Pokémon cards were used to find a mad bomber that set off a number of explosions in public. Not in a million years did anyone think that these collectibles would have any actual use, let alone solving a serious crime.
The aforementioned bomber had been terrorising a neighbourhood for weeks and policemen had a hard time pinning down a suspect. However, according to Fox News, one of the craters caused by the explosion had a number of collectibles inside them. Soon, police were able to narrow down suspects thanks to recent burglaries of these items.
In the end, the police were able to catch 34-year-old Jeremiah E. Burnette who confessed to his crimes. While he didn’t give a reason why, the confession was enough to get him off the streets, making the area a little bit safer. Funnily enough, even more Pokémon cards were found on his home.
Knowing that these pieces of paper have been part of numerous crimes is kind of baffling. We’ve seen a good number of convoluted schemes just so people can sell these cards for money. The fact that collectors tend to obsess over said pieces of paper is probably why these crimes were made in the first place.
Collectors have been a true menace when it comes to these collectibles. Many will remember how McDonald’s had these cards for children’s meals and it led to them being sold out quickly. Adults ended up ruining this giveaway, as kids were barely able to get any of these trading cards.
Stores in Japan realized how bad things were, to the point that one shop made a section exclusive for teenagers. Having to ban adults from buying these cards shows just how dire this obsession got with fans. Investing in hobbies is one thing but getting everything for the sake of collecting is a whole other thing.
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Despite all of this, Pokémon cards will continue to play a big part in fandom, whether we like it or not.