This is not something I thought of, but something I learned in a lab:

*Retrieving small objects from tight places*

-- e.g., a $20 bill that has fallen behind a radiator: Fold a length of sticky tape, sticky side out, over the end of long, thin object such as a yardstick. Fold the ends back on themselves so that the sticky sides stick to the stick. Now stick the stick behind the radiator and stick it onto the object sought.