Although some places have already started reopening, we must admit that we still do not know when we can go back to our normal routine. So picking up a hobby is the best way to spend time while on lockdown.

In South Carolina, six-year-old Knox Brewer has recently tried magnet fishing to pass some time while on quarantine. But earlier this month, when he went to Whitney Lake with his family, he fished out what appeared to be a missing lockbox from a robbery case from eight years ago.

A bystander helped the boy pry open the tightly sealed box that was flooded with water. In the lockbox, were jewelry covered in debris, credit cards, and a checkbook.

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Jonathan Brewer, Knox's father, called the authorities to look into it. "I knew the right thing to do was go ahead and call the local authorities, get them involved and try to solve this mystery," he said.

It was then that they found out that the lockbox belonged to a woman living nearby. She expressed her gratitude to the family for reuniting her with what was apparently a bracelet with sentimental value. "The first thing that she did was just kneel down, hug Knox, and thanked him and thanked him for bringing that closure to her," said the father.

What is magnet fishing?

Magnet fishing, or magnetic fishing, is a fusion of environmentalism and treasure hunting. It is a hobby where a strong magnet attached to a rope is used to recover magnetic items underwater.

To some people, magnet fishing might just be a fun hobby, but there's more to it than that. While bodies of water often get neglected and are now highly polluted, magnet fishing is a fun way to clean them up.

In the process of fishing out various and interesting objects, magnet fishers get to help remove ferrous metals that are dangerous to marine life. What we even don't see is that when we consume seafood, we are also ingesting these harmful metals.

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Of course, in addition to its environmental impact, magnet fishing makes for an exciting day. One can uncover antiques, war equipment, collectors' items, and a lot of other interesting things that might cost a fortune.

Magnet Fishing Laws

As fun as it sounds, there are, of course, disadvantages to magnet fishing. In some places, laws that regulate the activity are in place. This is primarily to instill safety.

In the U.K., there are tricky regulations that you must follow when you opt for the hobby. A group known as Canal & River Trust says that magnet fishing--a method of dredging--can be dangerous, so it is not allowed in general public areas or waterways that they control. 

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But if you carry out the hobby in a private property, or if you have secured authorization to do so, you will be able to go magnet fishing although there are some conditions. In most cases, you will have to split your earnings with the property owner. 

For example, you can give 50 percent of whatever you earn to the owner. And while this might seem like a rather high amount, it is their property, and they permitted you to proceed with the activity. 

In the U.S., however, there are no federal laws that ban magnet fishing, so the activity is more tolerated in the country.

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