In 2007, German police had a real humdinger on their hands: A woman was tear-assing around the southern town of Heilbronn like a sophomore on spring break – only instead of flashing her boobs and getting hammered, she was robbing shit, breaking into places, and murdering people. The case of the “Phantom of Heilbronn” had DNA linking her to over 40 different crimes; some from as far back as 1993. But other than her admirable work ethic, officials didn’t know much about her. The police put a half-million dollar reward on her head, brought in criminal profilers from all over Europe and TNT, and even consulted psychics, which is good way of saying “we don’t know what the fuck to do now.”
But then, right when all hope seemed lost, the culprit was finally found: the DNA belonged to a woman in Austria who worked at a factory that made swabs. The swabs were sterilized before packaging, which killed bacteria, viruses, and fungi … but not DNA, which is why the company that made them had not certified them for taking DNA samples.
The 6 Most Ridiculous F***-Ups In The History Of Science