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Theft is wrong, morally. It’s one of the basic tenants of being a “good”
person – don’t take things that don’t belong to you. It’s also
disturbingly common. While some theft is petty, like shoplifting a fancy
lipstick, and some is for survival like stealing food, a lot of it is
just bad people taking instead of earning. That said, it’s still
sometimes really…impressive…both the ability to steal large objects and
the determination of those who dare to. Here are some Biggest Things
Ever Stolen.
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Buddhist Monastery Bell Ball
In 2005, the ball from the inside of a Buddhist monastery bell was
stolen in Washington State. The thieves were caught trying to sell the
3,000 pound piece for scrap metal. |
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90,000 Pounds of Manhole Covers
In 1990, a man in LA stole 300 manhole covers. The covers weigh up to
300 lbs each, and he was selling them for scrap for around $6 ea. Let’s
see, 300 x 300 = 90,000 pounds of manhole covers for potentially $1,800
in profit. That seems like a difficult way to go about things. |
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A Stone Bridge Dating Back to the Qing Dynasty
A stone bridge dating back to the Qing Dynasty was stolen in Shanghai
overnight and sold to a garden company in 2012. The bridge was over 100
years old, had been listed as a protected cultural relic in 2008, and
was, again, made of stone. |
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Luxury Yachts: Alter Ego and Zula
In July of 2016, two luxury yachts worth over $4 Million USD were stolen
from a marina in Dubai. The yachts, named Alter Ego and Zula, were used
for tourist and day trips, and weren’t reported stolen until a week
after they disappeared. They are now believed to be in the Philippines,
though they are also believed to sometimes be used to drug trafficking
in various parts of the world. |
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800-Year-Old Red Cedar Tree
Clever thieves managed to steal an 800 year old red cedar tree that was
one of the largest in the Vancouver Island area in 2012. What made it so
clever? First, they cut through most of the tree, so that park officials
would deem it unsafe to remain standing. Once the tree went down, the
plan (by the park) was to let it decompose naturally in the forest. It
was then that thieves came back and stole the tree, the wood of which
was worth thousands of dollars. Clever. Horrific and depressing and
pretty darn evil, but clever.
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M60 Tank
A man who had nothing to lose stole an M60 tank from the California Army
National Guard Armory in May of 1995. He ran over everything he could at
the tank’s max speed of 30 MPH for 23 minutes until the police
surrounded him, and sadly he was shot.
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An Entire Orthodox Church
An entire Orthodox Church was stolen in Russia in 2008. Apparently
locals from a nearby village dismantled the abandoned church brick by
brick and sold the bricks to a businessman. One day a priest showed up,
and the church wasn’t there. Words like “Grave Sin” and “Blasphemy” were
thrown around.
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Ronald McDonald Statue
A 250 pound, life size, Ronald McDonald statue (complete with bench) was
stolen from a McDonald’s in New Jersey in late April 2017. The biggest
question here is not how or why, but rather…life size Ronald McDonald?
So the same size as the Ronald McDonald clown is…in real life?
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