Tim Worstall

Yes, I like this, I do.

An empty space marks the spot where, until earlier this month, the gilded bronze sculpture graced the facade of the cookie baker’s Hanover office.

The symbol has disappeared and according to a ransom note sent to a German newspaper, the sign won’t be returned until Bahlsen supplies cookies to all the rooms at a local children’s hospital.

“I have the cookie! And you want it,” the letter read, according to the Hannoversche Allgemeine Zeitung (HAZ) newspaper.

The letter – comprised in the traditional ransom note style of newspaper cuttings – is said to be signed by a “Cookie Monster”.

The individual wants Bahlsen to supply the hospital with its Leibniz biscuits, preferably the whole milk variety.

Accompanying the note is a photo of someone wearing a Sesame Street-style costume and snaffling what appears to be the golden cookie.

Yes, I’m sure it is indeed a crime, it’s both theft and blackmail for example.

But rather brightens the day the story, no?

And isn’t it unusual to find a German joke that’s not about farts or arses?