In my research on historical criminal cases, I occasionally come across curiosities that I have constantly collected and compiled. In this selection, various historical and entertaining bizarre things are to be brought back from oblivion. One is always amazed at how often lawbreakers through their own stupidity, their narcissism, their excessiveness of greed to enrich themselves, or very often only out of pure stinginess, but sometimes also out of necessity, shoot themselves in the foot and thus, in the truest sense of the word, put the noose around their necks with their own hands. Very often, the desire to harm other people - occasionally also the state or its institutions - also plays a role.

Many crimes would have remained unsolved and numerous evildoers - thanks to their mindlessness and simple-mindedness - would otherwise have never been caught. What luck for the police ...