Most robberies involve the sort of goods you would typically expect – jewellery, electronics, or just plain old cash. But some thieves set their sights on rather more unusual loot.
Here are some of the strangest things ever stolen.
White gold
In 2022, thieves made off with 60 containers of bull semen from a farm in Olfen, Germany.
It might seem like a strange thing to steal, but bull sperm is an extremely valuable commodity, used for the artificial insemination of cows. (In the UK, 75 per cent of dairy cattle breeding is done via artificial insemination.)
Sometimes called ‘white gold,’ bull semen can sell for tens of thousands of pounds per millilitre. The thieves must have come prepared, because semen needs to be supercooled in liquid nitrogen at -196°C (-320°F) to prevent it from spoiling.
Creepy crawlies
7,000 live animals were stolen from the Philadelphia Insectarium and Butterfly Pavilion in Pennsylvania in 2018.
The loot included glow spot cockroaches, tarantulas and leopard geckos, with a total estimated value of $50,000 (approx £40,000). But the thieves may have been motivated by more than just money.
A key piece of evidence left at the scene was a set of staff uniforms, hung from a wall by knives. This led the museum’s CEO to conclude that the suspects were disgruntled employees from the animal care department, but the perpetrators were never caught.
Old X-rays
In 2013, a pair of thieves were caught stealing 15,000 X-rays from a hospital in Detroit.
The stolen X-ray films were produced prior to 2005 when the hospital’s system went digital. X-ray film contains crystals of silver bromide, which are converted to opaque silver atoms when the film is developed to create a visible image.
The silver content is probably what attracted the thieves to steal the X-rays, but they may not have been aware that the process of extracting silver from X-ray films is very expensive.
A commercial aircraft
The 2003 theft of a Boeing 727-223 airliner prompted a global search and left US intelligence agencies on high alert. The aircraft was stolen from Quatro de Fevereiro Airport in Angola by a US flight engineer and a mechanic from the Republic of Congo.
Without communicating with the air traffic control tower, the plane took off with its lights and transponder turned off, and headed towards the Atlantic Ocean. The thieves haven’t been seen since and the plane, or any debris from it, has never been recovered.
Their motive was never conclusively determined, but authorities believe it may have been an elaborate insurance fraud scheme.
Bee hives
Hundreds of bee hives were stolen from a beekeeper in California in 2017. Honeybees are valued for their pollination services, which are essential to California’s booming almond farming businesses.
The lead suspect in the case was found in possession of 2,500 stolen hives taken from farms across the state, worth an estimated $875,000 (almost £695,000).
Beekeepers often mark their equipment with a unique symbol, which helped the authorities to identify the stolen loot.
Golden toilet
A fully functional, solid-gold toilet worth £4.8 million and weighing 98kg (216lbs) was stolen from Blenheim Palace in 2019.
The loo had been plumbed into the stately home as part of an exhibition by Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan. It was on display under the title 'America.'
But in the early hours of 14 September, five men broke into the palace, ripped out the bog and drove away in a stolen Volkswagen Golf. Three men have since been convicted of the crime.
This article is an answer to the question (asked by Camilla Mills, Kent) 'What's the craziest thing ever stolen?'
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