TwistedSifter

Ninja Rocks are cost-effective, easy to obtain, and extremely effective tools for burglars looking to steal any property protected by tempered glass. The most common targets are car windows (less the windshield), which are tempered because if broken, the glass will shatter into small fragments instead of sharp shards that can cause serious bodily harm.

So what exactly are Ninja Rocks? They are small pieces of the ceramic insulator found in a spark plug. Spark plug ceramic is technically aluminium oxide ceramic and is designed to withstand 650° Celsius and 60,000 Volts. Yes, using a car part to break into a car is rather ingenious (and slightly humourous), but the ease of access and effectiveness of such a small tool is quite concerning.

The science behind why these are so effective tends to be under some debate. Many attribute the effectiveness of Ninja Rocks to their hardness, which can be measured on the Mohs scale. On this scale, aluminium oxide ceramic rates a 9, while diamonds are a 10 and glass is 6.5. People have also mentioned the size, as it is a concentrated force with a sharp edge, whereas a brick has a wide surface area and it’s impact is dispersed.

Regardless of the scientific reason, it works, and is a common enough occurrence that the state of California passed the law below:

In California as of 2003, ninja rocks are explicitly listed as burglary tools, and their possession with intent to burglarize is a misdemeanor punishable by up to six months in county jail and/or a fine of up to $1000. Legal records do not use the phrase “ninja rocks”, preferring more precise phrases such as “ceramic or porcelain spark plug chips or pieces”.

All this verbiage is nice, but who needs to see it to believe it?

The lesson from all of this? Hide your valuables. If anything of value is visible, there may be a ninja lurking. And his name may be Tyrone Biggums.

Sources:
- Wikipedia article on Ninja Rocks
- Wikipedia article on tempered glass
- Wikipedia article on spark plugs
- Wikipedia article on Mohs scale
- Article from Ride Lust on Ninja Rocks