# Fight Crime with White Castle!!

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fight-crime-with-white-castle/160408>\
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\
**Created:** [March 10, 2003, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fight-crime-with-white-castle/160408 "2003-03-10T21:12:25Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Dijon\_Warlock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a9a28c/32.png) [@Dijon\_Warlock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dijon_Warlock)\
**Post date:** [March 10, 2003, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fight-crime-with-white-castle/160408/1 "2003-03-10T21:12:25Z")

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[Police say man who swallowed $37,500 gem has yielded loot](http://www.suntimes.com/output/news/cst-nws-gem08.html)

> [@](#):
>
> \*\*He said he was shopping for a diamond for his girlfriend.
> 
> But Peter J. Mannix didn’t leave the store Monday with a gem in a pretty velvet box. It was in his stomach, after he swallowed a three-carat diamond priced around $37,500, police said.
> 
> \<snip\>
> 
> Police did not give Mannix a laxative because a doctor told them it could create medical problems for him. All week, officers poked through his bowel movements, but they did not find the gem until 7:50 a.m. Friday.\*\*

So how did they get it out? Yup, you guessed it. [White Castle burgers](http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/showcase/chi-0303090312mar09.column).

> [@](#):
>
> \*\*Doctors prohibited police from using laxatives for fear of hurting Mannix. But they allowed tasty treats.
> 
> So the ingenious Central District cops fed him sacks of those delicious White Castle Slyders. It worked
> 
> \<snip\>
> 
> “We’ve been in Chicago since 1928,” said Jamie Richardson, national marketing director for White Castle. "And because we’ve been in Chicago so long, we’re not at all surprised at the resourcefulness of the Chicago police force.
> 
> “And we’re so happy that we could be helpful,” he said, poignantly.\*\*

They say that the diamond, originally valued at $40,000, is now only worth $37,500.

Go figure.

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**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\
**Post date:** [March 10, 2003, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fight-crime-with-white-castle/160408/2 "2003-03-10T21:25:31Z")

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The previous column, listed in the second link you gave, notes that the diamond had progressed somewhat through the intestinal tract and then stopped, prompting the White Castle trip. Considering my husband’s complaints after eating those (and yet he still does, now and then), I’m not surprised it worked - and, I’m glad I’m a vegetarian.

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**Author:** ![Emperor\_Penguin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/c2a13f/32.png) [@Emperor\_Penguin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Emperor_Penguin)\
**Post date:** [March 11, 2003, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fight-crime-with-white-castle/160408/3 "2003-03-11T03:14:08Z")

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> [@](#):
>
> They say that the diamond, originally valued at $40,000, is now only worth $37,500.
> 
> Go figure.

Funny, you would think that after passing through a man’s digestive tract, it would only appreciate in value.

Talk about getting the bum’s rush…