Also, FYI, sometimes your bags will go on earlier flights than you do!

There have been many times when I have arrived at the airport very early and checked my bags in to my destination.

Upon arrival I stand there like a dope waiting for my bags to hit the merry-go-round, only to eventually find out they've been sitting in a pile in the corner or locked in a cage as they were placed on an earlier flight instead of the one I actually flew on, and had arrived long before me.

Now, when I arrive at a destination in which I know there was an earlier flight that my bags might have been placed on, I immediately give a quick look around the baggage claim area when I arrive there, just to see if I can spot my bag already sitting there.