text: # allows specifying explicit variable types
  from typing import Any, Dict, Optional, Text
  
  def find_duplicates(_list):
      """Find duplicate items in a list
      """
      return set([x for x in _list if _list.count(x) > 1])
  
  
  def dict2list(dictionary):
      if type(dictionary) == list:
          return dictionary
      elif type(dictionary) == dict:
          return [dictionary]
  
  
  def str2list(_str):
      if type(_str) == str:
          return [_str]
      elif type(_str) == list:
          return _str
  
  
  def unlist(_list):
      if len(_list) == 1:
          return _list[0]
      else:
          return _list