scrap fever
n.— «A fence was cannibalized by vandals at Ravine pool, and the pump room at Collins Pool—which the city will not open this year but could have used for parts—was stripped of metal.…Scrap fever, as it is sometimes called, has also spurred a crime wave hitting homes, schools, construction sites, and even churches in the Toledo area.» —“Metal thieves target 2 city pools; talk of early opening ends” by Ignazio Messina Toledo Blade (Ohio) June 10, 2008. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
If something pales in comparison to something else, the reference is to its intensity decreasing next to something even brighter. The pale in this case is unrelated to the one in beyond the pale, which has to do with territory marked by a literal...
Nikki in Charlotte, North Carolina, shares the story of a man who casually told passersby You dropped your pocket, prompting them to check for something that wasn’t there in the first place. That silly saying reminds her of playing pool and trying...