B-List

1. "Man robs doughnut business with laser"
   <http://www.nola.com/news/t-p/metro/index.ssf?/base/news-7/
       110637885390220.xml>
"The Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office was looking Friday for a man who
 held up a Metairie doughnut shop wearing a pillowcase with eyeholes cut
 out and armed with a laser pointer"

2. "Robbery plan falls apart with gun"
   <http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200410/s1225289.htm>
"Two clumsy German thieves bungled their bank robbery after a customer
 caught up in the robbery yelled, 'it's a fake', when one of their guns
 fell apart after being dropped on the floor"

3. "Man tries to rob gun shop with toy pistol"  [expired link]
   <http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=oddlyEnoughNews
       &storyID=3047457>
"Armed with a toy pistol, a would-be robber picked himself an unlikely
 target in central Paris -- a gun shop. Staff at the Armurerie Gare de
 l'Est in the French capital immediately identified the weapon as
 harmless"

4. "Would-be robber points uncovered finger, not gun"  [expired link]
   <http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/2292664/detail.html>
"Man uses the old 'finger in pocket' trick during holdup, forgets the
 pocket part"

5. "Robbery suspect uses finger as gun, police say"
   <http://www.greenvilleonline.com/news/2004/02/03/2004020324026.htm>
"Greenville County Sheriff's deputies are looking for a man who tried
 robbing a West Parker Road liquor store with his pointed finger"

6. "Bandits rob stores with cup of coffee"
   <http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/WeirdNews/2003/09/24/201505-ap.html>
"A thief tossed piping hot coffee at cashiers working at three Grand
 Rapids stores robbed during a span of less than an hour, injuring at
 least one clerk"

7. "Thief with sticks tries to rob stores"
   <http://www.woai.com/news/local/story.aspx?content_id=FBCAE58D
       -EDA8-42A2-A4BD-BD18103841B4>
"Employees and customers at the store did not think the man was serious,
 so they laughed at him. The man then left, police said"

8. "Rusty pitchfork used by suspect in bank robbery"  [expired link]
   <http://www.wftv.com/news/3713173/detail.html>
"A robber who used a rusty pitchfork to stick up a bank got away -- and
 so far, finding him has been like looking for a needle in a haystack"

(a John West post)