NationStates Jolt Archive

Wtf. As some of you might remember, I drive an old, battered VW Polo (and by old I mean almost 19 years now), which I lovingly call "il potente mezzo germanico" (the powerful germanic vehicle :D ). Just to let you have the picture, it's so battered that the front bumper is kept in place by duct tape, and the rear bumper by a couple of bolts placed by me. It consumes gas like a drunkard if compared to modern cars. And I've had to permanently block the roof hatch. (still it runs 160 km/h!)

Well... still someone tried to STEAL it. :confused: Yesterday evening I found that the door had been forced, and that a forged key had been used to attempt to start the engine: plus, the forged key broke, so I'll have to repair it, though I was going to substitute it next week for a new car (I need to take it to the junkyard, so I'll get a 1500 € bonus upon buying a new car; thankfully my insurance is paying for reparations). No items were stolen from the car (like the sunglasses I use to drive, or my mobile phone's battery charger), so they were clearly aiming for the car.

The Carabinieri told me that it happens more often than I thought: many old cars are stolen to be used by drug smugglers - they are less likely to be stopped by the police if they drive an old car than an expensive, brand new one.

So, I was wondering: has someone else here been stolen something highly unlikely to be stolen, like items of little value, or items you'd never think they would attract a thief's glance?

My kids' bicycles.

Here in the US, if someone steals a kid's bike in the suburbs, it's likely to be just another kid, and you'll find it later somewhere in the neighborhood.

Nowadays, if you live in an area with a high illegal immigrant population (as Herndon, Va is), the bike is likely to be stolen by a recently arrived illegal immigrant who needs transportation.

I discovered that the reason the bikes are stolen (and not the car, as in your case) is that most of our recent arrivals are from El Salvador, and most of them have no idea how to drive a car - but they all know how to ride a bike.

That was strange to hear, but I guess that's a good thing.

Wtf. As some of you might remember, I drive an old, battered VW Polo (and by old I mean almost 19 years now), which I lovingly call "il potente mezzo germanico" (the powerful germanic vehicle :D ). Just to let you have the picture, it's so battered that the front bumper is kept in place by duct tape, and the rear bumper by a couple of bolts placed by me. It consumes gas like a drunkard if compared to modern cars. And I've had to permanently block the roof hatch. (still it runs 160 km/h!)

Well... still someone tried to STEAL it. :confused: Yesterday evening I found that the door had been forced, and that a forged key had been used to attempt to start the engine: plus, the forged key broke, so I'll have to repair it, though I was going to substitute it next week for a new car (I need to take it to the junkyard, so I'll get a 1500 € bonus upon buying a new car; thankfully my insurance is paying for reparations). No items were stolen from the car (like the sunglasses I use to drive, or my mobile phone's battery charger), so they were clearly aiming for the car.

The Carabinieri told me that it happens more often than I thought: many old cars are stolen to be used by drug smugglers - they are less likely to be stopped by the police if they drive an old car than an expensive, brand new one.

So, I was wondering: has someone else here been stolen something highly unlikely to be stolen, like items of little value, or items you'd never think they would attract a thief's glance?


When I was in college I spent some time in london. My (our, had roomates) apartment got robbed. Amongst what was stolen from me were a few pounds in coins and bills, and some bottles of cologne (seriously? cologne?)

What they LEFT was the full laptop bag on the foot of the bed, a bag of pot in my roomate's room (heh), and perhaps the singularly most valuable thing in the place, my US passport, which was sitting next to the cologne they took.

edit: did I seriously just say "my apartment got stolen"? Would have made for an interesting story I suppose....

*pictures a fully grown El Salvadoran pedaling down the street on a 'Hello Kitty' bicycle.*

You know, they are the real victims. :tongue:

Only thing I've ever had stolen was when someone broke into my pickup and took the change out of the little cubbyhole.

*pictures a fully grown El Salvadoran pedaling down the street on a 'Hello Kitty' bicycle.*

You know, they are the real victims. :tongue:

Yes. The first bike we lost was my daughter's (when she was 12). It was a nice 15 speed, but it was definitely a girl's bike.

Still, a comfortable ride, even for an adult. Mind the pink and silver trim...

We were burgled when I was younger and the family had gone away for the weekend. They had 2 days to strip the house and apparently no-one noticed people loading the washing machine into a van in front of the house :rolleyes:.

Amongst the things taken was my school tie, I mean really, what use is a childs school tie?

Amongst the things taken was my school tie, I mean really, what use is a childs school tie?

No use that fits within the PG-13 guidelines of this forum.

http://www.wsbtv.com/news/18808510/detail.html

We were burgled when I was younger and the family had gone away for the weekend. They had 2 days to strip the house and apparently no-one noticed people loading the washing machine into a van in front of the house :rolleyes:.

Amongst the things taken was my school tie, I mean really, what use is a childs school tie?

School was next on the burgling list. It was the start of an extremely poor disguise.

So, I was wondering: has someone else here been stolen something highly unlikely to be stolen, like items of little value, or items you'd never think they would attract a thief's glance?

where I work, my car was broken into. nothing was taken, not the ton of spare change I keep in the ashtray, not the computer programs I bought earlier, nothing.

Then I learned that several cars were broken into... the total sum of things taken?

1 cigerette lighter.


man, he must've needed a smoke really badly!

We were burgled when I was younger and the family had gone away for the weekend. They had 2 days to strip the house and apparently no-one noticed people loading the washing machine into a van in front of the house :rolleyes:.

Amongst the things taken was my school tie, I mean really, what use is a childs school tie?

our house was broken into.

they took...
1 broken VCR,
1 Broken TV
mother's jewerly box filled with the crafts we made as kids
and a piggy bank filled with quarters.

My mum once forced my to smuggle a tin of chewing gum out of a Morrisons supermarket. She never steals and she doesn't chew gum so I have no idea why she did it..

Wtf. As some of you might remember, I drive an old, battered VW Polo (and by old I mean almost 19 years now), which I lovingly call "il potente mezzo germanico" (the powerful germanic vehicle :D ). Just to let you have the picture, it's so battered that the front bumper is kept in place by duct tape, and the rear bumper by a couple of bolts placed by me. It consumes gas like a drunkard if compared to modern cars. And I've had to permanently block the roof hatch. (still it runs 160 km/h!)

Well... still someone tried to STEAL it. :confused: Yesterday evening I found that the door had been forced, and that a forged key had been used to attempt to start the engine: plus, the forged key broke, so I'll have to repair it, though I was going to substitute it next week for a new car (I need to take it to the junkyard, so I'll get a 1500 € bonus upon buying a new car; thankfully my insurance is paying for reparations). No items were stolen from the car (like the sunglasses I use to drive, or my mobile phone's battery charger), so they were clearly aiming for the car.

The Carabinieri told me that it happens more often than I thought: many old cars are stolen to be used by drug smugglers - they are less likely to be stopped by the police if they drive an old car than an expensive, brand new one.

So, I was wondering: has someone else here been stolen something highly unlikely to be stolen, like items of little value, or items you'd never think they would attract a thief's glance?

that sucks.... the chavs in my neighbourhood keep keying/scratching my car. i have five 50+cm long, deep scratches along the body of my car, and they broke the wingmirror of my old car twice (my new car's wingmirrors seem indestructible :D). makes me feel like its not worth having anything nice for yourself as people will always shit on you in some way (same goes for business).

we had a bong stolen once. a nice one, too... still had some weed in it :mad:

What is it like having such an incredibly small penis?

I know this is addressed to soneone else but I feel qualified to answer it..


It's all about the foreplay, you know? After the laughter has died down I can usually give adequate pleasure to a woman so it's not so bad.. They never answer my phone calls though..

Yes. The first bike we lost was my daughter's (when she was 12). It was a nice 15 speed, but it was definitely a girl's bike.

Still, a comfortable ride, even for an adult. Mind the pink and silver trim...

Uh, bicycle thefts are so common here, that no one leaves his bike, even for a minute, without chaining it to something solid - still there are professional thieves who use big cutting pliers to take care even of that.

...damn De Sica...

I know this is addressed to soneone else but I feel qualified to answer it..


It's all about the foreplay, you know? After the laughter has died down I can usually give adequate pleasure to a woman so it's not so bad.. They never answer my phone calls though..

Best answer ever.

we had a bong stolen once. a nice one, too... still had some weed in it :mad:

That will teach you. When you got it smoke it!

Uh, bicycle thefts are so common here, that no one leaves his bike, even for a minute, without chaining it to something solid - still there are professional thieves who use big cutting pliers to take care even of that.

...damn De Sica...

My daughter's bike was fastened by a heavy duty U-shaped metal lock (Kryptonite brand) to a large metal ring in the floor of a closed garage.

They didn't have any trouble removing the lock.

That will teach you. When you got it smoke it!

we were smoking it, we just popped out the tent for beer for maybe 5 minutes! they even spilled the bongwater on my mate's sleeping bag, which stank up the place for the rest of the festival :headbang:

we were smoking it, we just popped out the tent for beer for maybe 5 minutes! they even spilled the bongwater on my mate's sleeping bag, which stank up the place for the rest of the festival :headbang:

I would lol. In respect for the tragic loss of weed, I'll limit myself to a smirk. Here ;)

I'd lol if it weren't for the tragic loss of weed. I'll limit myself to a smirk.

thanks due, your sympathy is noted :p

we were smoking it, we just popped out the tent for beer for maybe 5 minutes! they even spilled the bongwater on my mate's sleeping bag, which stank up the place for the rest of the festival :headbang:

now we know the real reason why bears raid campers food... MUNCHIES!!! :eek2:

Nothing unusual was ever stolen from me. Doesn't mean people haven't tried to steal highly unusual stuff before.

http://www.cracked.com/article_17090_wheres-bridge-7-biggest-things-ever-stolen.html

How the hell do you steal an entire bridge without anyone noticing?

I remember hearing a few years ago about how some people stole a porta-potty from a campground. My only explanation would be that they had a cottage somewhere and didn't want to shit in a bag.

Somebody broke into my car once and pawed through all my CD's. None were taken. My taste in music must really suck.

How the hell do you steal an entire bridge without anyone noticing?
Our War Memorial had a huge (couple-ton) cast-bronze statue of Kosciusko (Polish revolutionary, came over here in the 1770's to help train our troops) disappear in the middle of the night.

Nothing unusual was ever stolen from me. Doesn't mean people haven't tried to steal highly unusual stuff before.

http://www.cracked.com/article_17090_wheres-bridge-7-biggest-things-ever-stolen.html

How the hell do you steal an entire bridge without anyone noticing?

Simple. Organise an Oktoberfest on the other side of the city, and sell only 12% vol. beer.

Nothing unusual was ever stolen from me. Doesn't mean people haven't tried to steal highly unusual stuff before.

http://www.cracked.com/article_17090_wheres-bridge-7-biggest-things-ever-stolen.html

How the hell do you steal an entire bridge without anyone noticing?

Well it all began after we lost our jobs, ironically engineers who specialised in bridges, and we were down at the local drinking some vodka. Yuri was the worst hit with getting the sack but he claimed that the company that fired him still had something he owned. Now they gave us everything we had in our offices in cardboard boxes but he kept on insisting. He said he would show us.

He took us to the bridge and sure enough, carved into the side of the bridge was "Yuri owns this bridge." Well who were we to argue with the written word. That was carving was a contract and since the company had terminated Yuri's contract it was only fair that he honour his contract and remove services.

After paying the local builders with vodka, we took some cranes, a couple of trucks and a forklift and worked through the night. That bridge now sits in Yuri's house and it is currently avaliable for use if you want it.

http://www.wsbtv.com/news/18808510/detail.html

In the UK you'd probably get locked up for that.

I had a 1962 VW Bug once (it was 16 years old when I got it). It was red with a blue hood, it had a wooden bumper and the passenger door had to be tied closed. It caught fire occasionally because the battery was under the back seat, which shifted around so that the springs made contact with the battery terminals. It always smelled faintly of gasoline. These days you could arrested for driving it, it was so dangerous, but it was the only transportation my kids and I had at the time. One morning it was gone - apparently some kids had stolen to go joy riding (it only had about a gallon of gas, so they only got about 35 miles before it stopped). Unfortunately, the police found it and returned it to me none the worse for wear (except there was now a puddle of water on the floor which never quite went away). It eventually threw a rod and I replaced it with a 1975 Pinto - what a come down.

In the UK you'd probably get locked up for that.
That's sad, but I won't try to threadjack this into a gun control thread.

I can remember one time, our old jalopy got stolen. Took us a few days to get it back, the guy who stole it left it on some back street, never came back for it.

I read something once that someone stole a wrecking ball that was hanging from a crane. Don't know anything about the veracity of the source though.

I wasn't actually involved in this, I was busy being high on acid at the time... but my buddies broke into a bakery and stole all manner of baked goods. They literally filled a 1/2 ton pickup with sticky buns, croissants and donuts. I became aware of the crime when I was struck in the head by a sticky bun as I contemplated hypotheticals like 'what if everyone were zombies' and I smoked a cigarette on my porch. My friends decided my place was the logical place to go after robbing a bakery and decided to unload the goods there. ...It was a strange night.

My kids' bicycles.

Here in the US, if someone steals a kid's bike in the suburbs, it's likely to be just another kid, and you'll find it later somewhere in the neighborhood.

Nowadays, if you live in an area with a high illegal immigrant population (as Herndon, Va is), the bike is likely to be stolen by a recently arrived illegal immigrant who needs transportation.

I discovered that the reason the bikes are stolen (and not the car, as in your case) is that most of our recent arrivals are from El Salvador, and most of them have no idea how to drive a car - but they all know how to ride a bike.

That was strange to hear, but I guess that's a good thing.

So do you actually have any PROOF that it's immigrants needing transportation who are stealing the bikes and not people who are stealing the bikes and selling them?

As for strange things I've had stolen, when I was about 13 I went swimming at the Y and someone stole my underwear out of the locker while I was swimming.

Just to let you have the picture, it's so battered that the front bumper is kept in place by duct tape, and the rear bumper by a couple of bolts placed by me.

Duct tape is right up there with meat smokers and styrofoam beer coolers as one of the great inventions of mankind.

I had someone steal one glove from me. I was in a coffee shop, and I put a pair of winter gloves(nothing fancy, just gloves I Wal-Mart for 4.99)on the table, and when I got back with the coffee, one of them was missing. It was like I had been burgled by Michael Jackson or something.

I read something once that someone stole a wrecking ball that was hanging from a crane. Don't know anything about the veracity of the source though.

I recall reading that too. No idea if it ever really happened.

Nothing unusual has ever been stolen from me, but my mother once had her handbag stolen. Later on she found it on the side of the street near where we lived, all of its contents intact. Apparently the thief(ves) had been looking for cell phones, which were new at the time, and had left alone her credit cards, her sunglasses, etc.

I had my virginity stolen by my fiancee :P

I had my virginity stolen by my fiancee :P

That's not particularly strange. It happens to lots of people.

I had my virginity stolen by my fiancee :P

Did they try and pawn it? That happens with a lot of stolen stuff. What's the street value on virginity?

Did they try and pawn it? That happens with a lot of stolen stuff. What's the street value on virginity?

depends - on ebay, bids went as high as 10,000 pounds (don't have a computer w/ the english money symbol). Another very pretty girl did the same thing in the US and rec'd much higher bids. Supposedly, several young women have done it, and gotten some pretty spectacular bids.

here's my question - why would someone want to pay for that?????

here's my question - why would someone want to pay for that?????

They'd pay for it for the same reason people pay for any other sex act, I imagine. Plus they'd still have that new whore smell.

I had my virginity stolen by my fiancee :P

Stolen is an odd word to use in this context, carrying some unpleasant connotations. If ones virginity is anything but freely given, then the taker it seems would belong in jail for rape.

My brother's Mongoose dirt bicycle was stolen when he was about 14 -- we found the culprit, who'd painted my bro's bright orange bike with white HOUSE paint.

Cue my bro grabbing my multi-colored, big-ass yellow banana seat bike with metallic streamers and taking off after the little fucker... then basically jumping off my bike to tackle the asshole in the middle of a divided highway that YES HAD TRAFFIC ON IT.

I don't know how they both weren't killed, but the score after that one was Me: 1 scratched paint job, Bro: bike back and a hell of a job washing the white paint off, Dillweed: bloody nose and busted lip.

So do you actually have any PROOF that it's immigrants needing transportation who are stealing the bikes and not people who are stealing the bikes and selling them?

As for strange things I've had stolen, when I was about 13 I went swimming at the Y and someone stole my underwear out of the locker while I was swimming.

Seeing them riding the bikes around afterwards, including my daughter's bike, yes.

It's one of the most common crimes in Herndon, aside from the very same immigrants engaged in "drunk in public" at the intersection of Elden and Alabama St.

Seeing them riding the bikes around afterwards, including my daughter's bike, yes.

What did you do when you saw someone riding her bike?

What did you do when you saw someone riding her bike?

He's in a crowd of maybe 20 other Salvadoreans.

It's not worth shooting someone over, and the police have so many of these cases now their standard response is "meh".

When I was in college the women across the hallway from me stole my loveseat... and replaced it with thier couch.

So I just made due with two full sized couches...

I think the weirdest thing ever was when we were renting out a room to this very strange guy...
To explain the situation : It was after my parents separated. My father owns several appartments, so he let us stay in two of them (one would have been to small), my mother and my youngest brother in one, and me and my other brother in the other. He had a very small single room in the 2nd appartment, and rented that and the kitchen out. So for well over a year, we had to share the appartment with a very odd and very smelly guy... he would never answer the phone or the door, he would lock himself into his room when he was home, and he most certainly never, ever washed.
And then we noticed that things went missing. Chocolates and a bottle of orange juice from my room, a handfull of change from my brother...
Then I told a friend of mine about this guy, and we found out that her father was going to evening classes with him... and that there, he had a reputation for stilling lunch sandwiches (Pausenbrote).

But that was the only time I had anything stolen from me, though...

depends - on ebay, bids went as high as 10,000 pounds (don't have a computer w/ the english money symbol).
here's my question - why would someone want to pay for that?????
Novelty value, publicity.

In the whorehouse, where most sell their virginity, it goes for a grand, maybe two if pretty. Although, when anonymously, it can be stitched up and resold a lot of times; but only once publicly.

I think the weirdest thing ever was when we were renting out a room to this very strange guy...
To explain the situation : It was after my parents separated. My father owns several appartments, so he let us stay in two of them (one would have been to small), my mother and my youngest brother in one, and me and my other brother in the other. He had a very small single room in the 2nd appartment, and rented that and the kitchen out. So for well over a year, we had to share the appartment with a very odd and very smelly guy... he would never answer the phone or the door, he would lock himself into his room when he was home, and he most certainly never, ever washed.
And then we noticed that things went missing. Chocolates and a bottle of orange juice from my room, a handfull of change from my brother...
Then I told a friend of mine about this guy, and we found out that her father was going to evening classes with him... and that there, he had a reputation for stilling lunch sandwiches (Pausenbrote).

But that was the only time I had anything stolen from me, though...

Creepy... I think I might have roomed with that guy in college for like a week...