“It was so cold that pickpockets were sticking hands in strangers’ pockets to keep them warm”

“It was so cold pickpockets were sticking their hands in strangers’ pockets just to keep them warm!” is a one-line saying about extremely cold weather that has been cited in print since at least 2004. The one-liner is frequently included with other “so cold” jokes.
     
   
14 January 2004, The Kent Island Bay Times (Stevensville, MD), “Two Cents Worth: How cold was it?” by Bill Evans, pg. 6, col. 5:
It was so cold pickpockets were sticking their hands in strangers’ pockets just to keep them warm!
 
Early-Retirement
Re: 55 Degrees Bad For House?
MasterBlaster
02-20-2006, 03:25 PM
(...)
It was so cold . . .
pickpockets were sticking their hands in strangers’ pockets just to keep them warm! 
 
Google Groups: alt.jokes
So Cold Jokes
John
1/16/07
It’s soooo cold…
(...)
pickpockets are sticking their hands in strangers’ pockets just to keep them warm!
         
South Marion Citizen (Dunnellon, FL)
Some of my best friends are (snow) flakes
By Dick Frank
Thursday, December 18, 2008 at 7:00 pm
(...)
Pickpockets were sticking their hands in strangers’ pockets just to keep them warm.
 
Twitter
nonamedufus‏
@nonamedufus
It was so cold . . .
pickpockets were sticking their hands in strangers’ pockets just to keep them warm!
5:53 AM - 15 Jan 2009
 
Google Groups: alt.callahans
Recycled Humor - it’s so cold that….
PhoenixWench
2/20/09
IT WAS SO COLD THAT…..
(...)
7. Pickpockets were sticking their hands in strangers pockets just to keep them warm!
       
Facebook
It was so cold…(Part 1)
August 11, 2010 at 12:39am
(...)
It was so cold… pickpockets were sticking their hands in strangers’ pockets just to keep them warm!
 
Eyewitness News—WABC-TV (New York, NY)
‘It’s so cold that…’: Jokes to keep you warm in a polar vortex
ABC
January 8, 2014 3:56:24 AM PST
(...)
It’s so cold that…
(...)
”...pickpockets are sticking their hands in strangers’ pockets just to keep them warm.”
 
Twitter
Jaeden Genesee‏
@Safari_Street
It’s so cold pickpockets were sticking their hands in strangers’ pockets *just* to keep them warm!
9:47 PM - 27 Dec 2017