Can someone explain to me where the nice new shiny real shovels came from, the ones with which Hurley and Sawyer buried Pikki.

All the other people that died were buried with makeshift shovels.

Did they come out of the magic box, is it a production error, a timeline shift,was this episode all a dream or something else entirely? Was there a pallet drop with new shovels that I missed?

Can someone explain to me where the nice new shiny real shovels came from, the ones with which Hurley and Sawyer buried Pikki.

All the other people that died were buried with makeshift shovels.

Did they come out of the magic box, is it a production error, a timeline shift,was this episode all a dream or something else entirely? Was there a pallet drop with new shovels that I missed?

I guess I don't care. Do you really?

The fact that I created a thread about it would seem to indicate that I do care, unless maybe I just posted it to throw you off the track of the real clues.

Can someone explain to me where the nice new shiny real shovels came from, the ones with which Hurley and Sawyer buried Pikki.
All the other people that died were buried with makeshift shovels.
Did they come out of the magic box, is it a production error, a timeline shift,was this episode all a dream or something else entirely? Was there a pallet drop with new shovels that I missed?
I noticed that also.. it was a glaring discrepancy of what I would have expected to see..
I think they were on a pallet with all the blue tarps that we haven't seen .. or someone scripting the scene forgot they are survivors dropped on some island after their plane crashed..

The fact that I created a thread about it would seem to indicate that I do care, unless maybe I just posted it to throw you off the track of the real clues.

The funny thing about shovels is that the more you use them, the newer they wind up looking. It's like sharpening a blade. I work part time with shovels, and I know this from personal experience. I think the shovels you saw are just really old and used. It is counter-intuitive, so I can understand your confusion.

This is a very good question. And I have often wondered about all of the tarps too. But the shovels did seem to come out of no where.

I think the Swan hatch provided them with many useful objects.

The funny thing about shovels is that the more you use them, the newer they wind up looking. It's like sharpening a blade. I work part time with shovels, and I know this from personal experience. I think the shovels you saw are just really old and used. It is counter-intuitive, so I can understand your confusion.


But when they buried Ana-lucia and Libby, they didn't have real shovels. And according to the Lost time line, their deaths were only a couple of weeks (at most) before the deaths of Pikki.

Before this, they were using a stick with a piece of wreckage lashed to it. It seems like way too big a mistake for the production crew to make, I think it has to be a clue.

Before this, they were using a stick with a piece of wreckage lashed to it. It seems like way too big a mistake for the production crew to make, I think it has to be a clue.

No, they must have just found some really old and used shovels. That's the only logical explanation if you know shovels like I do.

they made them out of Artz's glass jars. duh

I'm gonna go out on a limb here and guess that the shovels came from
the prop department. ;)

*MOD Edit For Rudeness*

It is true that when they buried Libby and AL, they were just using bamboo or something.

But then when Eko died, I think Locke said (and correct me if I'm wrong) that he was going back to the beach to get shovels to bury him with. Although he could have been looking for make-shift shovels then too. Did we even see what they buried Eko with?

My last thought and it is kind of a stretch is maybe they found supplies and shovels in the Pearl station later. Although I have no idea why there would be shovels in the Pearl station, but not in the Swan. :shrug:

As a shovel guy, I noticed it too. I just had the exact opposite reaction as the OP. Seemed perfectly normal to me that they would have a bunch of old, used shiny shovels around.

Maybe they have a satellite phone in the prop department too, and the losties can all get home.

Maybe they have a satellite phone in the prop department too, and the losties can all get home.

Maybe. Let's hope it is not as old and used as the shovels you saw.

They most likely could have gotten them from the VW wasn't Roger Workman working on a road of some kind

They most likely could have gotten them from the VW wasn't Roger Workman working on a road of some kind


Okay that could work. That would be the first possibly logical explanation that anyone has come up with.

*MOD Edit For Rudeness*

Posts like this do not play well here. I suggest you read the site rules about posting on this site.

The funny thing about shovels is that the more you use them, the newer they wind up looking. It's like sharpening a blade. I work part time with shovels, and I know this from personal experience.


I don't quite understand this comment. I think that it would depend a lot on the climate that you are in. I live in a very humid area, though not nearly as humid as a tropical island, and my garden shovels always stay rusty. But then again, I am usually shoveling heavy red clay (which is pretty common in Hawaii too, btw) and potting soil instead of sand. But even with a lot of use, I think that if the shovel were old and in that environment, they would be rusty too.

I don't quite understand this comment. I think that it would depend a lot on the climate that you are in. I live in a very humid area, though not nearly as humid as a tropical island, and my garden shovels always stay rusty. But then again, I am usually shoveling heavy red clay (which is pretty common in Hawaii too, btw) and potting soil instead of sand. But even with a lot of use, I think that if the shovel were old and in that environment, they would be rusty too.

You could be right. I live in an arid climate. And, I use stainless shovels. But the ones on Expose looked to be stainless to me.

I took a look back at TTID on my DVR and saw no sign of a pair of shovels in the VW.

I think that this might be another good question for Gregg Nations. It's a good, solid, straight forward question, and I am betting that he would probably appreciate the break from all of the ship inspired questions that he has been getting lately.

Good idea, thank you. I posted the question in his forum.

I didn't notice that. do you think someone brought them back from "otherville" or something...where could they have come from? The writers have to know that LOST fans disect every frame....they would certainly see the difference in "digging utensils" for lack of a better word.

Seems like Gregg confirmed this is not a major plot point.