Reading about people dropping parts brings to mind my method of finding them: Instead of shining my flashlight around when needed, I shine it parallel with the floor so the resulting shadows really make the parts stand out.

A more desperate measure I have also used is to purposely drop a similar part to see what it looks like on the floor. Most small parts, once they hit the floor, do not look like what you would expect.

Tip submitted by:
Paul Sobol
Westlake, Ohio