Search This Blog

Wednesday 8 February 2012

Bandit

An outlaw or bandit is a person who is "outside the law" usually because they have committed serious crimes. Banditry is a type of organized crime committed by outlaws typically involving the threat or use of violence. 

Chang Hsien-chung, a Chinese bandit, is credited with having killed 40 million people between 1643 and 1648. He completely wiped out the population of the Szechwan province.

The term "Riding shotgun" was used to describe the guard who rode alongside a stagecoach driver, ready to use his shotgun to ward off bandits. 

Born in 1855 and the son of a convicted thief, Ned Kelly was a bandit who ranged the countryside between Beechworth and Benalla in Victoria, Australia. He robbed at least two banks, held townspeople hostage and was responsible (together with his gang) for the deaths of policemen in gun battles. It took 57 police officers to capture Kelly in 1880. He was later hanged on November 11, 1880, his last words being "such is life."

Ned Kelly on the day before his execution

The first plane hijack occurred in 1948 when a Cathay Pacific flying boat was seized by Chinese bandits.

Slot machines are also known as one-armed bandits. This was because slot machines were originally operated by an arm or lever on the side of the machine and they often left the player feeling like they'd been robbed. 

No comments:

Post a Comment