Stealing itself isn’t all that weird or mysterious. Thieves steal things like jewelry, cars, gadgets, and other material objects all the time, mostly because they want to have them without having to earn or pay for them. However, it gets confusing when the item stolen falls outside the established norms of what can and can’t be stolen. Thieves around the world have taken to stealing all sorts of things you never knew existed, from sharks to glaciers to manhole covers.
10. Manhole covers
In 2008, nearly 50 cast-iron manhole covers, each weighing about 150 pounds, were stolen from roads and alleys in the Long Beach, California, area in just eight months. The frequency of thefts only increased over time, as covers disappeared at a faster rate each week. Even though the stolen covers were promptly reported and replaced, they still cost the city about $500 to replace.
This may sound like a particularly unlikely crime, but manhole cover theft has become a growing problem around the world in recent years, especially in developing countries like China. Soaring metal prices are contributing to the epidemic of such cases, as these covers can be melted down and sold as scrap metal at ever-increasing prices. Various cities have adopted their own measures to prevent this, such as bolted covers, special locks, and plastic covers.
9. Little train
Sometime in 2022, the entire diesel engine of a train was dismantled piece by piece and stolen from a warehouse in the Begusarai district of India. The thieves gained access to the area through a tunnel they dug themselves, and the incident only came to light when a case was registered at a nearby police station.
During the investigation, three people were arrested after authorities raided a scrap yard in another area called Muzaffarpur. During the search, they found 13 sacks filled with stolen train parts, including engine parts, antique engine wheels and iron railway parts. According to local reports at the time, police were still searching for the owner of the house.
8. George Washington's wallet
George Washington's wallet, on loan to the Old Barracks Museum in New Jersey, was stolen from the museum in early 1992. It was missing for nearly three weeks before it was found, missing only two $1.66 bills in colonial currency. Curiously, it was returned by one Eric Davis, who was working as a lawyer for an unknown anonymous client.
The return was made on George Wasington's birthday, and a $500 reward was offered and paid to the returner. According to Davis, it was also fairly easy to steal, as his anonymous customer only had to lift the protective glass holding the wallet in place to steal it.
7. Bridge
Have you ever looked at a bridge and wanted to steal it? While we don’t recommend it, it can be done, as proven by a group of men who did just that in India in April 2023. The gang, which included government employees from a local irrigation agency, stole the 60-foot-long, 550-ton iron bridge. Dressed in government uniforms, they used cutting torches and earthmoving excavators to remove all the individual pieces and proceeded to transport them to a local scrap dealer’s yard.
Locals were largely unaware of the theft and initially thought the government was finally doing something about the dilapidated infrastructure in the area. However, they were sadly mistaken and the theft went unnoticed until one of them contacted officials. Eight people were arrested in connection with the incident, including government employees and one dump owner.
6. Glacier
In 2012, a man was arrested in Chile for stealing and smuggling around five tons of ice from the Jorge Montt Glacier in Patagonia. The truck was intercepted by local police, and the total value of the ice was estimated at around $6,100. It is believed to have been destined for Santiago, as the exquisite polar ice cubes fetch high prices in upscale bars and restaurants scattered throughout the capital.
Glacial ice theft has gained public attention in Chile in recent years as it becomes an increasingly valuable commodity in regions bordering Patagonia. For example, the Jorge Montt Glacier, located in Bernardo O'Higgins National Park, is retreating more than half a mile each year.
5. Napoleon's Penis
Following Napoleon Bonaparte's death in 1821, there was much speculation about what happened to his various body parts. Of particular interest was his penis. According to some accounts, his doctor or priest was responsible for removing it during an autopsy. It was then allegedly stolen by Napoleon's chaplain, who smuggled it from St Helena to his home in Corsica. It remained in the care of his family until 1916, when it was sold to a bookseller in London.
The organ was later unveiled to the public in 1927 at the Museum of French Art in New York City. It received a mixed reaction from the crowd, including some pointing and laughter, though this was more due to its decaying leather appearance than anything else.
4. Human finger
In June 2017, an unusual crime occurred in Dawson City, Yukon, Canada. Someone stole a severed finger from the Downtown Hotel’s prized collection, and it wasn’t just any finger. It was one of the ingredients used to make the hotel’s signature drink, the Sourtoe Cocktail, which was, at least according to reports, a favorite of most of its patrons.
The tradition dates back to the 1920s, when a rum runner preserved his amputated big toe in alcohol. It was found by a native about fifty years later, frozen in the snow and apparently waiting to be put into a drink, and it has been used in the hotel ever since.
Luckily, the stolen artifact—if you can call it that—was mailed to authorities over the next few days. It arrived with a note of apology, though the identity of the thief was never revealed.
3. Einstein's Brain
Albert Einstein, one of the most famous scientists in history, died on April 18, 1955. His autopsy was performed by a pathologist named Thomas Harvey, although he went a step further and decided to remove Einstein's brain, which led to his dismissal from Princeton Hospital. Despite this, he received permission from Einstein's son to study it, although not before he had already cut it into 240 pieces.
By studying Einstein's brain, Harvey hoped to gain some insight into his extraordinary intellectual abilities, even if it was not well received by the rest of the medical community, as removing an organ from a dead body violated medical ethics and the patient's rights. The brain remained in his sole possession until 1978, when it was first presented to the public and the wider scientific community.
2. Beach
In 2008, thieves in Jamaica stole hundreds of tons of valuable white sand — or an entire beach — from a planned resort on the island’s north coast. The case, which cost the owner more than $1 million, is just one of many beach thefts happening around the world. They are largely linked to a growing shortage of sand, as it is a key ingredient in a variety of major global industries, leading to theft, smuggling, and even violence due to the illegal sand trade.
However, the scale of the theft – about 500 truckloads of sand – has baffled authorities and also sparked a political controversy of sorts. Some reports suggest that the crime was orchestrated by rival hoteliers, as it was highly organised.
In response, the government suspended all operations at the planned resort and commissioned an environmental study to further analyze the impact of the missing sand on nearby ecosystems. Despite inspections of other beaches and other attempts to track down the stolen sand, it was never found and no arrests were made.
1. Shark
In what may have been one of the most brazen attempts at maritime theft in history, an entire shark was stolen from the San Antonio Aquarium in Texas in July 2018. and the removal of a two-foot-long grey horn shark. After mixing a bleach solution into the aquarium's water filtration system, the thieves used a stroller to transport the shark to their car from outside.
Unfortunately, at least for them, there were too many loopholes in the plan to succeed, as the manager spotted them leaving the aquarium and followed them to his car. Authorities tracked the suspects to a house filled with sharks and sea creatures in a small pool.
One suspect confessed to the crime, and one of their neighbors admitted to helping them. The stolen shark, named Miss Helen, was safely returned to the aquarium the next day.
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