A flat I once rented was burgled, and they took anything of value - computer, Walkman, CDs, etc - plus bed-linen to carry it out in.
Plus a nearly-empty bottle of cheap Boots pre-shave lotion. Enough left to get high on, I suppose. The funny thing is, they left the beer in the fridge.
My apartment in college was “burglarized” back in the early 90’s. I was walking home from class less than 100 yards from my building I pass a guy carrying something under his arm. It’s not the type of neighborhood where you ask questions. I get into my apartment and realize the gentleman was carrying my VCR. Now this VCR was purchased in 1984. It was one of the first VCR’s commercially available. The type that top loaded. At the time it was 8 years old and didn’t rewind.
Our “burglar” missed my brand new stereo, my roommate new computer, massive CD collection, several very nice power tools a fridge full of beer as well as all my roommate’s girlfriends jewelry.
I guess this qualified as trash removal
When I was about 10 someone broke into my mom’s house and stole lots of stuff, including my NES. I learned that day that writing your name on things doesn’'t always solve the problem of theft.
Fast-forward ten years to me drunk and high with a friend playing his old Nintendo. The one with my name on it. His older brother had stolen it years ago just before going to jail. When the brother got out later that year he actually felt so bad he paid me some money for stealing it.
Ha! I used to have one of those VCRs. It had a corded remote control. And when it didn’t work, we’d pick up the front and let it bang down on the floor. Worked every time!
I had forgotten about the corded remote. That was obviously long gone.
How do you lose a corded remote?
I’m thinking of tying all of my current remotes to the coffee table, so they don’t end up in other rooms (or the fridge).
When I was a kid, our house was burglarized, and they took my sister’s piggy bank, and a bunch of stuff from my folk’s room. They left my room alone, I guess it looked too much like a little kid’s room (I was probably 8). The thing is, I had more money in my piggy bank than my sister did (as a child I was like a squirrel when it came to change). My sister later swiped all of the silver dollars that I had (hers had been stolen). For some reason it made sense to her…I don’t have a point. Please excuse my rambling.
A lot of corded remotes were not “hard wired” into the unit, but plugged into a jack on the front panel. Fairly easy to lose once they become separated.
Heh. Our new offices at my one job in NYC were burgled and I knew it because one of my boots was moved a little bit from where I had left it (compulsively positioned next to the other). I knew the thought process…“Could that be a Timberland boot worth stealing? <checks> Nope, knockoff from Payless. Moving on…”
At my job the cleaning crew was part of the theft ring. They put all the new Mac monitors, keyboards, and mice in the giant trash cans, puts a few bags of trash on top, and wheeled them out the door.
Stupid action #1: They didn’t take any CPUs, meaning these Mac peripherals were greatly reduced in resale value (this was the early 1990s, when most Macs used proprietary stuff.)
Stupid action #2: Whoever they were working for told them to get the CPUs, so they tried again the next night. Security was waiting for them when they came out of the building.
Inside job.
One of your cow-orkers tipped them off as to the swag, presumably for a cut.
Upon replacement, & notification of the security pack delays, repeat crime took place. Second cut.
Don’t leave good radios around the office, nor loose change in your desk.
Ha, long time ago, my father had a car like that. Well not QUITE in the “drop it on the floor” way, 
but an old and rather wonderful for its age Morris Minor that had a habit of cutting out, but would behave if thumped on just the right place on the dashboard.
Car was stolen. Police said “hmm, that is very sad, and we will keep eyes open for it, but you know, don’t get your hopes up”. Heheh. Some days or a week later, a different set of police saw what appeared to be people having car problems and stopped to offer to help. Said people chose instead to run off, which is when the helpful police began to think, ever so cleverly" ooh, I wonder why they did that - perhaps we ought to check on this car" Thus car was returned, much to everyone’s surprise and joy. 
Did you just watch everything once? Or did you rig a drill to wind them back?
Thieves ram raided the local grog shop- stole all the cheap Scotch and left thousands of dollars worth of champagne. I thought it was pretty stupid, but on reflection- if they are flogging it - what is easier to dispose of?
Rig up a drill? That would have required consideration and thought and effort… and a drill. I didn’t worry about rewinding. Do you remember that old saying “Please be kind rewind”. I’d just return the tapes to Block Buster as is. They had that rewinding machine for just such an occasion. By the time they started charging rewinding fees that old VCR was in a crack den.
The story about the Morris Minor reminds me of the dolts that stole my wife’s sister’s 10 year old Pinto. She was in high school in the 80’s in Denver. Anybody who would steal a Pinto in any decade must be under the influence of mind altering substances. After all, it was a Pinto it was old, rusted, a bit touchy, hard to start and ugly. She hated that car. Her mother gave it to her when she got a new car. It was not uncommon for her to park the pinto, get out and repeatedly kick it before entering the house. One day it was missing. Why we’ll never know. How though was easy; as she always left the keys in it when she parked it. She was extatic… for about 4 hours. It was found 3 blocks away parked (abandoned is more like it) at a very odd angle, door open, keys in the ignition. The engine was flooded and the battery was dead.