Like Snowflakes, No Two Are Alike

“Got a photo ID?” It’s a question that can ruin your day, if you’re an underage barhopper or a would-be juvenile cigarette purchaser. But the photo ID has taken on new meaning for a couple of 15-year-old Austrian youths. The two vandals broke into Linz High School and caused more than $10,000 worth of damage.

Threats against teachers were scrawled across walls, holes drilled in floors, ketchup smeared on desks, gym equipment destroyed and windows smashed. Finally, they fired up the Xerox machine and, well, you guessed it, they photocopied their bottoms and left the pictures in the staff room for all to behold. And this was their undoing.

No, the cops didn’t round up a bunch of suspects and photocopy their butts for comparison. It turned out to be much easier. As the Austrian version of Inspector Clouseau, Helmut Palfi noted, "By enlarging the pictures we were able to make out part of their faces in the background. Their headmaster immediately recognised them as two 15-year-old pupils at the school."

Major bummer! Didn't Mom always tell you to aim?