Did you know that in August 2017, some crafty thieves in Neustadt, Germany, made off with a refrigerated truck packed with up to 20 tons of Nutella and Kinder chocolate eggs? This sweet loot was worth about $80,000! The police in Germany warned people to be on the lookout for anyone selling large amounts of chocolate in unusual ways. It’s always a good idea to report suspicious activity like that!
Interestingly, that same weekend, another trailer carrying 30 tons of fruit juice vanished in Wittenberg, about 260 miles away. Was it a coordinated crime spree, a bizarre coincidence, or just someone needing comfort food after a tough breakup?
I’m Erin McCarthy, editor-in-chief of Mental Floss, and welcome to the List Show. Not all heists are about sugary treats. From famous art thefts to cheese robberies, we’re diving into some of history’s most unusual heists. Let’s get started!
Jesse James is one of America’s most infamous criminals. Although never officially linked, it’s believed that he or his gang committed the first documented peacetime daylight bank robbery in the U.S. on February 13, 1866, in Liberty, Missouri. A group of men, dressed as Union officials, stole $60,000 in bonds, cash, and gold. This was just the beginning of many robberies attributed to James after the Civil War.
Another criminal mastermind was George Leslie, an architect turned thief. His gang was thought to be behind 80% of U.S. bank robberies from 1869 to 1878. One of his biggest heists was the Manhattan Savings Institution robbery in 1878, where they stole around $2.7 million. Leslie meticulously planned this heist for over three years, but he was killed before it happened.
Heists aren’t limited to banks and trains. In 1972, a group of thieves disguised themselves and robbed the Pierre Hotel in Manhattan, taking $3 million in jewelry and cash. They even gave the hotel staff $20 each as they left!
Art thefts have a long history too. In 1473, pirates stole Hans Memling’s “The Last Judgment” while it was being transported from Belgium to Florence. Today, the artwork is in Gdańsk, Poland.
One of Europe’s biggest heists occurred in 1855 when thieves stole 200 pounds of gold headed for Paris. They swapped the gold with lead to avoid suspicion. However, they were eventually caught when one of their own, Edward Agar, confessed after being arrested for another crime.
In 1971, the Baker Street robbery in London saw a gang tunnel into a bank vault and steal from 268 safety deposit boxes. Theories suggest they might have been hired by the UK’s MI5 for a secret mission!
In 2008, gunmen dressed in wigs and high heels raided the Harry Winston jewelry store in Paris, stealing $90 million in jewels. Some of these jewels were later found in a drain in a Paris suburb.
In 2015, the Hatton Garden Safe Deposit Company in London was robbed of $21 million in cash and jewels. The thieves were mostly older career criminals, with the ringleader being 76-year-old Brian Reader.
In 2018, thieves in Sweden stole royal jewels from Strängnäs Cathedral. They escaped by speedboat, but the jewels were recovered months later.
In Russia, villagers dismantled an entire abandoned church, selling it brick by brick. Meanwhile, in Wisconsin, cheese thefts became a big deal, with $90,000 worth of parmesan stolen in 2016.
Food heists aren’t limited to cheese. In 2005, $100,000 worth of black truffles were stolen in France. The thieves used night vision goggles and rope ladders to pull off this sophisticated heist.
In 2018, over $40,000 worth of insects and lizards were stolen from the Philadelphia Insectarium. The evidence suggested it was an inside job.
Even bees aren’t safe from theft. In 2017, hundreds of hives were stolen in California, leading to the arrest of a suspect with 2,500 stolen hives worth $875,000.
And who could forget the Beanie Baby craze of the ’90s? In 1997, a man was caught with 1,247 stolen Beanie Babies, but he was found not guilty in court.
Thanks for joining us on this journey through history’s most unusual heists. Don’t forget to subscribe to Mental Floss for more fascinating stories!
Choose one of the heists mentioned in the article or another historical heist that interests you. Research the details of the event, including the people involved, the items stolen, and the outcome. Prepare a short presentation to share your findings with the class. Focus on what made the heist unusual or significant in history.
Imagine you are a mastermind planning a heist. Write a short story detailing your plan, the target, and the outcome. Use creative elements to make your story engaging, and consider including unexpected twists or challenges. Share your story with a partner and discuss what makes a heist successful or unsuccessful.
Work in small groups to design a board game based on the concept of historical heists. Include elements such as planning, execution, and escape. Think about how players can strategize to successfully complete their heists. Once your game is ready, play it with your classmates and see who can pull off the most daring heist!
Participate in a class debate on whether heists are portrayed as glamorous or dangerous in media and history. Prepare arguments for both sides, considering the risks and rewards involved in heists. Discuss how media representation can influence public perception of criminal activities.
Watch a film that features a heist, such as “Ocean’s Eleven” or “The Italian Job.” Analyze the film’s portrayal of the heist, focusing on the planning, execution, and characters involved. Write a review discussing how realistic the heist is and what elements were exaggerated for entertainment purposes.
Here’s a sanitized version of the provided YouTube transcript:
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Did you know that in August 2017, thieves in the town of Neustadt, Germany, stole a refrigerated truck filled with up to 20 tons of Nutella and Kinder chocolate eggs? The sugary haul had an estimated worth of around $80,000, leading law enforcement in Germany to warn citizens that anyone offered large quantities of chocolate via unconventional channels should report it to the police immediately. Though that’s the kind of sage advice you should probably always follow.
Mysteriously, a separate trailer filled with 30 tons of fruit juice was stolen that same weekend in the town of Wittenberg, around 260 miles northeast of the missing hazelnut spread. Maybe it was an organized crime ring, maybe it was an astonishing coincidence, or perhaps some lone thief just needed some comfort food after a really bad breakup.
I’m Erin McCarthy, editor-in-chief of Mental Floss, and welcome to the List Show. Not all heists are designed to spike your blood sugar. From infamous art thefts to a string of high-dollar cheese robberies, we’re highlighting all sorts of off-the-wall historical heists. Let’s get started!
Jesse James is one of the most notorious criminals in American history, and though he was never officially linked to the crime, it’s believed that James, or at least members of his gang, perpetrated what is considered the country’s first documented peacetime daylight bank robbery on February 13, 1866, at the Clay County Savings Association in Liberty, Missouri. That day, a group of 10 to 13 men dressed as Union officials held the bank up for $60,000 in bonds, cash, and gold. If James was involved, it would have been the first of an estimated 19 robberies he took part in in the years after the Civil War.
The U.S.’s expanding train system brought heists to the rails, and James again was an early adopter, staging one of his most infamous robberies on July 21, 1873, outside of Adair, Iowa. Though the robbery made headlines and added to the famed criminal’s mystique, the actual haul was far less than the crew had hoped. The $75,000 worth of gold bullion they were after wound up on another train, forcing the gang to settle for just $2,000 in a safe and $1,000 from the passengers themselves.
There was another criminal out there who was even more prolific than James, but chances are you’ve never heard of him. His name was George Leslie, an architect turned criminal. Police estimated his gang was responsible for 80% of the bank robberies in the U.S. from 1869 to 1878. His jobs included a $786,000 heist from Ocean National Bank in 1869 and a $1.6 million haul from Northampton Bank in Massachusetts in 1876.
Those would pale in comparison to the famous robbery of the Manhattan Savings Institution in October 1878. This was a crime that Leslie planned for more than three years, meticulously studying the building and drawing his own blueprints to ensure a foolproof plan. Unfortunately, he wouldn’t be around to pull it off. Though never confirmed, it’s believed Leslie was killed before the robbery by one of his own men, Tom Draper, after Draper discovered Leslie was having an affair with his wife. Even with the brains of the operation dead, the crime went off without a hitch, and the robbers made off with around $2.7 million—a record at the time.
Banks and trains are typical heist targets, but hotels can be just as attractive for thieves. On January 2, 1972, a team including professional crooks Bobby Comfort and Sammy Nallo, disguised with fake beards and glasses, took the staff of the Pierre Hotel in Manhattan hostage and rifled through the building’s safe deposit boxes, making off with around $3 million worth of stolen jewelry and cash. It wasn’t all bad news for the hotel workers; as the thieves departed, they gave each of the hostages $20, which was apparently enough hush money for those on Pierre’s payroll.
Outlaws and mobsters may get the celebrity treatment in America, but heists have been going down all over the globe for centuries. In 1473, the first known art heist occurred when pirates seized Hans Memling’s “The Last Judgment” as it was traveling from Belgium to Florence. Today, the triptych still resides in Gdańsk, Poland, much to Italy’s chagrin.
One of the biggest heists in European history came in May of 1855 when thieves made off with 200 pounds of gold that was headed for Paris. Based on gold’s value at the time, but adjusting for inflation, that’s equivalent to a roughly $1.5 million score. The crooks avoided suspicion by swapping the gold in the safes for lead. Eventually, though, the crew was betrayed by one of their own, a man named Edward Agar. After he was arrested for an unrelated crime, Agar informed authorities about the robbery.
European heists only got more brazen in the 20th century, and one of the most fascinating has to be the Baker Street robbery from September 1971. A four-man gang lifted 268 safety deposit boxes at Lloyd’s Bank in London, worth around $9 million today. You don’t get a haul like this by walking through the bank’s front door. This robbery was the result of a unique inside job. In the weeks leading up to the crime, the gang rented a leather shop located two doors down from the bank. Then, over the course of three weekends, they tunneled from the store to the underbelly of the bank vault and blew their way through the floor.
Numerous conspiracy theories continue to muddy the details of this heist, including one that claims the thieves were actually hired by the UK’s MI5 to retrieve scandalous photos of Princess Margaret that were hidden in one of the safe deposit boxes.
In December 2008, a group of gunmen raided the Harry Winston jewelry store in Paris, making off with $90 million worth of jewels. The kicker here is that some of the men pulled off the entire heist while decked out in women’s wigs and high heels, with one of them waving around a hand grenade. In 2011, $20 million worth of the jewels were found in a drain in a Paris suburb, and in 2015, eight men involved in this theft and an earlier Harry Winston robbery were convicted.
In April 2015, London was again the site of a heist for the history books. This time, the target was the Hatton Garden Safe Deposit Company, where an estimated £13.7 million, or around $21 million, in cash and jewels was looted, making it the largest burglary in English legal history, according to the court. But this was no group of young savvy crooks; most of the men were career criminals well into their 60s and 70s. The ringleader was then 76-year-old Brian Reader, who, while it was never proven, was heavily rumored to be part of the Baker Street robbery.
In 2018, thieves in Sweden smashed the displays of royal jewels at Strängnäs Cathedral, west of Stockholm, in broad daylight. They got away with two crowns and a golden orb that date back to Swedish monarchs Carl IX and Queen Christina from the 17th century. With their loot in hand, the crew made their way to a waiting speedboat and escaped. Luckily, this case had a happy ending; in February 2019, the jewels valued at more than $7 million were recovered on top of a garbage can outside of Stockholm.
In 2008, villagers from Kamarovo, Russia, stole a church—like a whole church. It was abandoned at the time, so the villagers decided to take part in a unique side hustle by selling the house of worship to a businessman to the tune of one ruble per brick. It doesn’t appear the plan involved rebuilding the entire church in a new location, although that would make for a more fun story. Instead, it seems likely that the bricks were to be reused for other building projects.
Stealing an entire church is the highest form of blasphemy for some. For others, this next crime is nothing short of sacrilege. In 2016, Wisconsin was hit with three high-profile cheese heists, ranging from $46,000 to $90,000 worth of stolen fromage. That $90,000 haul was composed entirely of parmesan.
Selling food on the black market doesn’t stop at back-alley cheese. One of the most decadent targets for culinary-minded criminals is truffles. In 2005, $100,000 worth of black truffles were stolen from a warehouse in Provence, France, in the dead of night. It was a sophisticated operation, and not just because their target was an ingredient that can be found in Michelin-starred restaurants. The crooks traveled by rooftop using rope ladders and night vision goggles to slink into the warehouse and access the refrigerator where the truffles were kept.
Food thieves are definitely thinking outside the box, but there was an even more audacious theft in August 2018. This one involved more than $40,000 worth of insects and lizards that were taken from the Philadelphia Insectarium and Butterfly Pavilion. It’s estimated that 70,000 animals were taken in the robbery, including roaches, tarantulas, and leopard geckos, all of which were likely heading to the resale market. When police arrived at the scene, electric blue staff uniforms were found hanging from a wall, held in place by knives. This rather strange piece of evidence signaled to police that the theft may have been an inside job.
Bees can command quite a bit of criminal attention too. In January 2017, hundreds of hives were stolen from a beekeeper just north of Sacramento, California. This is an area flush with almond trees that need to be pollinated, and anyone with a whole bunch of bees can charge top dollar for that service. Eventually, this case led police to a suspect named Pavel Veretzenov, who was in possession of 2,500 allegedly stolen hives taken from throughout the area, worth an estimated $875,000.
Then there was the great Beanie Baby heist of the ’90s—well, one of the great Beanie Baby heists, anyway. The colorful stuffed animals were the subject of countless robberies over the years as people began believing rumors that they could pay off their student loans by selling them on the secondhand market. In 1997, 77-year-old Ben Perry of Glendale Heights, Illinois, thought he had struck plush gold until he was caught with 1,247 Beanie Babies that were thought to be part of a lot of 60,000 that went missing from manufacturer Ty’s warehouse. The haul was an estimated $300,000, but when Perry went to court, he was found not guilty. There was no proof that he knowingly possessed stolen property, and for his part, he claimed he bought them all at a flea market.
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This version removes any potentially sensitive or inappropriate content while maintaining the essence of the original transcript.
Heists – Heists refer to large-scale robberies or thefts, often involving careful planning and execution. – The Great Train Robbery of 1963 is one of the most famous heists in British history.
History – History is the study of past events, particularly in human affairs. – Understanding history helps us learn from past mistakes and shape a better future.
Robbery – Robbery is the crime of taking or attempting to take something of value by force or threat of force. – The notorious bank robbery in 1876 was led by the infamous outlaw Jesse James.
Criminals – Criminals are individuals who commit acts that are against the law. – During the Prohibition era, criminals like Al Capone became infamous for their illegal activities.
Thefts – Thefts refer to the act of stealing, especially secretly or without open force. – The museum increased its security after a series of art thefts shocked the city.
Jewels – Jewels are precious stones or pieces of jewelry, often associated with wealth and status. – The Crown Jewels of England are kept under tight security due to their historical significance and value.
Art – Art refers to various creative expressions, including paintings, sculptures, and other visual works. – The art of the Renaissance period reflects the cultural rebirth and intellectual awakening of Europe.
Gold – Gold is a precious metal that has been used historically as a symbol of wealth and power. – The discovery of gold in California in 1848 led to the famous Gold Rush, attracting thousands of prospectors.
Bank – A bank is a financial institution that accepts deposits, offers loans, and provides other financial services. – The establishment of the Bank of England in 1694 marked a significant development in the history of modern banking.
Theft – Theft is the act of stealing; the wrongful taking of someone else’s property. – The theft of the Mona Lisa in 1911 was a major event that shocked the art world.
