> This was in nice suburb in New Zealand, so it was a bit of a surprise.

A friend had her ancient Toyota’s back window smashed in and they stole an old dirty blanket lying on the back seat that they could have gotten for free from any number of places (clean and in better condition)

In a warm climate New Zealand suburb.

My takeaway at the time was that a subset of thieves will steal anything, with zero rational basis and no regard for consequences.

A paper bag would be just as enticing.

My guess, from experience: they assumed the blanket was hiding something of value underneath it.

One thing I learned living in a dangerous area was that you should keep zero visible things inside your car when it's parked, otherwise someone will smash the window. :(