In 1996, Ethan Hunt stitched together an elaborate plan full of exceptional gadgets to break into the CIA headquarters and steal the NOC agents’ list in Mission Impossible. But in the real world, just a few months before the film’s release, McArthur Wheeler stepped into two banks after applying lemon juice on his face to become invisible and smiled at all the security cameras.
I know what’s your first question — is McArthur Wheeler real or did I just cook a flop plot for Goonies 2?
It’s true — on Jan. 6, 1995, Wheeler and another buddy of his, Clifton Earl Johnson, put their overheated brains together and reached the conclusion that if lemon juice can work as invisible ink, putting it on their faces must make them invisible to security cameras. With unshakeable belief in their theory, the duo would march into two banks – Mellon Bank and Fidelity Savings Bank in Pittsburgh, without disguising or covering their faces, and rob the establishments at gunpoint.
So, second question — even if the two were dumb enough to believe that, shouldn’t they have tested their great scientific theory in advance?
Oh, they did, At least, Wheeler did after Johnson told him his hare-brained idea. Wheeler applied lemon juice to his face, pointed a Polaroid camera at himself, snapped a picture, and… found he was missing from the picture. No need for that silent “Whoa!” since – spoiler alert – their faces were very much visible in the security cameras at the banks.
Then what happened with the picture Wheeler clicked? Well, detectives believe it was bad film or he didn’t adjust the camera right. Well, we could have cooked up an infinite number of theories here if the robberies had been successful — they weren’t. But at least, Wheeler and Johnson will forever retain the title of being the Dumbest Thieves Ever in history.
What happened to McArthur Wheeler and Clifton Johnson?
No, zero points for guessing their eventual fate. The two were arrested within days of the two robberies after a surveillance picture of Wheeler was broadcast. His reaction when he saw his very lemon-y but still very much visible face in the pictures?
“But I wore the lemon juice. I wore the lemon juice.”
Johnson got a five-year sentence after he pleaded guilty and testified against Wheeler. As for Wheeler, he was sentenced to 24+1⁄2 years in prison, plus three years of probation. Their combined stupidity and more importantly, the confidence they had in their nonexistent brain cells led to the formulation of the Dunning-Kreuger Effect Theory, which states (via New York Times):
“When people are incompetent in the strategies they adopt to achieve success and satisfaction, they suffer a dual burden: Not only do they reach erroneous conclusions and make unfortunate choices, but their incompetence robs them of the ability to realize it. Instead, like Mr. Wheeler, they are left with the mistaken impression that they are doing just fine.”
Nice and rather academic way of further establishing that Wheeler and Johnson jointly redefined boneheadedness. Anyway, their current whereabouts are not known, but if they are still alive, Clifton was released sometime in 2000 and Wheeler’s prison sentence is over as well. Though the tough punishment for their crime was probably lesson enough, keep your eyes and ears peeled in case they decide to dunk themselves in lemon juice a second time.
Was the robber who put lemon juice on his face and thought he was invisible ever caught?
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