October 23, 2012

Modern Day Pickpocket

Recently I was thinking about what "normal" people carry in our modern-day. Suppose someone "rolled" a person or picked their pocket, what can they find?

1) Aspirin
2) Backpack
3) Book (fiction)
4) Book (non-fiction)
5) Bottle opener
6) Camera
7) Candy
8) Cellphone
9) Change
10) Comb
11) Compact mirror
12) E-reader
13) Gun
14) Handkerchief
15) Headphones
16) Jewelry 
17) Keys
18) Laptop computer
19) Lighter
20) Lip balm
21) Music device 
22) Pack of chewing gum
23) Pen and paper
24) Penlight
25) Pocket knife
26) Snack bars
27) Sunglasses
28) Wallet w/cards
29) Watch
30) Whistle

2 comments:

Philo Pharynx said...

Except that this table downplays the skill set of the pickpocket. (which is a dying art, by the way)

Professional pickpockets select their marks carefully. They evaluate them and identify where the valuables are before they choose to take action.

They have a good idea of what they're going to get before they start the procedure.

thesethingsthatiwrite said...

Fun pick pocket trick that works with two people working together. First one walks up and bumps into victim, noticeably pats them down in a placatory manner, then walks away with nothing. Second pick pocket watches the whole thing from a distance, and pays close attention to which pockets the victim hurriedly checks still contain their valuables.