# What is the strangest thing you've heard of that was stolen? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 6, 2014, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-strangest-thing-youve-heard-of-that-was-stolen/700520 "2014-10-06T04:26:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2014, 7:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-strangest-thing-youve-heard-of-that-was-stolen/700520/41 "2014-10-07T07:23:08Z")
About 3 years ago I bought a set of red sheets for my king-size bed. I used them a few times, then put them away in the linen closet. Then several months later, I decided to use the red sheets again. I went to the linen closet, pulled out the two pillowcases and the flat sheet. The fitted sheet, the one that I had previously used, was gone. I never used the flat sheet, so it was strange that the fitted sheet was missing. I emptied out the linen closet, the three bedroom closets, the basement, every place in the house. No red fitted sheet. I asked my partner. Nope. To this day, I have not found that sheet. It’s too big to have been accidentally thrown out. I can only conclude that someone broke into the house and stole my king-size fitted red sheet. ---
**Author:** ![Dereknocue67](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/6de8d8/32.png) [@Dereknocue67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dereknocue67)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2014, 7:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-strangest-thing-youve-heard-of-that-was-stolen/700520/42 "2014-10-07T07:59:26Z")
My virginity was stolen from me! No, wait . . . I gave it away. Never mind. ---
**Author:** ![Filbert](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/filbert/32/3433_2.png) [@Filbert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Filbert)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2014, 8:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-strangest-thing-youve-heard-of-that-was-stolen/700520/43 "2014-10-07T08:24:44Z")
My parents’ gift shop was burgled by the most pathetic thieves ever- they stole a) a few Mars bars, b) a box of 99p pewter figures, c) all the (non-alcoholic) punch, and a couple of t-shirts with the company logo on. Possibly the least valuable stuff in the whole place. They had a much more impressively organised burglary a few years later though- someone stole the fuel storage tank for the heating system. It was about half full, and probably weighed over 2 tons. My dad said he was so impressed at the effort, he couldn’t actually manage getting angry about it. ---
**Author:** ![Cugel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cugel/32/1199_2.png) [@Cugel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cugel)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2014, 8:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-strangest-thing-youve-heard-of-that-was-stolen/700520/44 "2014-10-07T08:40:48Z")
My driveway has a two cm ridge where it joins the road - bad news when hitting it at speed on my bike. So I’d found a old piece of metal grating (about 30x20cm) which was just the right height to make a ramp, which I tied to light pole to stop it washing away. Someone came along one day, untied the wire and made off with the piece of grating. ---
**Author:** ![kferr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/71e660/32.png) [@kferr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kferr)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2014, 10:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-strangest-thing-youve-heard-of-that-was-stolen/700520/45 "2014-10-07T10:01:10Z")
About a week after moving into my current house the garage was broken into. Inside were about £3000 worth of bicycles (unlocked), a couple toolboxes of hand tools and a brand new cordless drill. All they took was a half full petrol can worth about £10. The previous owner had had a motorcycle in the garage and the police said another had been stolen the same night so they were only after motorcycles and ignored everything else. ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2014, 11:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-strangest-thing-youve-heard-of-that-was-stolen/700520/46 "2014-10-07T11:13:33Z")
> [@squeegee](#): > > I had my house on the market. It was vacant, we’d moved elsewhere. One day someone stole all the window treatments. Which is nuts – they were “honeycomb” shades custom-cut for my windows, they wouldn’t fit someone else’s. And only a real estate agent would have had access to the house, so for some reason one of them decided to steal this stuff. Ha! Same thing happened to me. I was selling my old apartment, and the realtor left it unlocked since it was vacant and the building had a doorman. Somebody (I presume a resident in the same building) snuck in and stole all my window blinds. I guess they at least fit his windows. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2014, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-strangest-thing-youve-heard-of-that-was-stolen/700520/47 "2014-10-07T19:36:35Z")
I was about to move into a new apartment in NYC. I knew better than to move anything in until the new gate was installed on the fire-escape window. Sure enough, someone broke in and stole the one and only thing in the apartment: an old, partially rusty tape measure. ---
**Author:** ![Bouncer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/9d8465/32.png) [@Bouncer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bouncer)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2014, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-strangest-thing-youve-heard-of-that-was-stolen/700520/48 "2014-10-07T19:51:17Z")
> [@chacoguy](#): > > The police pursuit must have been EPIC! 😃 EVERY unit responded. Including some from other jurisdictions and one guy in a piper cub. Regards, -Bouncer- ---
**Author:** ![Bouncer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/9d8465/32.png) [@Bouncer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bouncer)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2014, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-strangest-thing-youve-heard-of-that-was-stolen/700520/49 "2014-10-07T19:58:04Z")
Many of these are funny as heck, but the strangest thing I’ve ever heard of is still this… A blood soaked mattress from an ebola clinic. > **[HuffPost - Breaking News, U.S. and World News](https://www.huffpost.com/?err_code=404&err_url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.huffingtonpost.com%2F2014%2F08%2F17%2Fliberia-ebola-clinic_n_5685635.html)** > > Read the latest headlines, news stories, and opinion from Politics, Entertainment, Life, Perspectives, and more. I don’t even… :smack: Regards, -Bouncer- ---
**Author:** ![xizor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xizor/32/102_2.png) [@xizor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xizor)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2014, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-strangest-thing-youve-heard-of-that-was-stolen/700520/50 "2014-10-07T21:05:36Z")
One place I worked at in the 90s had 2 old rusty engine blocks sitting behind the building. The boss wanted to get rid of them so he chained them to the pipes on the wall. They were gone within a week. The other was more of a prank. In high school one kid stole the magnetic “citizen’s watch” sign off the citizen’s watch car - he was talking to them through the window and grabbed it when they drove off. It was stuck to a door behind the high school for the next 6 months. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2014, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-strangest-thing-youve-heard-of-that-was-stolen/700520/51 "2014-10-07T21:28:40Z")
> [@CT\_Damsel](#): > > My rubbish barrel from in front of my house. We had one stolen, too - an 80-gallon flip top for automated pickup. About a dozen were stolen that night. Word is they’re bonzer for high-volume composting. Or something. ---
**Author:** ![rowrrbazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rowrrbazzle/32/414_2.png) [@rowrrbazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rowrrbazzle)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2014, 6:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-strangest-thing-youve-heard-of-that-was-stolen/700520/52 "2014-10-08T06:50:42Z")
Bones from the corpse of Alistair Cooke. [Alistair Cooke - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alistair_Cooke#Later_life_and_death) > [@](#): > > On 2 March 2004, at the age of 95, following advice from his doctors, Cooke announced his retirement from _Letters from America_ – after 58 years, the longest-running speech radio show in the world.[15] > > Cooke died at midnight on 30 March 2004, at his home in New York City. He had been ill with heart disease, but died of lung cancer, which had spread to his bones.[16] He was cremated, and his ashes were clandestinely scattered by his family in Central Park.[17] > > On 22 December 2005, the New York Daily News reported that the bones of Cooke and many other people had been surgically removed before cremation by employees of Biomedical Tissue Services of Fort Lee, New Jersey, a tissue-recovery firm.[18] The thieves sold the bones for use as medical-grade bone grafts. The cancer from which Cooke was suffering had spread to his bones, making them unsuitable for grafts. ---
**Author:** ![BobArrgh](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobarrgh/32/2881_2.png) [@BobArrgh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobArrgh)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2014, 12:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-strangest-thing-youve-heard-of-that-was-stolen/700520/53 "2014-10-08T12:29:41Z")
At my dentist’s office, some man walked in to the lobby, picked up the wooden magazine rack (with magazines in it), walked out the front door, put it in his car and left. The front office staff thought it was a prank, at first, but when he didn’t come back, realized they had just been robbed. The man was not a patient, and the staff did not recognize him. ---
**Author:** ![williambaskerville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f14d63/32.png) [@williambaskerville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/williambaskerville)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2014, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-strangest-thing-youve-heard-of-that-was-stolen/700520/54 "2014-10-08T13:56:30Z")
A few years ago, I was going to a fancy dress party, and decided for reasons I won’t get into that I would go as a Roman Catholic cardinal, with the full red silk robes. It turns out a set of cardinal’s robes aren’t a stock item for your typical joke/costume shop. Nothing daunted, I contacted an actual theatrical costumier, who happily supplied me with a very satisfactory and sleek looking cardinal’s outfit. The Monday after the party, I headed off to work and threw them on the back seat of the car, meaning to return them on my way home. When I left work that day, a car window had been smashed and the robes were gone. So somebody broke into a car to steal a set of authentic looking cardinal’s robes. I have no idea what they planning on doing with them :- it really is hard to imagine a black market in those particular items. ---
**Author:** ![kayT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayt/32/3633_2.png) [@kayT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayT)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2014, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-strangest-thing-youve-heard-of-that-was-stolen/700520/55 "2014-10-08T15:08:32Z")
Just curious, **williambaskerville** ; how much did it cost to replace that costume? ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2014, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-strangest-thing-youve-heard-of-that-was-stolen/700520/56 "2014-10-08T15:28:07Z")
There is a cemetery near my house that has a lot of prominent Washintonians buried there (Tim Russert, Upton Sinclair, the guy who created Wonderbread, Alice Roosevelt, Gore Vidal, etc.). Anyway, it’s a lovely spot with lots of interesting statues and markers. A few years ago, someone stole an 11 foot obelisk as well as other markers. > [@](#): > > Dear Neighbors, > > It is a great sadness to share with you that our cemetery has been targeted for theft of bronze. At the end of last week an 11 ft bronze work of art and other pieces were removed. This took quite an effort since the installation required a crane and at least six men to get it in place. You can imagine how the family of the deceased feels. > > We believe that we offer the community a beautiful, quiet spot for walking, running and playing with children. However, we need you to help us. The security mantra of “if you see something say something is a good one.” If you are enjoying our space and see persons defacing the property or acting in a suspicious way please notify our office (202) 726-2080. > > The Police Department are doing their part. Please help us so we can continue to allow public use of this space. > **[A Special Place in Hell – Memorial/Sculpture Theft at Rock Creek Church...](https://www.popville.com/2011/03/a-special-place-in-hell-memorialsculpture-theft-at-rock-creek-church-cemetery/)** > > Example of one of the many beautiful sculptures in Rock Creek Church Cemetery Back in Nov. '10 we took a week to look at some of the beautiful sculptures at Rock Creek Church Cemetery located at Rock Creek Church Rd and Webster St, NW and near the... ---
**Author:** ![Enright3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/enright3/32/2897_2.png) [@Enright3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enright3)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2014, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-strangest-thing-youve-heard-of-that-was-stolen/700520/57 "2014-10-08T15:54:46Z")
What was stolen isn’t really that strange; but my idiocy in how I found out about it was. I installed a brand new set of speakers in my car; but never got around to hiding the wires. Basically dangled out from under my dash, went along the side of my car through the back seat and hooked into my speakers. On morning i got into my car, turned on my stereo and didn’t hear anything. Because of the way I had jury-rigged the speaker wires, it wasn’t unusual for them to become disconnected. I’d trace the wire back looking for then end of it, then I’d look around for the other end which was always nearby. I searched for longer time than I should admit to before i got frustrated and decided to start with the speaker and trace the wire from there. Only then did I realize there were no speakers in the rear deck of my car! ---
**Author:** ![williambaskerville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f14d63/32.png) [@williambaskerville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/williambaskerville)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2014, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-strangest-thing-youve-heard-of-that-was-stolen/700520/58 "2014-10-08T16:06:41Z")
> [@kayT](#): > > Just curious, **williambaskerville** ; how much did it cost to replace that costume? The costumier wanted something around 400 euros (about 500 dollars for USians). In fact, the customier had already reserved the replacement price on my credit card, so they just turned it into an actual charge. (There was nothing underhand about this, they explained they’d have to do it since I was not in fact an established theatre company outfitting a Cardinal Wolsey). As it happened my car insurance had personal belongings cover :- after some highly surreal and very amusing phone conversations, it covered most of it. ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2014, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-strangest-thing-youve-heard-of-that-was-stolen/700520/59 "2014-10-08T16:22:07Z")
> [@madmonk28](#): > > There is a cemetery near my house that has a lot of prominent Washintonians buried there (Tim Russert, Upton Sinclair, the guy who created Wonderbread, Alice Roosevelt, Gore Vidal, etc.). Anyway, it’s a lovely spot with lots of interesting statues and markers. A few years ago, someone stole an 11 foot obelisk as well as other markers. > [A Special Place in Hell – Memorial/Sculpture Theft at Rock Creek Church Cemetery - PoPville](http://www.popville.com/2011/03/a-special-place-in-hell-memorialsculpture-theft-at-rock-creek-church-cemetery/) I came in to post a similar one - a brass cross taken off a headstone: [http://www.jrn.com/kgun9/news/209763101.html](http://www.jrn.com/kgun9/news/209763101.html) ---
**Author:** ![GrumpyBunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bc8723/32.png) [@GrumpyBunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrumpyBunny)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2014, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-strangest-thing-youve-heard-of-that-was-stolen/700520/60 "2014-10-08T16:51:56Z")
It’s not weird, but someone at work stole [my Harry Potter mug](http://thumbs2.ebaystatic.com/d/l225/m/m6aEhZgaWwvwnQcw4z6HtgA.jpg). They don’t make this kind anymore, and it was a gift from my best friend. Repeated emails sent to the employees at this site (it’s a group of about 70 ppl at this site) haven’t brought it back. Sometimes people just SUCK. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-strangest-thing-youve-heard-of-that-was-stolen/700520.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-strangest-thing-youve-heard-of-that-was-stolen/700520.md?page=4)