Stop! Thief! Trivia Quiz

Answer: Race horse

Shergar had won the English Derby by a record distance. It was stolen from a stud near the Curragh, Kildare in Ireland. A ransom for £1.5m. was received by a local radio station. Nothing was paid. The fate of the horse and the identity of the thief(s) remain a mystery to this day.

Answer: The English Crown Jewels

In 1671, Blood befriended Edwards, the keeper of the jewels. When he thought the time was right, Blood persuaded Edwards to show the jewels to some of his friends. Once in the Tower, however, Blood and his 'friends' attacked Edwards and stole the treasure.

They were caught at the Iron Gate and Blood was imprisoned. Blood was Irish and he definitely could blarney. He demanded to speak to the king, as he was the only one to ever steal the jewels. Then he talked the king into pardoning him and giving him a grant of land (500 acres) in Ireland.

Answer: London

England was hosting the Football World Cup, and the Jules Rimet Trophy made of solid gold, was on display in Westminister. One or more thieves made off with it. While out walking with his master, Pickles a mongrel dog, found it wrapped in newspaper under some bushes in London a week later.

Answer: Money

In 1953 he was working in the U.S. BEP (Bureau of Engraving & Printing), and worked out a plan to steal two stacks (called 'bricks') of newly printed notes. The total stolen was a mere $80,000, of which he managed to smuggle out $48,000. He was later caught and sentenced to 3-9 years in prison. He is the only person to successfully steal from the BEP.

Answer: Boston

At the Isabella Stewart Gardiner Museum works of art worth a total of US$392 million were stolen. Two thieves arrived dressed as policemen claiming to answer a disturbance call. They handcuffed the museum guards and made off with the art. Neither the paintings nor the thieves have been heard of since.

Answer: True

He was apparently alone in the room at the time and walked out with the famous painting (better known as the "Mona Lisa") under his smock. It was recovered two years later. During its absence thousands of French people queued to see the space where the painting had hung.

Answer: Violin

Erica Morini, at the time 91, was ill in hospital. She had been a world famous violinist. Her violin was called the Davidoff-Morini Stradivarius. It had been made in Italy in 1727 and at the time was worth $3.5m. It has not been recovered and is on the FBI's top ten art thefts.

Answer: The actor

He was always very well dressed and was a master of disguise. In the course of his career he posed as a guard, policeman, diplomat, messenger and window cleaner. He was allegedly once casing a bank for a robbery, and discovered he looked very like the manager.

He returned later when the real manager was out, walked in, went to the vault, took some cash and walked out. He did, however, spend half his adult life in prison.

Answer: Oslo

During the Winter Olympics thieves broke into the museum. They tripped an alarm, which the museum guards ignored. The thieves made off with "The Scream" and the "Madonna", two of Munch's most famous paintings. They left a note for the guards saying, "Thanks for the poor security." Two years later the paintings were recovered and three people were apprehended.

Answer: Information

They were apprehended at the Watergate complex in Washington DC, while attempting to plant phone taps and photograph documents.
Information for this quiz was got from BBC news; CNN news; the FBI "Wanted Art List" and as usual an internet trawl.