Talk about procrastination. Robert Somaduroff checked out a book about building go-karts from a California public library but never got around to making one, so he decided to return it … nearly 45 years late.
The Sunnyvale Public Library posted the story to Facebook last week, complete with mug shot style photos of Somaduroff and an image of the library card showing a due date of September 25, likely in 1974.
The Mercury News reported that Somaduroff moved several times with the book, “Midget Motoring and Karting,” before ending up in Indianapolis, where he lives today. He decided it was finally time to bring it back when he was coming to the area to visit family last week, and paid the library’s maximum fine of $10.
And while he never did get around to constructing one of the cars from the book, Somaduroff did go on to become a professional engineer, according to his LinkedIn profile, and currently works Rolls-Royce. Not the car company, but the aircraft engine and power systems one.
Close enough.