10 Most Bizarre Things That Thieves Have Ever Stolen

According to one survey, stores in the United States lose about $50 billion a year thanks to thieves.

Usually, thieves steal money or other things that are actually of value—but not always.

Here are the 10 most bizarre things that thieves have ever stolen.

1. Einstein’s Brain

Believe it or not, one thief actually stole Einstein’s brain. Yes, you read that right.

People actually preserved Albert Einstein’s brain, because he was arguably one of the smartest people in history. Einstein requested to be cremated when he passed, but his doctor decided to remove his brain (without permission from the family) and kept it so that he could do scientific research on it.

He kept the smartest man’s brain in a jar in a beer cooler for over twenty years. Eventually, a reporter realized what happened and exposed him.

2. A Glacier

One person in Chile actually tried to steal a glacier. How you steal five tons of ice from Patagonia is beyond us.

But when questioned by the police, they found out he was trying to use the ice to take to fancy bars to put into cocktails. Imagine having a drink on the rocks, and realizing it’s actually glacier ice.

The police caught the thief and found out he was trying to take the ice in a van that was refrigerated.

3. Manhole Covers

One of the most common things stolen in cities is manhole covers.

In Los Angeles, there were boatloads of manhole covers and grates stolen in the 90s. Most people were planning on selling them as scrap metal. Other thieves were going to use them as decorations for their house or backyard. Some were stealing manhole covers because they were obsessed with the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

However, the police were able to catch a few of the thieves.

4. Godzilla

Someone actually stole Godzilla.

Well, a model that weighed 130 pounds. But it’s close enough.

Godzilla disappeared from a special effect studio in Tokyo, Japan, in the early 90s. A week later, he was found in a bamboo patch.

This model cost about $37,000, so the thief could’ve gotten a nice sum for selling it. However, where did he think he was going to hide the statue that was 13 feet tall?

You may wonder why someone would even think of trying to steal something like this. Well, some people say that thieves aren’t sure why they steal most of the things that they steal.

If you’ve felt the need to steal something odd but got caught, you may have been ordered to do take a class or do some community service.

If you have to take a class, check out this theft class!

5. X-Rays

In 2013, a warehouse worker and someone else were caught stealing X-ray photos from storage. The X-rays they were trying to steal were from before 2005.

You may be wondering why they would steal something like that, but back then, there was actually a little bit of silver found inside of the X-rays.

This may seem valuable to thieves, making it a good idea to steal. However, what they didn’t take into account is that getting the silver out of the X-ray would’ve been more expensive than the silver that was inside.

6. Cow Costumes

Chick-fil-A is famous for their cow costumes to advertise their chicken, but one thief in California stole not one, but three, of their cow costumes from a storage shed in California.

The 2017 footage showed that the thieves actually decided not to steal the more valuable items in the shed, but rather, went straight for the costumes.

7. NASA’s Rocket Engine

In 2011, NASA had an RL-10 rocket engine that was worth about $20,000. One of their employees decided that it would be a good idea to steal it.

They ended up catching the thief once they realized that the engine was being sold on the internet in an auction on eBay.

When NASA saw this, they realized it was their missing rocket engine and retrieved it. They’re still not sure how the employee was able to sneak the engine into his car and drive off with it to begin with.

8. A Condom Machine

In Michigan, one drunk man was in a pub where there was a condom machine on the wall. The man pulled the machine off of the wall and decided to try and walk home with it.

The pub was crowded, and the police and other witnesses had seen him do it and try to carry it home. The police promptly apprehended him.

Another man in Germany tried to steal a different condom machine on Christmas Eve. Instead of tearing it off the wall, he put explosives in it. Unfortunately, he ended up being caught in the explosion and died as a result.

9. A Penguin

When you get two drunk students together, nothing good can happen.

When these two drunk students got together, they stole a penguin from a marine park in South Africa.

The penguin, whose name was Buddy, was released back into the wild from the two students. They claimed that they were protesting against animal captivity.

However, the penguin wasn’t suited to life in the wild and unfortunately died.

10. A Cabin in the Woods

Imagine going up to your vacation cabin, and realizing something is wrong when the gate is cut open.

For a couple in Spokane, Washington, they expected to find their cabin burglarized. Instead, they found the entire 10×20 foot cabin gone. Even the furniture was gone.

They eventually found the cabin on stilts at the end of a different private road, but they still aren’t sure exactly what happened.

Find Out More Bizarre Things and Facts

These bizarre stolen things are definitely some of the weirdest stories out there.

However, there are still so many more bizarre stories to be read!

If you’re interested, check out our blog posts for more weird facts and stories.

Weirdomatic is the place where all weird things come to life through the amazing world of photographs – a corner of our wild imagination or the whimsical face of the reality?