Bicycles stolen every 71 seconds

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/6596559.stm

"A bicycle is stolen every 71 seconds in England..."

I guess the owner is getting pretty fed up by now :-)

--
Paul Boyd
http://www.paul-boyd.co.uk/

In article , Paul Boyd wrote:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/6596559.stm

"A bicycle is stolen every 71 seconds in England..."
I guess the owner is getting pretty fed up by now :-)

If we're going to be pedantic, if it was really the same bicycle the
rightful owner would have had it stolen only once, and all the others
wouldn't be that upset since they had just stolen it themselves.
And if we're not going to be pedantic, you know what they really meant.

On 27 Apr 2007 11:08:23 +0100 (BST), (Alan
Braggins) wrote:

In article , Paul Boyd wrote:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/6596559.stm

"A bicycle is stolen every 71 seconds in England..."
I guess the owner is getting pretty fed up by now :-)

If we're going to be pedantic, if it was really the same bicycle the
rightful owner would have had it stolen only once, and all the others
wouldn't be that upset since they had just stolen it themselves.
And if we're not going to be pedantic, you know what they really meant.

I see the sense of humour bypass has taken nicely, Alan.

Of course, the original owner could *easily* have snatched it back from
the thief well within the alloted 71 seconds thus having it ready for
the next thief (or the same one having another go).

On 27 Apr, 08:52, Paul Boyd usenet.dont.work@plusnet wrote:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/6596559.stm
"A bicycle is stolen every 71 seconds in England..."

I wonder where they all go? Is there that much market in 2nd hand
bikes, do they all end up in a ditch when the thief can't flog it?

Alan Braggins said the following on 27/04/2007 11:08:

If we're going to be pedantic, if it was really the same bicycle the
rightful owner would have had it stolen only once, and all the others
wouldn't be that upset since they had just stolen it themselves.
And if we're not going to be pedantic, you know what they really meant.

There was a smiley at the end. This indicates an attempt at humour. I
didn't actually really believe that it was the same bike being stolen
every 71 seconds.

Sheesh!

--
Paul Boyd
http://www.paul-boyd.co.uk/

On 27 Apr 2007 03:29:45 -0700, POHB wrote:
On 27 Apr, 08:52, Paul Boyd usenet.dont.work@plusnet wrote:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/6596559.stm
"A bicycle is stolen every 71 seconds in England..."

I wonder where they all go? Is there that much market in 2nd hand
bikes, do they all end up in a ditch when the thief can't flog it?

Indeed - it is over 440,000 bikes a year - just for England. Surely
they all can't be sold can they? Who is buying them?

--
Andy Leighton =
"The Lord is my shepherd, but we still lost the sheep dog trials"
- Robert Rankin, _They Came And Ate Us_

Paul Boyd wrote on 27/04/2007 08:52 +0100:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/6596559.stm

"A bicycle is stolen every 71 seconds in England..."

I guess the owner is getting pretty fed up by now :-)


Bit like the old joke of put ten antique dealers and an antique chest on
a desert island and they will all make money ;-)

--
Tony

"The most savage controversies are those about matters as to which there
is no good evidence either way."
- Bertrand Russell

POHB wrote on 27/04/2007 11:29 +0100:
On 27 Apr, 08:52, Paul Boyd usenet.dont.work@plusnet wrote:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/6596559.stm
"A bicycle is stolen every 71 seconds in England..."

I wonder where they all go? Is there that much market in 2nd hand
bikes, do they all end up in a ditch when the thief can't flog it?


I read an interesting report on an investigation into stolen computers
about ten years ago. They traced the chain after they were stolen and
found the thief would pass it on for about £50 and it then went through
a whole load of hands, each adding a mark up, until they ended up in
dodgy shops where they were being sold for more than you could buy the
same item in PC World!

--
Tony

"The most savage controversies are those about matters as to which there
is no good evidence either way."
- Bertrand Russell

On Apr 27, 3:52 am, Paul Boyd usenet.dont.work@plusnet wrote:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/6596559.stm

"A bicycle is stolen every 71 seconds in England..."

I guess the owner is getting pretty fed up by now :-)

--
Paul Boydhttp://www.paul-boyd.co.uk/

Kudos to the police. Finding and returning a bike in under 71 seconds
is remarkably fast work
John Kane, Kingston ON Canada

On Apr 27, 6:54 am, Andy Leighton wrote:
On 27 Apr 2007 03:29:45 -0700, POHB wrote:

On 27 Apr, 08:52, Paul Boyd usenet.dont.work@plusnet wrote:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/6596559.stm
"A bicycle is stolen every 71 seconds in England..."

I wonder where they all go? Is there that much market in 2nd hand
bikes, do they all end up in a ditch when the thief can't flog it?

Indeed - it is over 440,000 bikes a year - just for England. Surely
they all can't be sold can they? Who is buying them?

It does make one wonder. Of course a lot of reporters are innumerate
so the number may be wrong. My favourite was a newpaper report about
local citizens in Vancouver BC picking up salt (for dealing with icy
roads and sidewalks) from the municipal depot. According to the
report each car was leaving with a a bit over a ton of salt. I guess
those SUV's are useful after all.
John Kane, Kingston ON Canada