Thank heaven for the internet. I have concluded that you can find the solution to almost any problem in its ether. Hear me out—when I am trying to solve a problem after everything that I can think of has failed, I have faith that I can go to the infinite wisdom of Google and find the answer, no matter how detailed, specific, and random my problem may be.

Exhibit A:  Two days ago, I innocently reached into my pocketbook which was sitting on the passenger seat for a credit card to buy some gas, a task I have completed without error for decades.  Yet this time,  it somehow slipped from my fingers and disappeared into the abyss between my passenger side seat and the center console.

After taking a cursory look into the yawning gap, I grabbed another card and got the gas.  I made a mental note to look more thoroughly when I got back home.

Of course, I forgot about it upon my return, but hours later, when it bubbled to the top of my to-do list,  I dove back into the car with my smartphone flashlight to give it a more careful search.

I lifted every mat, moved both front seats backward and forward, made them totally recline and then nearly folded them in half. 

Nada.

I looked again the next day; I had my son-in-law and granddaughter look as well. No luck.

I wedged my hand between the seat and the console; I crawled on the floor of the back seat and shone the light into every nook and cranny; I saw a metal contraption on the floor and wondered a) how to remove it and b) what it was for.  But I didn’t remove it, and I have yet to figure out what it is for. (Update: I googled this question and turns out the silver box houses the “Reverse Automatic Breaking” feature. Whatever that is.

I began to think I had imagined the whole thing, save for the fact that I couldn’t find the credit card anywhere.

It was time to seek out the wisdom of the universe as found on Google.  My actual search request was this: “find credit card in Subaru fell between passenger seat and console”.

And I got a ton of hits in answer to my query.

Some involved dismantling the car, unscrewing seats and the like—stuff way beyond my mechanical ability.  I didn’t want to demo my car, but neither did I want to leave my credit card in whatever void it had entered.

Then I saw a possible answer!  Someone suggested taking a flat plastic ruler and shoving it under the seat and behind the carpet.

I began by shoving the ruler under the shiny metal box under the passenger seat, and what to my wondering eyes should appear but my Visa card, dusty but intact.

Thus I bow to the boundless knowledge of Google and extend my specific gratitude to maberma on toyotanation.com for the ruler suggestion. Low tech but effective.

I highly recommend it.