There's No Place Like Home...

[Judge]

Remember those ruby slippers of Dorothy Gale that were stolen some 13 years ago?

Apparently they've been found and are coming home.

Stolen Wizard of Oz ruby slippers recovered after 13-year search

 

[Pats]

Were they stolen for real?

 

[Judge]

Were they stolen for real?

Stolen in the middle of the night, August 2005 from the Judy Garland Museum in Grand Rapids, Minnesota.

Even the Mona Lisa was stolen from the Louvre and missing for a few years. And of course, there's Munch's painting "The Scream" that was stolen- and recovered.

But I suppose the most bizarre theft of all time might have been the near-theft of the corpse of Abraham Lincoln. Intended to be held for ransom.

Things with great value. It happens.

 

[clg114]

It is looking like they never left Minnesota. You would think that something of that magnitude and rarity would be found NYC or LA. Maybe even somewhere in Europe.

 

[Judge]

It is looking like they never left Minnesota. You would think that something of that magnitude and rarity would be found NYC or LA. Maybe even somewhere in Europe.

Buy local. Steal local.

 

[WildCat]

Question is, do they still work as intended? You know...when you click those heels 3 times, do you go back home?

 

[Pats]

Question is, do they still work as intended? You know...when you click those heels 3 times, do you go back home?

apparently not or they would have returned themselves right away.

 

[Mr Allen]

No, they weren't pinched, they showed up on a recent UK Building Society advert.

 

[Judge]

No, they weren't pinched, they showed up on a recent UK Building Society advert.

Wrong. There were multiple pairs of ruby slippers made for the original production. Though the exact number seems to be in contention, four to six pairs.

This particular pair of ruby slippers (privately owned) was stolen and recovered by the FBI in a recent sting operation. Here's an account by the Smithsonian Institution, which also possesses one of the pairs of ruby slippers on display in the National Museum of American History.

After 13-Year Chase, F.B.I. Nabs Pair of Dorothy's Ruby Slippers | Smart News | Smithsonian

Exclusive preview: How Expedition Unknown's Josh Gates helped solve case of stolen ruby red slippers from The Wizard of Oz

Question is, do they still work as intended? You know...when you click those heels 3 times, do you go back home?

Egad, I had this image of Chumley from "Pawn Stars" trying them out and a house drops on him. Oops.

 

[Aeolienne]

Did you know that in L Frank Baum's original novel the shoes were silver? They were changed to ruby in the film to take advantage of new-fangled technicolour.