“I was at a climbing center the other day, but someone had stolen all the grips from the wall. Honestly, you couldn’t make it up”

“You can’t make it up!” usually isn’t taken literally, but there are climbing wall jokes.
 
“I was at a climbing center the other day, but someone had stolen all the grips from the wall; honestly, you couldn’t make it up” was posted on Facebook by Dave Edwards on March 11, 2017, but authorship of the joke is unknown.  “Climbing wall grips stolen from the gym. You just can’t make it up!” (shown on a sign) was posted on Facebook by Vince the Sign Guy on July 12, 2025.
 
 
Facebook
Jonathan Powers updated his status.
February 22, 2017 at 11:41 AM ·
I went to a climbing center the other day, and believe it or not,  someone had stolen all the grips from the wall. Seriously, I couldn’t make it up.
     
Facebook
Dave Edwards
March 11, 2017 at 2:26 AM ·
I was at a climbing center the other day, but someone had stolen all the grips from the wall; honestly, you couldn’t make it up.
 
X/Twitter
Joanna Ryde🍹
@JoannaRyde
I was at a climbing centre today, but someone had stolen all the grips from the wall; honestly, you couldn’t make it up.
11:00 AM · Apr 23, 2017
 
X/Twitter
TZU.
@TZUYUOIR
@OIRLJN I was at a climbing center the other day, but someone had stolen all the grips from the wall; honestly, you couldn’t make it up.
9:22 AM · Mar 21, 2018
 
X/Twitter
Tony Blackburn OBE.
@tonyblackburn
I was at a climbing center the other day and someone had stolen all the grips from the wall…...really you couldn’t make it up.
1:15 PM · Apr 18, 2018
 
X/Twitter
Murphy #StopHate
@murfinsurfin
Our indoor climbing centre had all the wall grips stolen.
You just can’t make it up.
5:20 AM · Aug 22, 2018
 
X/Twitter
Meeeeee
@DonnaDlm71
Breaking news from my local indoor climbing centre.
Thieves have broken in and stolen all the hand and foot grips from the climbing wall.
You just cant make it up!
3:13 PM · Feb 15, 2019
   
Bluesky
Coladash
‪@coladash.bsky.social‬
I was at the climbing centre the other day but someone had stolen all the grips from the wall. Honestly, you couldn’t make it up…
March 2, 2025 at 6:43 AM
 
Facebook
Vince the Sign Guy
July 12, 2025 at 1:22 PM ·
Thanks to our next contest winner - Mel N!
(The following text is shown on a sign.—ed.)
CLIMBING WALL
GRIPS STOLEN
FROM THE GYM
YOU JUST CAN’T
MAKE IT UP!