WEBVTT - How Safecracking Works 0:00:01.120 --> 0:00:03.400 Welcome to Stuff You Should Know, a production of My 0:00:03.600 --> 0:00:12.680 Heart Radios How Stuff Works. Hey, and welcome to the podcast. 0:00:12.800 --> 0:00:15.720 I'm Josh Clark, and there's Charles W. Chuck Bryan over there, 0:00:15.960 --> 0:00:21.319 and there's guest producer and Loll Loll today and this 0:00:21.360 --> 0:00:25.920 is Stuff you should Know. I over enunciated Lowell's name 0:00:25.960 --> 0:00:27.680 because I didn't want you to perk up and be 0:00:27.760 --> 0:00:31.080 like Noel. I wanted the people who who get perked 0:00:31.160 --> 0:00:34.680 up by Lowell to perk up. That's right, which is 0:00:34.720 --> 0:00:38.279 to say the whole world. And you know, I think 0:00:38.320 --> 0:00:41.240 about it. I think Lowe has said in once before. Yes, 0:00:43.320 --> 0:00:46.680 and did we record two episodes? I don't know, but 0:00:46.760 --> 0:00:49.080 Lowell even got a shout out at a live show, 0:00:50.040 --> 0:00:52.080 that's right, So we have released an episode with Lowell. 0:00:52.240 --> 0:00:54.600 So this isn't as far as everyone is concerned. Yeah, 0:00:54.640 --> 0:00:56.440 that's a I don't know if we ever told Lowell, 0:00:56.520 --> 0:00:58.920 but yes, he got a shout out. Did we ever 0:00:58.960 --> 0:01:03.520 tell you that lot? No, he's not answering. He knows 0:01:03.640 --> 0:01:06.520 what he's doing. Look at my thumb here and you'll 0:01:06.560 --> 0:01:11.559 notice that the double band aid I uh cut pretty 0:01:11.600 --> 0:01:14.720 deep into the tip of my thumb, slicing a bagel 0:01:15.680 --> 0:01:20.680 with the brand new sharp serrated knife. And uh, it's amazing, 0:01:20.840 --> 0:01:24.760 how like how much not having the use of a 0:01:24.800 --> 0:01:30.040 thumb takes out of your life? Yes, man, it's I'm like, 0:01:30.160 --> 0:01:33.240 I can't believe just because it really hurts, so I'm 0:01:33.280 --> 0:01:36.920 not using it, but everything from like unbuttoning my pants, 0:01:38.040 --> 0:01:43.000 two buttoning your pants, buttoning my pants. I'm like, man, 0:01:43.040 --> 0:01:46.400 I usually just pop it off with my left thumb um. 0:01:46.440 --> 0:01:48.480 But there's so many things that I'm not able to 0:01:48.520 --> 0:01:52.080 do or have a struggle to do. And trust me, 0:01:52.120 --> 0:01:55.920 I'm not complaining generally about this is an affliction in life, 0:01:57.120 --> 0:01:59.520 but just to point out, like the deal with like 0:01:59.680 --> 0:02:04.000 just one thumb, you really got to rethink some things. Yeah, 0:02:04.040 --> 0:02:05.960 it's crazy because you hear those things like you know, 0:02:06.040 --> 0:02:08.640 you you can't really walk if you're missing your peaky 0:02:08.680 --> 0:02:11.480 toe or your big toe or something like that. It's like, 0:02:12.240 --> 0:02:14.680 try me. That sounds like a wager to me. But 0:02:15.160 --> 0:02:17.520 when you when you injure yourself like that, you really 0:02:17.560 --> 0:02:19.720 find out just how true that kind of thing is, 0:02:19.800 --> 0:02:26.480 you know. Yeah, and especially of course texting has been maddening. Yes, 0:02:26.560 --> 0:02:29.680 to try in one thumb text you need to just 0:02:29.960 --> 0:02:33.440 now is the time to start using Sirie to text. Well, 0:02:33.560 --> 0:02:35.800 I have I don't use Siri, but whatever, the the 0:02:35.840 --> 0:02:38.800 little microphone button when I voice to text or whatever. 0:02:39.480 --> 0:02:42.800 Sure it works pretty good. Yeah, but you can do 0:02:43.360 --> 0:02:45.760 like you can just say series send a text. I 0:02:46.240 --> 0:02:48.519 haven't tried this myself, but you just say the text 0:02:48.520 --> 0:02:51.560 and then it sends a text text rather than a 0:02:51.600 --> 0:02:54.440 voice recording. Oh no, no, no it when I say 0:02:54.520 --> 0:02:56.760 voice to text, I mean I say it out loud 0:02:56.800 --> 0:02:59.440 and it makes it good to text. And you're using 0:02:59.440 --> 0:03:02.160 something other and Siri. Huh, Well I just hit the 0:03:02.160 --> 0:03:05.920 little microphone button. Huh. I gotta try that because I 0:03:05.919 --> 0:03:08.440 know the microphone button. Then you're speaking of well, there's two. 0:03:08.520 --> 0:03:11.480 There's one that where you're talking about where you can 0:03:11.560 --> 0:03:14.880 record a message. Uh, and then there's one when you 0:03:14.919 --> 0:03:19.000 go to type in the very bottom. Oh no, did 0:03:19.080 --> 0:03:24.760 you hear that? Sorry? Oh this is so boring, everybody. 0:03:24.800 --> 0:03:31.200 I'm so sorry. Thumbs down. No, you can, but the 0:03:31.600 --> 0:03:35.960 it's incomplete, so chuck. Um. We're talking about safe cracking 0:03:35.960 --> 0:03:41.080 obviously today obviously, and there have been some really great 0:03:41.760 --> 0:03:45.840 safe cracking movies, movies that featured safe cracking. What's your favorite? 0:03:46.640 --> 0:03:50.320 Die Hard is as far as safe cracking goes. That 0:03:50.680 --> 0:03:53.760 had its own subplot, but that's not my favorite safe 0:03:53.760 --> 0:03:57.600 cracking movie. Favorite safe cracking movie is bad, Sannah. Okay, 0:03:59.440 --> 0:04:01.400 so you know what's funny. When I was looking over 0:04:01.440 --> 0:04:04.240 this list, I got to die Hard and I was like, 0:04:04.360 --> 0:04:07.040 there's no safe cracking and die Hard is that right? 0:04:07.120 --> 0:04:10.000 Really it's its own thing, and no, it's I think 0:04:10.400 --> 0:04:12.960 because it's a vault. It temporarily tripped me up because 0:04:13.000 --> 0:04:15.640 I was thinking about small safes, but a vault is 0:04:15.680 --> 0:04:19.440 a large safe. And then I felt like a dumb dumb. No, 0:04:19.720 --> 0:04:22.040 don't you can feel like a dumb dumb for cutting 0:04:22.040 --> 0:04:25.279 your own thumb off. Man, it was bad. But other 0:04:25.279 --> 0:04:27.600 than that, immediately ran and showed it to my daughter 0:04:27.640 --> 0:04:30.240 because she's been obsessed lately with I've been telling her 0:04:30.279 --> 0:04:33.640 stories of being injured as a child and I never 0:04:33.680 --> 0:04:36.000 broke bones, but you know, I cut myself and had 0:04:36.000 --> 0:04:38.479 stitches a bunch of times. Um, I would advise you 0:04:38.520 --> 0:04:41.159 to knock coom Wood here. Yes, it's been a while, 0:04:41.200 --> 0:04:43.400 but she was She's constantly asking me, tell me about 0:04:43.400 --> 0:04:45.480 the times you got cut. And so finally I had 0:04:45.480 --> 0:04:48.280 a real world experience. I ran in there and went look, look, 0:04:48.320 --> 0:04:49.880 this is what it looks like. Look at all that blood. 0:04:50.600 --> 0:04:52.479 What did she do? Did she faint? No, she just 0:04:52.520 --> 0:04:55.640 kind of looked at it and was like, oh, oh, okay, cool. 0:04:55.800 --> 0:04:58.040 She's going to be the same person to look up 0:04:58.080 --> 0:05:03.200 wounds later on on. It is but the safe cracking 0:05:03.279 --> 0:05:06.680 movies I think. Uh. I mean, I'm a big fan 0:05:06.720 --> 0:05:10.400 of Oceans, Love the Boy, Sexy Beast. It's hard to beat. 0:05:11.160 --> 0:05:14.360 It's a great movie. I don't recall the safe cracking 0:05:14.400 --> 0:05:18.200 in it, though, is is that? What? Um? Uh? What's 0:05:18.240 --> 0:05:21.440 his name? M what's his name? I want to call 0:05:21.480 --> 0:05:25.919 him Edgar Winners? Obviously that's not it great great guitars. 0:05:25.960 --> 0:05:29.320 What is his name? Are you talking about? Ben Kingsley? 0:05:29.360 --> 0:05:35.640 Are you talking about? You might remember if I say 0:05:35.720 --> 0:05:39.240 this and uh slight spoiler. But I thought it was 0:05:39.279 --> 0:05:42.760 one of the more imaginative highest scenes ever filmed because 0:05:42.960 --> 0:05:46.960 it was underwater. Remember that. No, I don't. They flooded 0:05:47.000 --> 0:05:50.280 it as part of the I think it's it's been 0:05:50.320 --> 0:05:53.560 a while, but I think it's part of disabling security. 0:05:54.160 --> 0:05:57.479 So they did the whole thing underwater, which was really 0:05:57.680 --> 0:06:00.680 a twist I had not seen before. That's neat. I 0:06:00.960 --> 0:06:02.680 gotta go back and see that movie then, because I 0:06:02.720 --> 0:06:05.760 remember it being good. It was great. Okay, so that's 0:06:05.760 --> 0:06:07.960 your best safe cracking movie maybe, I mean I love 0:06:08.040 --> 0:06:11.800 that movie a lot. Okay, so we've got We've got 0:06:11.920 --> 0:06:15.200 Sexy Beast and Bad Santa and with die Hard is 0:06:15.240 --> 0:06:18.200 an honorable mention, that's right. So in each of these 0:06:18.240 --> 0:06:22.680 movies they're actually probably fairly true to life if I 0:06:22.680 --> 0:06:24.880 remember correctly. And die Hard they had a devil of 0:06:24.920 --> 0:06:29.200 a time getting through that safe. They're using industrial drills 0:06:29.320 --> 0:06:32.040 to try to drill through the lock. And Bad Santa 0:06:32.120 --> 0:06:35.400 he tried everything and finally managed to smack it open 0:06:35.400 --> 0:06:38.520 with a sledgehammer at least the one scene that we 0:06:38.520 --> 0:06:43.040 were shown with him robbing the safe. And then obviously 0:06:43.040 --> 0:06:46.240 I don't remember Sexy Beasts. But normally, in like a movie, 0:06:46.520 --> 0:06:49.920 when you watch somebody cracking a safe, they're like, you know, 0:06:50.279 --> 0:06:55.280 some pink Panther esque cat burglar who wears like black 0:06:55.360 --> 0:06:58.159 leather gloves and like twist the dial a few times 0:06:58.160 --> 0:07:01.279 with maybe like a stethoscope up to the safe, and 0:07:01.320 --> 0:07:06.080 then the safe comes open. There are actually a few 0:07:06.160 --> 0:07:09.600 people in the world who might be capable of something 0:07:09.640 --> 0:07:13.240 like that in that time, but If you expand that 0:07:13.280 --> 0:07:15.800 time to say an hour, the number of people in 0:07:15.840 --> 0:07:17.720 the world who would be capable of doing something like 0:07:17.760 --> 0:07:22.880 that expands greatly. But there's still just crumbs among humanity 0:07:23.240 --> 0:07:25.400 as far as the number of people who could actually 0:07:25.640 --> 0:07:27.800 crack a safe like that is concerned. When it comes 0:07:27.800 --> 0:07:31.720 to safe cracking, most often it is the Billy Bob 0:07:31.760 --> 0:07:36.280 Thornton brute strength method of hitting it with the sledgehammer. Um. 0:07:36.320 --> 0:07:40.080 But that's kind of the range that safe cracking takes up, 0:07:40.200 --> 0:07:42.720 you know, from you know, a master thief to a 0:07:42.760 --> 0:07:46.440 guy with a sledgehammer. Um. Safes are are broken into 0:07:46.440 --> 0:07:51.000 in a number of different ways, and Crumbs Amongst Humanity 0:07:51.080 --> 0:07:56.840 is also the best album by who Crumbs Amongst Humanity 0:07:57.520 --> 0:08:03.800 Edgar Winner. Okay, I also was reminded when you were 0:08:03.840 --> 0:08:06.400 talking about the ways to crack in that great scene 0:08:06.400 --> 0:08:09.960 and out of sight when they finally find the safe, 0:08:10.360 --> 0:08:15.320 just raise their pistols up to shoot at it. Oh really, 0:08:15.360 --> 0:08:17.200 I still have yet to see that movie. I just 0:08:17.240 --> 0:08:20.760 saw The Lie Me. Oh that's right, great movie. It 0:08:20.840 --> 0:08:22.880 was great man. Yeah, you were absolutely right. It was 0:08:22.920 --> 0:08:25.000 a very good movie. Yeah. I had a feeling you'd 0:08:25.000 --> 0:08:27.320 like that one. You'd like out of sight you. Okay, 0:08:27.360 --> 0:08:29.120 I'm gonna watch that one next. I promise I'm not 0:08:29.160 --> 0:08:32.319 gonna throw any turkeys your way. Please don't. I know, 0:08:32.880 --> 0:08:34.480 I know you won't. I don't think you ever have 0:08:36.200 --> 0:08:40.880 throw a few year away. Nah, surely I have. I 0:08:40.960 --> 0:08:43.840 take pride in the fact that I have. Well, I mean, 0:08:44.200 --> 0:08:46.960 one man's turkey is another man's great, like the troll 0:08:47.040 --> 0:08:49.880 Hunter and stuff like that. You've thrown my way. Troll 0:08:49.920 --> 0:08:52.640 Hunter is great. Yeah. See, some people might say it wasn't, 0:08:52.679 --> 0:08:56.640 but I didn't discue your your way. Who doesn't like 0:08:56.679 --> 0:09:02.360 troll Hunter? You've heard people who don't trolls. They're like, 0:09:02.400 --> 0:09:06.080 it's graphic and disturbing. Well, this is what I proposed, Charles. Okay, 0:09:07.040 --> 0:09:10.559 we have been a bit like um, a little black 0:09:10.600 --> 0:09:14.040 and white cartoon donkey swatting at flies with his tail 0:09:14.280 --> 0:09:17.120 and starting this one. So I proposed that we take 0:09:17.160 --> 0:09:21.040 an ab break already, yes, collect ourselves, and come back 0:09:21.480 --> 0:09:26.000 to save cracking with guns blazing. Alright, very controversial. Let's 0:09:26.040 --> 0:09:51.680 do it all right? You ready? So I was taking 0:09:51.679 --> 0:09:56.079 a poop this morning. Yes, I'm ready. And the first 0:09:56.120 --> 0:09:58.440 thing I want to say is, uh, in this house 0:09:58.440 --> 0:10:00.559 stuff works article, they talk about, and it makes a 0:10:00.600 --> 0:10:03.640 lot of sense. The one fundamental weakness of a safe 0:10:04.559 --> 0:10:07.199 is the fact that you know, if you lose the 0:10:07.240 --> 0:10:10.040 combination or something happens, you've got to be able to 0:10:10.080 --> 0:10:13.480 get into it. Still, and therein lies the true weakness 0:10:14.400 --> 0:10:15.920 is that you have to be able to get into 0:10:15.960 --> 0:10:20.040 it without knowing the combination, right Like, it has to 0:10:20.120 --> 0:10:24.000 be accessible to anybody who who needs to get into it, 0:10:24.080 --> 0:10:26.920 which in some of those anybody's can be burglars. So 0:10:27.200 --> 0:10:30.120 the fact that you can't just encase it in concrete 0:10:30.120 --> 0:10:33.319 and hide it away from humanity, even crumbs of humanity, 0:10:33.640 --> 0:10:36.800 um means that it is a vulnerable place to put 0:10:36.880 --> 0:10:40.320 your stuff. Yeah, but I was wondering, surely they could 0:10:40.320 --> 0:10:45.520 make a truly uncrackable safe with the the sales caveat 0:10:45.640 --> 0:10:48.920 of like, hey man, you're buying this thing. If you 0:10:48.960 --> 0:10:54.160 lose the combination, you are screwed. But it is truly uncrackable. 0:10:54.920 --> 0:10:57.200 I don't I don't know. I mean it sounds like 0:10:57.400 --> 0:11:00.520 from from this article like there's some way to get 0:11:00.559 --> 0:11:04.960 through to any safe. It's just degrees of difficulty. Because 0:11:05.000 --> 0:11:07.360 the other the other kind of thing about this whole 0:11:07.400 --> 0:11:11.320 thing is like any safe is inherently vulnerable because people 0:11:11.360 --> 0:11:14.920 can get to it. But the longer you can make 0:11:14.960 --> 0:11:20.040 it um take to crack a safe, the longer the 0:11:20.040 --> 0:11:22.920 amount of time you can make it take, um, the 0:11:23.040 --> 0:11:26.000 less chance you have of actually being robbed. Like there 0:11:26.040 --> 0:11:28.600 might be some guy sitting at your in your house 0:11:29.480 --> 0:11:31.840 trying to crack your safe, but if you have a 0:11:31.880 --> 0:11:34.960 really good safe, he's either going to give up or 0:11:35.120 --> 0:11:38.640 spend enough time there that he gets caught. Um And 0:11:38.960 --> 0:11:41.680 either way, your stuff should be protected. That seems to 0:11:41.720 --> 0:11:44.400 be what they're after when they make safe. Yeah, and 0:11:44.440 --> 0:11:46.560 you know what I did yesterday while I was researching this, 0:11:47.240 --> 0:11:50.640 did you buy a safe? Safe? It's something that had 0:11:50.679 --> 0:11:53.800 been meaning to do for like two years and finally 0:11:53.800 --> 0:11:55.880 I just did it. And the kind of safe that 0:11:56.360 --> 0:11:58.439 we're talking about here that a lot of people keep 0:11:58.440 --> 0:12:00.840 in their homes. Uh. If it's not like you know, 0:12:00.880 --> 0:12:03.280 some people have gun safes and things like that, but 0:12:03.520 --> 0:12:06.280 is is a fire safe. And that's basically like, let 0:12:06.280 --> 0:12:10.560 me put imported documents or irreplaceable things in here. They're 0:12:10.559 --> 0:12:14.080 generally pretty small, uh, and they keep your stuff safe 0:12:14.200 --> 0:12:17.959 from like flood and fire is a general idea. Then 0:12:17.960 --> 0:12:21.200 there are burglary safes, which don't keep your stuff safe 0:12:21.200 --> 0:12:23.440 from fire. In fact, if there's a fire, will probably 0:12:23.480 --> 0:12:26.679 cook it. Uh, but that is a little harder to 0:12:26.720 --> 0:12:30.679 get into what I want. I mean, I got the ultimately, 0:12:30.679 --> 0:12:32.720 I got the fire safe, but what they don't make 0:12:33.679 --> 0:12:35.320 and I think, I don't know if it's a guy thing, 0:12:35.480 --> 0:12:38.120 but what I really wanted was one of those safe 0:12:38.200 --> 0:12:41.960 with like the little spinny wheel on the front of it. 0:12:41.960 --> 0:12:46.080 It looked like a super movie type safe. I think 0:12:46.080 --> 0:12:49.480 those are several price points beyond whatever safe you've got. 0:12:49.600 --> 0:12:51.920 I think those are really expensive safe. They are, and 0:12:51.960 --> 0:12:53.560 that's not what I need. So I was just like, no, 0:12:53.760 --> 0:12:55.800 just get the one that's like whatever. I think it's 0:12:55.800 --> 0:12:58.800 a couple of hundred bucks. So, yeah, you've got fire 0:12:58.800 --> 0:13:00.760 safe and you have burglaries safe, and they do two 0:13:00.800 --> 0:13:03.120 different things. And I was like, surely somebody's come up 0:13:03.160 --> 0:13:06.599 with a fire fire resistant burglar resistance safe and know 0:13:06.760 --> 0:13:10.240 that apparently isn't the case. There apparently still two different things. 0:13:10.800 --> 0:13:15.760 But there's also a certain degree to a fire resistance safe. 0:13:16.200 --> 0:13:19.440 Um that makes it kind of a subsection of a 0:13:19.480 --> 0:13:24.320 fire resistance safe called a media safe, where your digital 0:13:24.360 --> 0:13:26.600 documents are going to be protected in the amount of 0:13:26.640 --> 0:13:29.280 fire or in the event of a fire. Yeah, and 0:13:29.320 --> 0:13:33.720 I mentioned gun safes. Those are the closest, uh to 0:13:33.880 --> 0:13:37.360 what I'm describing as in cool looking like they're kind 0:13:37.360 --> 0:13:39.600 of the tall things that look like you would find 0:13:39.600 --> 0:13:41.920 in an old timey bank with the big wheel that spins, 0:13:42.880 --> 0:13:44.480 and that's where you can put in like rifles and 0:13:44.480 --> 0:13:47.199 stuff like that, not like the little handgun safe you 0:13:47.280 --> 0:13:50.120 might keep under your bed or whatever. Right, And then 0:13:50.160 --> 0:13:52.079 depending on the kind of safe you want, it will 0:13:52.120 --> 0:13:54.360 be rated one way or another. If it's a fire safe, 0:13:54.360 --> 0:13:58.000 it will be rated for how many hours it can 0:13:58.040 --> 0:14:01.040 withstand a certain amount of temperature, usually about the temperature 0:14:01.040 --> 0:14:04.240 of a house fire. Um. And they also usually rate 0:14:04.280 --> 0:14:07.600 them so that they'll survive about a twenty to thirty 0:14:07.640 --> 0:14:12.080 ft drop, as if the floorboards that are holding the 0:14:12.120 --> 0:14:13.840 safe up on the third story of the house have 0:14:13.920 --> 0:14:15.760 burned through and the safe falls all the way to 0:14:15.800 --> 0:14:22.240 the foundation. Yeah, that's another one too. A burglar safe 0:14:22.320 --> 0:14:23.880 isn't going to protect your stuff in the fire, like 0:14:23.920 --> 0:14:26.320 you said, it's gonna cook it. But they're also rated 0:14:26.360 --> 0:14:29.640 for how difficult it is to penetrate. And um, there 0:14:29.640 --> 0:14:34.040 are a lot of things that manufacturers add to a 0:14:34.080 --> 0:14:39.320 burglar safe, which is you know, iron clad, UH steel frame, 0:14:39.600 --> 0:14:44.200 steel bolted, usually multi um multi bolted, like when you 0:14:44.320 --> 0:14:48.720 turn that that that lever the handle to open the safe, 0:14:48.760 --> 0:14:52.640 to unlock it, there's usually two three, four, depending on 0:14:52.720 --> 0:14:55.920 how big the safe is, bolts that are holding it 0:14:55.960 --> 0:14:59.120 in place that you're you're releasing UM and there's a 0:14:59.200 --> 0:15:01.920 lot of other like kind of bells and whistles that 0:15:02.000 --> 0:15:06.800 they add to UM two safe to protect them from burglary. Yeah, 0:15:06.840 --> 0:15:09.360 you know what I was thinking too when I was 0:15:09.400 --> 0:15:10.960 and we'll get to it later on. But one of 0:15:10.960 --> 0:15:14.000 the methods is to you know, get us blow a 0:15:14.000 --> 0:15:15.560 hole in it where you can get a screwdriver in 0:15:15.600 --> 0:15:19.720 there and take off parts from the interior. I love 0:15:19.800 --> 0:15:22.760 that method. I was like, rivets, well, I got screws 0:15:22.800 --> 0:15:26.840 in there, right, It seems like a no brainer. It 0:15:26.920 --> 0:15:30.640 really does seem kind of surely there's people have figured 0:15:30.640 --> 0:15:32.600 this stuff out by now, you know, I know, maybe 0:15:32.680 --> 0:15:34.960 we should, you know, when this whole thing drives up, 0:15:35.240 --> 0:15:38.120 get into the safe design industry, I think we might 0:15:40.240 --> 0:15:46.000 or safe cracking. Sure. Okay, So with UM we'll talk 0:15:46.040 --> 0:15:50.880 about some of the methods that manufacturers used to foil burglars. 0:15:50.880 --> 0:15:54.480 But there's one thing that's common to fire safe burglar 0:15:54.560 --> 0:15:57.960 safes just about any safe these days, and that's been 0:15:58.000 --> 0:16:00.000 a kind of a commonality for about the last time 0:16:00.000 --> 0:16:02.960 three years, and that's the fact that basically all of 0:16:03.000 --> 0:16:07.160 them have combination locks. Those wheels that you used to spin, 0:16:07.600 --> 0:16:10.560 like on your high school locker to open it. That's 0:16:10.560 --> 0:16:13.440 a combination lock, and it's the same thing. Although you 0:16:13.520 --> 0:16:16.720 probably have a much tougher, much more sophisticated one on 0:16:16.760 --> 0:16:19.560 a burglar um safe than you did on your high 0:16:19.560 --> 0:16:22.680 school locker, it's it's basically the same component, and which 0:16:22.760 --> 0:16:24.880 when you kind of get just even a rough grasp 0:16:24.920 --> 0:16:27.840 of how the combination lock works, you can get a 0:16:27.840 --> 0:16:32.240 better idea of of how people break into those things too. Yeah, 0:16:32.240 --> 0:16:35.120 and then there's a couple of different types UM categorized 0:16:35.680 --> 0:16:39.640 thrilling lee as a group one and group two. Group 0:16:39.680 --> 0:16:41.680 two is the kind you're most likely to find in 0:16:41.720 --> 0:16:46.920 someone's closet. Uh. That's usually a three number combination, but 0:16:47.040 --> 0:16:49.720 it can be one, two or three. I don't I 0:16:49.760 --> 0:16:53.840 don't see how a one number combination really helps you much. No, 0:16:54.000 --> 0:16:56.560 because you can just try like things you need to 0:16:56.560 --> 0:17:01.360 get in there exactly. That's true. But um, the group 0:17:01.440 --> 0:17:04.240 one locks, you can have up to six numbers in 0:17:04.280 --> 0:17:06.840 the combination and they are suffered to get into their 0:17:06.880 --> 0:17:09.840 sturdier uh, and they have more wheels. And you're gonna 0:17:09.840 --> 0:17:12.440 hear us talk about wheels in the wheel pack. Each 0:17:12.560 --> 0:17:17.840 number on the combination is represented by a separate wheel. 0:17:17.880 --> 0:17:19.880 So if you have a six number lock, that means 0:17:19.880 --> 0:17:22.760 you have six wheels in that wheel back right exactly, 0:17:22.800 --> 0:17:26.640 And so each of those wheels has a notch in it. 0:17:27.320 --> 0:17:31.000 And when you are doing the combination, you know left thirteen, right, 0:17:31.119 --> 0:17:36.840 fifty seven, you know left nine, combination right some mine, 0:17:36.920 --> 0:17:40.399 believe me. Um, when you when you get that combination right, 0:17:40.440 --> 0:17:43.040 what you've done is line up each of those wheels 0:17:43.080 --> 0:17:47.400 that are stacked behind one another so that their notches 0:17:47.440 --> 0:17:50.320 all line up, which allows this thing called the fence 0:17:50.800 --> 0:17:53.639 to fall into that notch. And when the fence has 0:17:53.680 --> 0:17:56.600 fallen into that notch, it's no longer preventing the lever 0:17:56.760 --> 0:17:59.679 from moving. And when you can move the lever, you 0:17:59.680 --> 0:18:03.880 can open the bolt, which opens the safe. It's it's 0:18:03.960 --> 0:18:06.080 it sounds very easy, and it's way easier. If you 0:18:06.119 --> 0:18:08.679 see like a diagram or cutaway or a cross section 0:18:08.760 --> 0:18:11.520 of it. But it's really it's really that. And I 0:18:11.520 --> 0:18:14.040 mean they came up with combination locks about a hundred 0:18:14.160 --> 0:18:17.680 years ago and there have not been too many improvements 0:18:17.680 --> 0:18:20.359 on the general design of it. It was virtually a 0:18:20.440 --> 0:18:24.119 perfect locking design, is like, right when they came up 0:18:24.160 --> 0:18:26.560 with it. Yeah, and it is kind of cool to 0:18:26.640 --> 0:18:30.040 look at a breakdown of the inside of one of these, 0:18:30.119 --> 0:18:33.359 because if you're like me and you're fascinated by some 0:18:33.520 --> 0:18:37.520 sort of simplistic mechanical designs, the combination lock is a 0:18:37.560 --> 0:18:40.639 great example of that. It really is. It really is. 0:18:40.680 --> 0:18:43.399 So just the number of wheels you have is the 0:18:43.480 --> 0:18:47.000 number of numbers in that combo um and then you 0:18:47.040 --> 0:18:50.120 know that's really it. That's your your combination lock. So 0:18:51.280 --> 0:18:53.800 one of the first things if you're trying to get 0:18:53.840 --> 0:18:57.920 into you ready to talk about breaking into these safes? Now, yeah, 0:18:58.000 --> 0:19:00.639 I mean with the caveat that this is uh, I 0:19:00.640 --> 0:19:03.480 mean I was about to say it's illegal. Technically, it's 0:19:03.520 --> 0:19:07.320 probably not illegal to crack a safe, but it is 0:19:07.359 --> 0:19:13.000 illegal to steal something. No getting illegal to steal something right, 0:19:13.040 --> 0:19:14.840 absolutely wrong. It's a free for all. It's like the 0:19:14.880 --> 0:19:19.520 purge for your stuff. Um, they they I have seen 0:19:19.760 --> 0:19:23.440 that there are laws where if you are caught entering 0:19:23.440 --> 0:19:28.639 a house with safe cracking tools, you you're automatically accused 0:19:28.680 --> 0:19:31.520 of of It's the same charge as if you have 0:19:31.760 --> 0:19:35.119 successfully broken into and stolen contents from the safe. Safe 0:19:35.119 --> 0:19:41.040 cracking it's a separate crime. There's you know, breaking and entering, larceny, burglary, 0:19:41.119 --> 0:19:44.959 and there's also safe cracking. So in addition to burglary 0:19:44.960 --> 0:19:47.400 and larceny and breaking and entering, you'll get an additional 0:19:47.480 --> 0:19:50.760 safe cracking um charge against you. And they used to 0:19:50.840 --> 0:19:53.720 be stiff. Apparently there was a guy who got something 0:19:53.760 --> 0:19:58.440 like fifty seven or seventy years for safe cracking and 0:19:58.520 --> 0:20:01.040 appealed to the Supreme Court, which ruled that it was 0:20:01.080 --> 0:20:04.159 cruel and unusual for a safe cracking beef, which is 0:20:04.200 --> 0:20:07.960 I think the wording they use. But but um, it's 0:20:07.960 --> 0:20:10.520 still like its own separate thing. People will get years 0:20:10.560 --> 0:20:13.280 in prison just for the safe cracking element of their 0:20:13.359 --> 0:20:15.680 their charges. Yeah, I guess I think what I was 0:20:15.720 --> 0:20:19.080 saying was it's not inherently illegal, Like if you and 0:20:19.160 --> 0:20:21.000 I bought a safe and we wanted to try and 0:20:21.040 --> 0:20:25.000 crack it for fun, right, right, that's it's illegal to 0:20:25.000 --> 0:20:30.080 crack into someone else is safe without their uh tacit approval, right, 0:20:30.119 --> 0:20:32.760 So then that actually brings up this whole other thing, Chuck, 0:20:32.800 --> 0:20:35.639 there's a there's some of the people, a lot of 0:20:35.640 --> 0:20:39.120 the people who break into safes are professionals. They're safe technicians, 0:20:39.560 --> 0:20:42.680 their locksmiths. There are people who come to your aid 0:20:43.040 --> 0:20:46.560 when you have forgotten the combination. Um. They're very frequently 0:20:46.560 --> 0:20:50.000 called them when somebody um inherits an old safe that 0:20:50.040 --> 0:20:52.919 they don't have a combo for anymore. Um. If a 0:20:53.000 --> 0:20:57.040 bank employee accidentally locks the vault uh and there's you know, 0:20:57.880 --> 0:20:59.920 they can't open it because there's it's a time law, 0:21:00.320 --> 0:21:01.840 but they need to get in there because it's still 0:21:01.840 --> 0:21:04.560 business hours. There's like safe technicians who will travel like 0:21:04.600 --> 0:21:07.480 around the country or the world, who lead very very 0:21:07.520 --> 0:21:10.320 interesting lives because they cracked saves. And one of the 0:21:10.320 --> 0:21:12.320 things that they try to do is to make it 0:21:12.359 --> 0:21:14.520 so that it's almost like they weren't even there. So 0:21:14.640 --> 0:21:17.040 the level of impact that they have on that safe, 0:21:17.320 --> 0:21:19.199 they try to keep to such a minimum that it 0:21:19.240 --> 0:21:22.639 just needs maybe minor repairs um to to bring it 0:21:22.680 --> 0:21:25.639 back to operating level again. Yeah, can we go ahead. 0:21:25.960 --> 0:21:27.320 I mean, that's a nice little set up. I know 0:21:27.359 --> 0:21:29.440 I'm jumping ahead. But can we talk about Harry C. 0:21:29.640 --> 0:21:33.080 Miller for a minute. Yeah, let's so we'll get to 0:21:33.240 --> 0:21:37.600 what how he actually does this. But Harry Miller, he's 0:21:37.640 --> 0:21:41.520 he passed on and he was an expert safe cracker 0:21:42.040 --> 0:21:47.280 and basically the guy that came up with the with 0:21:47.280 --> 0:21:48.880 with you know the kind of thing that you see 0:21:48.880 --> 0:21:51.240 in the movies when you crack a safe without using 0:21:51.320 --> 0:21:55.920 dynamite or plasma cutters or you know, explosives or whatever. 0:21:57.080 --> 0:22:02.240 And he became the foremost genius an authority kind of 0:22:02.240 --> 0:22:06.080 worldwide for safe cracking, such that he taught the FBI, 0:22:06.440 --> 0:22:10.440 he taught law enforcement officials. Uh. He was hired privately 0:22:11.040 --> 0:22:13.520 during World War Two. He opened up a gold bully 0:22:13.600 --> 0:22:18.920 on chest for Shanghai check. He there was a dictator, 0:22:19.240 --> 0:22:23.080 uh full gen Cio Batista. He hired him to open 0:22:23.160 --> 0:22:27.679 safe that have been captured from Fidel Castro. During the 0:22:27.760 --> 0:22:30.159 Roosevelt administration, he was called to the White House to 0:22:30.240 --> 0:22:35.040 open a safe after the assassination of the guy who 0:22:35.359 --> 0:22:39.159 the only person who knew the combination. So he had 0:22:39.160 --> 0:22:41.200 a really like you were saying, a really exciting life. 0:22:41.200 --> 0:22:43.679 And he was the guy. Uh he was known as 0:22:43.720 --> 0:22:46.800 Miller the safe Man. And after a while he was 0:22:46.840 --> 0:22:51.560 able to crack any safe within twenty minutes by manipulation, which, 0:22:51.600 --> 0:22:53.880 like we said, is is using your hands and your 0:22:53.880 --> 0:22:58.240 ears and your eyeballs. Yeah, and he created eventually a 0:22:58.280 --> 0:23:02.719 manipulation proof lock, which was the first innovation in like 0:23:02.920 --> 0:23:07.320 seventy a hundred years in lock technology. Yeah. And then 0:23:07.320 --> 0:23:09.880 he ended up and apparently in Kentucky. And I think 0:23:09.920 --> 0:23:11.600 you and I should totally go to this place at 0:23:11.600 --> 0:23:15.080