Six of the Craziest Things Found in Shipping Containers

People ship all sorts of unique and bizarre things in shipping containers. Sometimes the storage containers get lost or abandoned, leaving others to discover what was left behind. Here are the 6 of the craziest things found in shipping containers.

1. James Bond’s Car

In 1989 a contractor bought a shipping container for $100 and found the amphibious Lotus Esprit of James Bond’s in “The Spy Who Loved Me” inside. The car does not drive on the streets, but it is said that its submarine capabilities are fully functional.

“They really didn’t know what it was at first,” said Doug Redenius, co-founder of the Ian Fleming Foundation, which authenticated the car.

The owner put the car up for auction in September 2013, and it was bought for nearly $1 million by Elon Musk.

2.  Bond-Style Weapons

In December of 2013, a major shipment of illegal weapons was found in Sydney, which contained tear gas disguised in a lipstick tube. The shipment also contained stun guns that were disguised as flashlights and iPhones. There were also pistols that were disguised to look like fake, plastic weapons, when in fact, they were the real deal. While the items themselves were disguised, the boxes had printed exactly what the weapons were on them. A woman was arrested in connection with this shipment.

3. A Stolen VW Bus

In July 1974 a VW Bus was stolen in Spokane, Washington. In 2009 it was found in a shipping container in Los Angeles that was bound for the Netherlands. A restorer in Arizona was shipping it to a customer; the restorer had purchased the bus innocently. Police could not find the thief, nor could they find the original owner.

4. An Underwater Reef

During a storm in 2004, the Med Taipei lost nine shipping containers. A few months later, one was found in Monterey Bay, CA that had contained 1,159 steel-belted tires when it fell overboard. When scientists explored it with an underwater robot, they found that it had become home to an entire ecosystem, an underwater reef. Now there is research being conducted about how this container has impacted marine life.

5. Mystery Radiation

At a port in Italy, safety tests were being conducted on some of the containers, when a container registered not just for radiation, but for the highest levels of radiation possible. This prompted authorities to open the container, and inside was just a small, harmless piece of copper. It is unknown what led to the crazy radiation measurements.

6. An Attempted Burglar

In 2011, Ronald Dennis decided to rob shipping containers and the areas are relatively private. His plan took a wrong turn quickly though when a security guard approached. The guard first tried to open the door the rest of the way, and when it would not budge, he decided to shut it instead, locking Dennis inside.

He was found the next morning after another security guard heard weird noises coming from inside the container and called the police. Dennis was arrested.

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