumbai, India. The Iberian Peninsula did not come out looking good in the experiment, with Madrid, Spain and Lisbon, Portugal rounding out the bottom of the list.
Each wallet contained the equivalent of $50 in cash, a family photo meant to play on people’s sympathies, and contact information.
Richard Hamilton, a 36-year-old government worker from Brooklyn, was one of those who found and returned a wallet.
“Everyone says New Yorkers are unfriendly but they’re really quite a nice people,” he told the magazine. “I think you’d be very surprised to see how many New Yorkers would actually return [a wallet].”
Follow Emily Johnson on Twitter @emilyjreports
