1 00:00:00,320 --> 00:00:02,880 Speaker 1: Brought to you by the reinvented two thousand twelve camera. 2 00:00:03,240 --> 00:00:08,760 Speaker 1: It's ready. Are you get in touch with technology with 3 00:00:08,920 --> 00:00:14,960 Speaker 1: tex Stuff from how stuff works dot com. Hi, welcome 4 00:00:15,000 --> 00:00:17,239 Speaker 1: to tech stuff. My name is Chris Polette. I'm an 5 00:00:17,320 --> 00:00:19,720 Speaker 1: editor here at How Stuff Works, and as usual, I 6 00:00:19,800 --> 00:00:23,000 Speaker 1: have sitting right here next to me, senior writer Jonathan Strickland. 7 00:00:23,079 --> 00:00:26,200 Speaker 1: How do folks? And Uh, today I think we're going 8 00:00:26,239 --> 00:00:29,880 Speaker 1: to talk about hacking, yes, and not as in that 9 00:00:30,000 --> 00:00:32,440 Speaker 1: irritating cough that your coworker has its sitting in the 10 00:00:32,479 --> 00:00:34,000 Speaker 1: cubicle next to you and you want to hit them 11 00:00:34,000 --> 00:00:35,920 Speaker 1: over the head with a brick. Nor are we talking 12 00:00:35,960 --> 00:00:39,760 Speaker 1: about traditional computer hacking where you hack into systems, where 13 00:00:39,800 --> 00:00:43,800 Speaker 1: you create program hacks. We're talking about hardware hacking. Yes, 14 00:00:43,840 --> 00:00:47,040 Speaker 1: And you know, hacking is not necessarily evil either. You know, 15 00:00:47,080 --> 00:00:49,519 Speaker 1: it's got sort of a bad reputation. Hacking is basically, 16 00:00:50,200 --> 00:00:52,400 Speaker 1: you know, taking something apart, seeing how it works, and 17 00:00:52,400 --> 00:00:54,000 Speaker 1: trying to do something different with it than it was 18 00:00:54,000 --> 00:00:57,040 Speaker 1: originally intended for. Yeah, it's really just finding new ways 19 00:00:57,120 --> 00:01:00,440 Speaker 1: to accomplish certain tasks. So it's not in a necessarily 20 00:01:00,480 --> 00:01:03,400 Speaker 1: evil at all. And uh, yeah we should we should 21 00:01:03,440 --> 00:01:05,479 Speaker 1: just go ahead and get rid of that negative connotation 22 00:01:05,480 --> 00:01:08,280 Speaker 1: of hacker, so you're on out. Hacker means someone who 23 00:01:08,360 --> 00:01:12,240 Speaker 1: finds new ways of doing things exactly. So say I 24 00:01:12,920 --> 00:01:17,080 Speaker 1: so say we all, I'll start galactical fans out there. 25 00:01:18,520 --> 00:01:23,119 Speaker 1: So you want to go first, well, actually before yeah, 26 00:01:23,200 --> 00:01:24,760 Speaker 1: before we get too far into it, I want to 27 00:01:24,800 --> 00:01:26,440 Speaker 1: talk a little bit about what you kind of need 28 00:01:26,480 --> 00:01:29,240 Speaker 1: to know in order to be a hacker. Um, you 29 00:01:29,480 --> 00:01:32,360 Speaker 1: hurt yourself, Well, you need to know how stuff works. 30 00:01:32,520 --> 00:01:34,760 Speaker 1: I mean you can't. You can't take something apart and 31 00:01:34,800 --> 00:01:37,960 Speaker 1: improve it without knowing how it works in the first place. Um, 32 00:01:38,080 --> 00:01:39,440 Speaker 1: or at least you can't do it and hope to 33 00:01:39,480 --> 00:01:42,640 Speaker 1: be successful. So there's certain things that a lot of 34 00:01:42,680 --> 00:01:45,399 Speaker 1: hardware hacks require you to know before you really get 35 00:01:45,440 --> 00:01:47,480 Speaker 1: into them. A lot of that is just things like 36 00:01:47,520 --> 00:01:52,120 Speaker 1: basic electricity, UM, how circuits work. If you're doing something 37 00:01:52,120 --> 00:01:54,160 Speaker 1: with computers, you need to know all about things like 38 00:01:54,200 --> 00:01:59,760 Speaker 1: bits and bites. You may need to know about resistors, capacitors, diodes, transistors, 39 00:02:00,080 --> 00:02:04,720 Speaker 1: um A. A healthy knowledge of how to solder is 40 00:02:04,840 --> 00:02:08,720 Speaker 1: very helpful. Yeah, just knowing how to use certain tools 41 00:02:08,720 --> 00:02:11,160 Speaker 1: like wire cutters and you know, or even something as 42 00:02:11,160 --> 00:02:13,480 Speaker 1: basic as a screwdriver. And I'm not talking about the 43 00:02:13,560 --> 00:02:16,360 Speaker 1: drink um and you can have one of those after 44 00:02:16,440 --> 00:02:22,640 Speaker 1: you're done. Yeah, don't drink and hack. So really, hacks 45 00:02:22,639 --> 00:02:25,560 Speaker 1: are not meant for the average person. They really meant 46 00:02:25,560 --> 00:02:30,840 Speaker 1: for people who want to get into the whole um. Uh, 47 00:02:30,880 --> 00:02:34,600 Speaker 1: you know, let's figure out how this works. Let's let's see. Uh, 48 00:02:34,880 --> 00:02:36,959 Speaker 1: I want to do some electrical engineering. I mean, the 49 00:02:37,000 --> 00:02:39,960 Speaker 1: average person can get into hacking. Yes, they can learn 50 00:02:39,960 --> 00:02:42,280 Speaker 1: how to do this sort of thing, but you can't 51 00:02:42,320 --> 00:02:44,960 Speaker 1: just jump right in and expect to be successful and 52 00:02:45,160 --> 00:02:47,960 Speaker 1: or safe. Yeah, it might might be a good idea 53 00:02:48,040 --> 00:02:50,359 Speaker 1: to start small and work your way up. Yeah, I've 54 00:02:50,360 --> 00:02:52,799 Speaker 1: got a small one I can start with. Okay, So, 55 00:02:53,040 --> 00:02:57,600 Speaker 1: uh I saw something written by Michael Berman, who had 56 00:02:57,720 --> 00:03:01,720 Speaker 1: the Maxwell smart shoe phone. Yeah. Yeah, his hack was 57 00:03:01,800 --> 00:03:04,239 Speaker 1: about as simple as it gets. Now, that's not that's 58 00:03:04,280 --> 00:03:07,000 Speaker 1: not I'm not trying to cast aspersions at Michael. I 59 00:03:07,000 --> 00:03:09,280 Speaker 1: wouldn't have done this, and he did a great job. 60 00:03:09,360 --> 00:03:11,959 Speaker 1: It was very funny and I appreciate it quite a bit, 61 00:03:12,440 --> 00:03:15,480 Speaker 1: so the Maxwell smartphone. If you aren't familiar with Get 62 00:03:15,520 --> 00:03:18,840 Speaker 1: Smart the television series and not the movie. Not the 63 00:03:18,840 --> 00:03:21,880 Speaker 1: movie so much but the television series Maxwell had a 64 00:03:21,919 --> 00:03:25,200 Speaker 1: special shoe phone that he could use to dial back 65 00:03:25,200 --> 00:03:29,240 Speaker 1: to headquarters. This was in the nineteen sixties before and 66 00:03:29,400 --> 00:03:32,640 Speaker 1: you know, people had cell phones, so this was actually 67 00:03:32,960 --> 00:03:38,000 Speaker 1: a novel kind of idea today, completely unnecessary but still funny. 68 00:03:38,120 --> 00:03:41,360 Speaker 1: So what Michael did was he just he took it 69 00:03:41,440 --> 00:03:43,880 Speaker 1: to the simplest level you can imagine. He took a 70 00:03:43,920 --> 00:03:47,640 Speaker 1: man's dress shoe, he hollowed out part of the heel, 71 00:03:48,240 --> 00:03:51,880 Speaker 1: and he shoved a cell phone into it. Thus you 72 00:03:51,920 --> 00:03:55,360 Speaker 1: have a hacked Maxwell smart shoe phone. And that's really 73 00:03:55,400 --> 00:03:58,240 Speaker 1: as simple as as it gets. I mean, a hack 74 00:03:58,320 --> 00:04:00,840 Speaker 1: does not have to be complicated. It can be very 75 00:04:00,960 --> 00:04:02,840 Speaker 1: very simple. Now the complicated wants tend to get a 76 00:04:02,840 --> 00:04:06,280 Speaker 1: lot more attention. But anyway, that's my first one. All 77 00:04:06,400 --> 00:04:11,040 Speaker 1: right then, UM, I've got a couple uh that I 78 00:04:11,080 --> 00:04:14,120 Speaker 1: picked that I thought were kind of cool, different different 79 00:04:14,160 --> 00:04:16,880 Speaker 1: things you can do. Um and I chose two of 80 00:04:16,920 --> 00:04:19,280 Speaker 1: my favorite sites that I know there are lots and 81 00:04:19,400 --> 00:04:22,120 Speaker 1: lots and lots and lots of hacks on of all kinds, 82 00:04:22,800 --> 00:04:27,200 Speaker 1: um and um. The first one I chose from instructibles 83 00:04:27,200 --> 00:04:31,240 Speaker 1: dot com, which which is an awesome site. UM and 84 00:04:31,440 --> 00:04:35,760 Speaker 1: uh Basically the one I chose was someone had posted 85 00:04:35,760 --> 00:04:40,200 Speaker 1: a way to use bluetooth, your bluetooth cell phone to 86 00:04:40,279 --> 00:04:44,520 Speaker 1: make all the calls using your home's phone wiring. Yeah, 87 00:04:44,520 --> 00:04:46,800 Speaker 1: it's pretty neat, um, and I'm not going to go 88 00:04:46,839 --> 00:04:49,400 Speaker 1: into great detail on how to do all these different 89 00:04:49,720 --> 00:04:53,720 Speaker 1: pieces of the puzzle, but you know essentially what you're 90 00:04:53,760 --> 00:04:56,600 Speaker 1: gonna do. Assuming that your your house is already wired 91 00:04:56,839 --> 00:05:01,440 Speaker 1: for a landline service, but isn't connected to a landline, 92 00:05:02,240 --> 00:05:04,960 Speaker 1: maybe you just have a cell phone to make calls. Um, 93 00:05:05,000 --> 00:05:10,640 Speaker 1: you can actually take a cellular gateway and UM, you 94 00:05:10,640 --> 00:05:13,560 Speaker 1: would plug like you go to the place where, if 95 00:05:13,560 --> 00:05:15,920 Speaker 1: you will, like the terminus of all the the home 96 00:05:16,000 --> 00:05:20,080 Speaker 1: phone wiring is and connect the cellular gateway and then 97 00:05:20,279 --> 00:05:24,200 Speaker 1: you hook it up to the phone and uh, once 98 00:05:24,240 --> 00:05:28,279 Speaker 1: you plug in the jacks, the phones into the jacks 99 00:05:28,320 --> 00:05:30,960 Speaker 1: and you're in the different rooms. Uh, that goes back 100 00:05:30,960 --> 00:05:33,520 Speaker 1: to the cellular gateway, which uses Bluetooth to make a 101 00:05:33,520 --> 00:05:37,359 Speaker 1: connection to your phone. Um, and then it sends the 102 00:05:37,400 --> 00:05:40,600 Speaker 1: call out to uh you know, via the cell phone network. 103 00:05:40,960 --> 00:05:44,200 Speaker 1: So it's a very very elegant situation. Of course, you 104 00:05:44,240 --> 00:05:45,920 Speaker 1: have to again went back to what you were saying, 105 00:05:45,960 --> 00:05:47,440 Speaker 1: you have to know a little bit about the wiring. 106 00:05:47,440 --> 00:05:49,840 Speaker 1: You have to know uh something about how the different 107 00:05:49,920 --> 00:05:52,680 Speaker 1: kinds of cables work. You might be working with a 108 00:05:52,720 --> 00:05:55,960 Speaker 1: couple of different kinds of phone cord um, but it's 109 00:05:55,960 --> 00:05:59,680 Speaker 1: pretty neat now. He posed an interesting conundrum, however, So 110 00:05:59,760 --> 00:06:02,719 Speaker 1: what happens if you step out for a while and 111 00:06:02,760 --> 00:06:05,840 Speaker 1: someone's house sitting for you or you know, and it 112 00:06:05,839 --> 00:06:07,719 Speaker 1: needs to make a call, say, I don't know how's 113 00:06:07,800 --> 00:06:10,680 Speaker 1: on fire and they don't have the cell phone? What 114 00:06:10,720 --> 00:06:13,880 Speaker 1: are you gonna do? Then? Well, were you're going to 115 00:06:13,960 --> 00:06:17,120 Speaker 1: answer that? Okay? Well, they were saying that A simple, 116 00:06:17,200 --> 00:06:19,040 Speaker 1: a simple way to get around that is you can 117 00:06:19,080 --> 00:06:23,480 Speaker 1: actually add a second phone, like a paid uh like 118 00:06:24,120 --> 00:06:27,400 Speaker 1: um when the prepaid minutes phones, you know, put an 119 00:06:27,400 --> 00:06:29,240 Speaker 1: hour or worth of minutes on there and put it 120 00:06:29,279 --> 00:06:32,280 Speaker 1: as the backup phone, and it will automatically channel UH 121 00:06:32,400 --> 00:06:34,479 Speaker 1: to the other phone, and it will allow you to 122 00:06:34,520 --> 00:06:37,359 Speaker 1: do that because the cellier gateway can handle making the 123 00:06:37,360 --> 00:06:39,240 Speaker 1: switch from one phone to the other. You know, you 124 00:06:39,240 --> 00:06:43,960 Speaker 1: could prioritize the phone one versus two, or if you 125 00:06:44,000 --> 00:06:46,919 Speaker 1: have a plan, for example, if you and your wife 126 00:06:46,960 --> 00:06:50,160 Speaker 1: were at home and you're on different carriers and one 127 00:06:50,200 --> 00:06:52,120 Speaker 1: of them gets free weekend minutes. You could say, okay, 128 00:06:52,120 --> 00:06:54,640 Speaker 1: well on Saturday and Sunday, we want to use this 129 00:06:54,680 --> 00:06:56,719 Speaker 1: phone to make our calls. And all you have to 130 00:06:56,720 --> 00:06:59,440 Speaker 1: do is pick up the you know phone jack phone 131 00:06:59,440 --> 00:07:01,560 Speaker 1: at the local handset and it would make the call 132 00:07:01,640 --> 00:07:05,159 Speaker 1: for you. So it's a pretty nifty, pretty nifty hack, 133 00:07:05,240 --> 00:07:09,160 Speaker 1: I thought. Now Chris said, uh, specifically that it was 134 00:07:09,200 --> 00:07:12,320 Speaker 1: a pretty elegant solution. Here's an interesting thing. Hacks don't 135 00:07:12,320 --> 00:07:16,800 Speaker 1: necessarily have to be elegant. Um, some hacks are really 136 00:07:16,840 --> 00:07:19,800 Speaker 1: not elegant. It's just that they work. That's the most 137 00:07:19,800 --> 00:07:22,080 Speaker 1: important part of any hack is that it works, not 138 00:07:22,160 --> 00:07:27,280 Speaker 1: that it's pretty or that it aesthetically pleasing, which brings 139 00:07:27,320 --> 00:07:30,640 Speaker 1: me to a very specific kind of hack. Um, it's 140 00:07:30,760 --> 00:07:33,600 Speaker 1: a specific you know category, I should say, the Rube 141 00:07:33,600 --> 00:07:38,240 Speaker 1: Goldberg device. Yeah, these are the devices where it's incredibly 142 00:07:38,320 --> 00:07:42,400 Speaker 1: complicated and it just accomplishes a very simple task. So 143 00:07:42,480 --> 00:07:45,360 Speaker 1: it may be something as simple as pressing the toaster 144 00:07:45,520 --> 00:07:49,640 Speaker 1: lever down on your toaster and um, and cooking some toast. 145 00:07:49,880 --> 00:07:51,680 Speaker 1: But it may turn out that you use you know, 146 00:07:52,840 --> 00:07:56,320 Speaker 1: an erector said, and a coffee pot and a host 147 00:07:56,360 --> 00:07:59,960 Speaker 1: of action figures and a fishing rod and all sorts 148 00:08:00,000 --> 00:08:02,840 Speaker 1: of things order to accomplish this. Uh. The idea here 149 00:08:02,920 --> 00:08:04,840 Speaker 1: is to try and make as complex machine as you 150 00:08:04,880 --> 00:08:08,000 Speaker 1: possibly can that's really interesting to look at um and 151 00:08:08,040 --> 00:08:10,600 Speaker 1: has a lot of different moving parts that looks like 152 00:08:10,640 --> 00:08:13,360 Speaker 1: there's no way it should work, and yet it does work. 153 00:08:13,800 --> 00:08:16,680 Speaker 1: And if you've never seen one, actually, YouTube has tons 154 00:08:16,720 --> 00:08:19,640 Speaker 1: and tons of videos on Rube Goldberg devices. I recommend 155 00:08:19,880 --> 00:08:22,680 Speaker 1: checking some of them out because when they work, they're 156 00:08:22,680 --> 00:08:26,000 Speaker 1: really fascinating and and you chances are you have seen one. 157 00:08:26,000 --> 00:08:28,239 Speaker 1: I mean, there was a big car commercial that uses 158 00:08:28,320 --> 00:08:30,840 Speaker 1: a Rube Goldberg device to turn a car on at 159 00:08:30,840 --> 00:08:35,280 Speaker 1: one point, um or Peewee's Big Adventure. There you go. 160 00:08:35,400 --> 00:08:38,079 Speaker 1: His breakfast machine was a big Rube Goldberg device, yea. 161 00:08:38,320 --> 00:08:40,360 Speaker 1: And it was named for the you know, someone who 162 00:08:40,440 --> 00:08:44,200 Speaker 1: is fascinated with these, um the drawings used to hear 163 00:08:44,280 --> 00:08:47,320 Speaker 1: in magazines. Yeah, yeah, he would draw these these really 164 00:08:47,480 --> 00:08:51,040 Speaker 1: weird contraptions, and it was that same concept. And of 165 00:08:51,080 --> 00:08:53,800 Speaker 1: course Rube Goldberg was his name, and the device is 166 00:08:53,880 --> 00:08:56,319 Speaker 1: course named after him. And it's so funny to call 167 00:08:56,360 --> 00:08:58,959 Speaker 1: something a Rube Goldberg device. It's as generic a term 168 00:08:58,960 --> 00:09:01,680 Speaker 1: as you can imagine. Because it can look like anything, 169 00:09:02,200 --> 00:09:05,200 Speaker 1: and it can take up an entire house worth of space. 170 00:09:05,320 --> 00:09:09,680 Speaker 1: I've seen some that went multiple levels and through a yard, 171 00:09:09,880 --> 00:09:12,520 Speaker 1: and I mean, they're really fascinating things. And I recommend 172 00:09:12,520 --> 00:09:16,400 Speaker 1: playing Raymond Scott's Powerhouse as you're listening to that. That's 173 00:09:16,440 --> 00:09:19,400 Speaker 1: the song was Dun dun d you know. I have 174 00:09:19,440 --> 00:09:22,720 Speaker 1: a classic hack to um. I'm thinking of John Draper 175 00:09:24,080 --> 00:09:27,600 Speaker 1: Captain Crunch for those of you who who may not know. 176 00:09:28,120 --> 00:09:30,520 Speaker 1: A long time ago, there used to be a whistle, 177 00:09:30,600 --> 00:09:33,559 Speaker 1: a plastic whistle in a box of Captain ground and U. 178 00:09:34,679 --> 00:09:40,440 Speaker 1: John Draper figured out that they hurts tone that the 179 00:09:40,440 --> 00:09:42,280 Speaker 1: whistle made when you blew through it. If you blew 180 00:09:42,320 --> 00:09:44,120 Speaker 1: it into a phone, it would let you make long 181 00:09:44,160 --> 00:09:48,320 Speaker 1: distance calls for free. And even when he was in 182 00:09:48,360 --> 00:09:51,520 Speaker 1: the Armed Forces stationed overseas, people would call him a 183 00:09:51,679 --> 00:09:54,199 Speaker 1: long distance and he could blow the whistle and it 184 00:09:54,240 --> 00:09:57,720 Speaker 1: would basically erase the call from the you know, because 185 00:09:57,760 --> 00:10:00,720 Speaker 1: they had played the tone during that. That's that led 186 00:10:01,280 --> 00:10:03,840 Speaker 1: to a lot of people learning how to hack um, 187 00:10:03,880 --> 00:10:06,960 Speaker 1: you know, making these what they call blue boxes, you know, 188 00:10:07,000 --> 00:10:09,880 Speaker 1: because people like Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak used to 189 00:10:09,920 --> 00:10:12,320 Speaker 1: make them for their classmates apparently in college. From what 190 00:10:12,400 --> 00:10:15,560 Speaker 1: I've read, Yeah, the was was has quite the reputation 191 00:10:15,600 --> 00:10:18,360 Speaker 1: of being the phone freak. Oh yes, yes, And and 192 00:10:18,679 --> 00:10:21,680 Speaker 1: soon he will probably be voted off of Dancing with 193 00:10:21,720 --> 00:10:24,160 Speaker 1: the Stars, if he hasn't already by the time this 194 00:10:24,320 --> 00:10:26,400 Speaker 1: place that may have already come to pass, it hasn't 195 00:10:26,400 --> 00:10:28,840 Speaker 1: even shown yet. Yeah, anyway, I hope he comes on 196 00:10:28,880 --> 00:10:31,840 Speaker 1: a seg. I'm voting for him anyway. So I've got 197 00:10:31,880 --> 00:10:35,200 Speaker 1: another one from also from instructibles. Okay. The neat thing 198 00:10:35,240 --> 00:10:37,320 Speaker 1: about instructibles is it's not just that they show you 199 00:10:37,360 --> 00:10:39,760 Speaker 1: a hack, but they will show you how to build 200 00:10:39,800 --> 00:10:42,600 Speaker 1: it yourself, step by step, and in some cases it's 201 00:10:42,640 --> 00:10:45,200 Speaker 1: not that difficult. Now in other cases it takes you know, 202 00:10:45,240 --> 00:10:48,240 Speaker 1: a steady hand, especially when it comes to soldering things 203 00:10:48,320 --> 00:10:53,040 Speaker 1: or taking any sort of potentially expensive piece of electronics apart, 204 00:10:53,120 --> 00:10:54,920 Speaker 1: because you never know if you're gonna be able to 205 00:10:54,880 --> 00:10:57,880 Speaker 1: play back together again. So um, I don't recommend you 206 00:10:57,920 --> 00:10:59,840 Speaker 1: just rush out and try them unless you have a real, 207 00:11:00,040 --> 00:11:02,520 Speaker 1: you know, kind of a background with the source of 208 00:11:02,520 --> 00:11:06,319 Speaker 1: stuff already, or are completely willing to ruin something that 209 00:11:06,440 --> 00:11:08,520 Speaker 1: may or may not be valuable to you. Yeah, you 210 00:11:08,520 --> 00:11:11,199 Speaker 1: also have to remember that whenever you open up any electronics, 211 00:11:11,280 --> 00:11:14,439 Speaker 1: chances are you've just voided your warranty. So um, you know, 212 00:11:14,520 --> 00:11:17,559 Speaker 1: anytime you're doing a hack, you know, you don't expect 213 00:11:17,559 --> 00:11:20,040 Speaker 1: you'll be able to return it to the store and say, hey, my, 214 00:11:20,040 --> 00:11:22,280 Speaker 1: my such and such broke because they're gonna say, yeah, 215 00:11:22,320 --> 00:11:25,440 Speaker 1: you broke it. Um. But this one was a Game 216 00:11:25,480 --> 00:11:30,560 Speaker 1: Boy DS that UH was charged by solar panels. So 217 00:11:31,200 --> 00:11:34,920 Speaker 1: in this hack, the hacker used four sixty millimeter by 218 00:11:34,920 --> 00:11:38,959 Speaker 1: sixty millimeter solar panels that perfectly covered the outside case 219 00:11:39,120 --> 00:11:43,959 Speaker 1: of the DS and was able to wire those into 220 00:11:44,240 --> 00:11:48,559 Speaker 1: the battery pack for the the DS, and it can 221 00:11:48,640 --> 00:11:51,560 Speaker 1: charge the battery. Now, the only thing that was missing 222 00:11:51,679 --> 00:11:55,640 Speaker 1: from that particular version of this was a a chip, 223 00:11:55,960 --> 00:11:59,800 Speaker 1: a circuit protection UH chips, so that would prevent over 224 00:12:00,040 --> 00:12:03,600 Speaker 1: charging because otherwise, if you left the DS on the 225 00:12:03,600 --> 00:12:05,800 Speaker 1: sun for too long, it would overcharge the battery, which 226 00:12:06,520 --> 00:12:11,360 Speaker 1: could be bad with a capital by but UH and 227 00:12:11,360 --> 00:12:14,240 Speaker 1: and they hackor acknowledge that said it said that he 228 00:12:14,320 --> 00:12:17,200 Speaker 1: got the chip and now he's redesigning the hacks so 229 00:12:17,240 --> 00:12:20,439 Speaker 1: that it can incorporate the chip. So yeah, look for that. 230 00:12:20,600 --> 00:12:23,280 Speaker 1: It's an interesting little way that you can recharge your 231 00:12:23,640 --> 00:12:25,400 Speaker 1: DS just by leaving in the sun for a couple 232 00:12:25,400 --> 00:12:30,880 Speaker 1: of hours. That's that's that's awesome. Yeah, and you know 233 00:12:31,200 --> 00:12:34,560 Speaker 1: my next hack is a is a Nintendo related hack. 234 00:12:35,360 --> 00:12:39,600 Speaker 1: This one came from Make TV. Actually it's Make magazine, 235 00:12:39,600 --> 00:12:42,640 Speaker 1: which is O'Reilly's. Um. You know, I think this is 236 00:12:42,679 --> 00:12:45,760 Speaker 1: sort of classical hacking because they tell you how to 237 00:12:45,760 --> 00:12:48,400 Speaker 1: do all kinds of things. But um, they love taking 238 00:12:48,440 --> 00:12:51,880 Speaker 1: stuff apart. Um. In fact, they have sort of a 239 00:12:51,920 --> 00:12:55,520 Speaker 1: motto that essentially, if you haven't taken it apart, you 240 00:12:55,559 --> 00:13:00,280 Speaker 1: really don't own it. Um. And uh, you know a 241 00:13:00,280 --> 00:13:02,880 Speaker 1: lot of stuff when I was a kid, Yeah, and 242 00:13:02,920 --> 00:13:04,520 Speaker 1: how much of it works now. I was about saying 243 00:13:04,520 --> 00:13:09,320 Speaker 1: I owned stuff that wasn't even mine. Well, um, the 244 00:13:09,360 --> 00:13:11,160 Speaker 1: one that I thought, well, I I the one that 245 00:13:11,200 --> 00:13:12,839 Speaker 1: I picked. There are tons and tons of cool ones, 246 00:13:12,920 --> 00:13:15,080 Speaker 1: and um, the one I picked was actually from the 247 00:13:15,120 --> 00:13:18,560 Speaker 1: TV show. Uh. They have a podcast which is not 248 00:13:18,679 --> 00:13:23,160 Speaker 1: quite as cool as ours, but pretty cool. Nonetheless, Um, 249 00:13:22,720 --> 00:13:26,480 Speaker 1: you know I have to plug us, you know. Um. Anyway, 250 00:13:26,520 --> 00:13:31,160 Speaker 1: they had someone had made a personal flight data recorder, 251 00:13:31,320 --> 00:13:35,599 Speaker 1: if you will, um, using a we nun chuck of 252 00:13:36,440 --> 00:13:38,240 Speaker 1: for those of you who are familiar with a Nintendo 253 00:13:38,320 --> 00:13:41,320 Speaker 1: WE that's probably just about everybody on this podcast. Um. 254 00:13:41,679 --> 00:13:45,920 Speaker 1: You know that the controllers are have motion sensors in them. Uh, 255 00:13:46,000 --> 00:13:49,440 Speaker 1: there's a little chip inside called an accelerometer. And UM, 256 00:13:49,440 --> 00:13:51,679 Speaker 1: it turns out that you don't even have to take 257 00:13:51,840 --> 00:13:56,160 Speaker 1: the nun chuck apart. Um. There is a little piece 258 00:13:56,280 --> 00:13:59,559 Speaker 1: of electronic equipment that you can plug into the end 259 00:13:59,679 --> 00:14:03,040 Speaker 1: of of the plug and uh it allows you to 260 00:14:03,080 --> 00:14:07,440 Speaker 1: access the information in the accelerometer. So, UM, what they 261 00:14:07,480 --> 00:14:10,800 Speaker 1: did was they got a micro controller board. UH. And 262 00:14:10,880 --> 00:14:14,160 Speaker 1: this is a piece of electronic gear. Essentially, it's a 263 00:14:14,160 --> 00:14:17,240 Speaker 1: a circuit board with chips in it. And you know 264 00:14:17,280 --> 00:14:19,120 Speaker 1: it's the kind of thing that you that you probably 265 00:14:19,160 --> 00:14:21,720 Speaker 1: find in all kinds of different electronics. It takes user 266 00:14:21,760 --> 00:14:25,680 Speaker 1: input from dials and knobs and translates it into instructions 267 00:14:25,720 --> 00:14:29,080 Speaker 1: for the different electronic components. Well, if your input is 268 00:14:29,080 --> 00:14:31,840 Speaker 1: coming from the WE nunchuck, you have a power source 269 00:14:31,960 --> 00:14:35,200 Speaker 1: in this case, some double A batteries UM, and an 270 00:14:35,280 --> 00:14:37,600 Speaker 1: l C D screen. All it takes is a little 271 00:14:37,640 --> 00:14:41,640 Speaker 1: instruction UM from a laptop. You give it some very 272 00:14:41,680 --> 00:14:45,440 Speaker 1: basic programming. UM. And they made a little plastic box. 273 00:14:45,480 --> 00:14:49,360 Speaker 1: They took a a a Pelican case which is very 274 00:14:49,760 --> 00:14:54,480 Speaker 1: h well known waterproof divers use these to protect different things. 275 00:14:54,480 --> 00:14:57,520 Speaker 1: Because there they locked down in their waterproof um. They 276 00:14:57,520 --> 00:14:58,840 Speaker 1: cut a hole in it for the l c D 277 00:14:58,960 --> 00:15:02,520 Speaker 1: screen and put all the guts inside except for the nunchuck, 278 00:15:03,040 --> 00:15:05,960 Speaker 1: and uh, what it would allow them to do once 279 00:15:06,000 --> 00:15:10,120 Speaker 1: the board was programmed with the information was they basically said, look, 280 00:15:10,200 --> 00:15:14,920 Speaker 1: tell me what the accelerometer is sensing and so uh 281 00:15:15,120 --> 00:15:18,760 Speaker 1: they got it to tell them exactly what kind of 282 00:15:18,800 --> 00:15:22,560 Speaker 1: gravitational force was was pulling on them at the moment. 283 00:15:22,640 --> 00:15:25,400 Speaker 1: So uh, you know, they rigged this up and went 284 00:15:25,400 --> 00:15:28,800 Speaker 1: on a roller coaster at the Mall of America and uh, 285 00:15:28,800 --> 00:15:30,680 Speaker 1: it's really great because they're talking about it and he 286 00:15:30,760 --> 00:15:33,880 Speaker 1: said the the the person into the podcast says, look, 287 00:15:33,880 --> 00:15:36,640 Speaker 1: you know, I'm pulling two g s Um. It's absolutely 288 00:15:36,680 --> 00:15:39,440 Speaker 1: cool because you know there's no movie. You know, it's 289 00:15:39,480 --> 00:15:43,680 Speaker 1: just the we nunchuck. UM. It doesn't require very very 290 00:15:43,720 --> 00:15:47,120 Speaker 1: you know, it's it was probably uh, you know, forty 291 00:15:47,520 --> 00:15:53,200 Speaker 1: worth of plastic and uh and circuit boards plus the nunchuck. Um. 292 00:15:53,240 --> 00:15:57,160 Speaker 1: You know, very inexpensive and fun little project to do 293 00:15:57,360 --> 00:16:01,080 Speaker 1: and not something that you would normally find, but really 294 00:16:01,120 --> 00:16:03,520 Speaker 1: cool to see it something like the nunchuck used in 295 00:16:03,560 --> 00:16:06,880 Speaker 1: such an unusual way. I thought, well, moving from very 296 00:16:06,920 --> 00:16:13,600 Speaker 1: inexpensive hacks to incredibly expensive ones, um I have. Actually 297 00:16:13,640 --> 00:16:19,640 Speaker 1: it's another broad category steampunk hacks. Now. I wrote how 298 00:16:19,720 --> 00:16:22,600 Speaker 1: steampunk works and if you're not familiar, steampunk is kind 299 00:16:22,640 --> 00:16:25,800 Speaker 1: of a well started off as a sort of a 300 00:16:25,840 --> 00:16:29,000 Speaker 1: sub genre of fiction that kind of attaches to fantasy 301 00:16:29,000 --> 00:16:33,680 Speaker 1: and science fiction. UM. Now it's almost a cultural thing, 302 00:16:33,720 --> 00:16:37,480 Speaker 1: you know, a subculture. It's gone beyond just literature. The 303 00:16:37,520 --> 00:16:40,320 Speaker 1: idea is that it's, uh, it's exists in a world 304 00:16:40,360 --> 00:16:44,080 Speaker 1: that never was. It's kind of this Victorian age world 305 00:16:44,560 --> 00:16:49,680 Speaker 1: where steam technology um continue to develop beyond things like 306 00:16:49,720 --> 00:16:52,760 Speaker 1: the steam engine, so that everything seems to be steam 307 00:16:52,800 --> 00:16:56,760 Speaker 1: powered and that we, the people who inhabit this world, 308 00:16:56,800 --> 00:17:00,480 Speaker 1: have access to technology comparable to the the kind that 309 00:17:00,520 --> 00:17:03,280 Speaker 1: we have today. But it's all steam powered stuff. So 310 00:17:03,320 --> 00:17:07,560 Speaker 1: there's lots of brass and copper used, and there's lots 311 00:17:07,560 --> 00:17:11,840 Speaker 1: of rivets, and everything looks really industrial and um, it's 312 00:17:11,840 --> 00:17:13,959 Speaker 1: got a very unique look. If you're not familiar with 313 00:17:13,960 --> 00:17:16,080 Speaker 1: what steampunk stuff looks like, you really need to do 314 00:17:16,080 --> 00:17:19,239 Speaker 1: a search because it's very unique and um, I think 315 00:17:19,280 --> 00:17:22,400 Speaker 1: it's gorgeous. Have you've ever seen the Wild Wild West 316 00:17:22,440 --> 00:17:25,040 Speaker 1: TV show? Yeah, you know they would always pull these 317 00:17:25,520 --> 00:17:28,359 Speaker 1: crazy gadgets out, you know, from behind the link in 318 00:17:28,359 --> 00:17:30,080 Speaker 1: the in the train cars and you're going, you know, 319 00:17:30,400 --> 00:17:32,040 Speaker 1: they didn't have that kind of stuff. That was sort 320 00:17:32,040 --> 00:17:35,119 Speaker 1: of a I'm guessing probably an inspiration for some of 321 00:17:35,119 --> 00:17:37,520 Speaker 1: the steampunk type stuff because it's sort of in that 322 00:17:37,560 --> 00:17:40,560 Speaker 1: same well, they didn't really have that kind of technology 323 00:17:40,560 --> 00:17:43,200 Speaker 1: that well, you know, it's anachronistic like that. It's it's 324 00:17:43,400 --> 00:17:45,440 Speaker 1: and and it also draws a lot of a lot 325 00:17:45,480 --> 00:17:48,479 Speaker 1: of inspiration from the works of Jules Verne and H. G. Wells. 326 00:17:48,560 --> 00:17:51,120 Speaker 1: Those are kind of the two patron saints of steampunk. 327 00:17:51,280 --> 00:17:53,359 Speaker 1: So you think about like twenty Leagues under the Sea 328 00:17:53,400 --> 00:17:55,800 Speaker 1: and you look at the Nautilus. The design of the Nautilus, Yeah, 329 00:17:55,880 --> 00:17:58,280 Speaker 1: totally steampunk, I kind of get it. Or the time 330 00:17:58,280 --> 00:18:04,240 Speaker 1: machine from H. G. Wells, those weren't to burst your bubble, 331 00:18:05,160 --> 00:18:07,960 Speaker 1: I forget I said that anyway. So there are lots 332 00:18:08,000 --> 00:18:10,200 Speaker 1: of people out there who do steampunk hacks where they 333 00:18:10,200 --> 00:18:13,520 Speaker 1: take modern stuff, they tear it apart and they rebuild it. 334 00:18:13,560 --> 00:18:16,720 Speaker 1: So it looks like it kind of has this old, 335 00:18:16,720 --> 00:18:19,800 Speaker 1: tiny look. Retro futurism is a good way of putting 336 00:18:19,840 --> 00:18:23,320 Speaker 1: it because it looks old and yet futuristic at the 337 00:18:23,359 --> 00:18:25,720 Speaker 1: same time. And there are tons and tons of artists 338 00:18:25,720 --> 00:18:28,680 Speaker 1: out there, and a lot of them are really really talented. Um, 339 00:18:28,720 --> 00:18:31,680 Speaker 1: but I was just gonna talk about Data Manswer. Now 340 00:18:31,720 --> 00:18:36,280 Speaker 1: this guy is really really phenomenal. He he will build 341 00:18:36,320 --> 00:18:39,639 Speaker 1: out a steampunk keyboard for you if you want, and 342 00:18:39,680 --> 00:18:42,399 Speaker 1: you can tell him what what materials you want and 343 00:18:42,400 --> 00:18:45,199 Speaker 1: what style you want. And these things range from like 344 00:18:48,280 --> 00:18:52,080 Speaker 1: they're really expensive, mainly because you're talking about workmanship, you're 345 00:18:52,080 --> 00:18:55,919 Speaker 1: talking about materials, because copper is not cheap. Um what 346 00:18:56,040 --> 00:18:58,000 Speaker 1: is if you, you know, go into the street lights 347 00:18:58,040 --> 00:19:00,800 Speaker 1: and stealing. Well, that's sure, but he us not do that, 348 00:19:01,480 --> 00:19:04,320 Speaker 1: I would like to think. Um, actually, I'm sure he 349 00:19:04,359 --> 00:19:06,080 Speaker 1: doesn't do that. Everything has to be on the up 350 00:19:06,119 --> 00:19:09,840 Speaker 1: and up. But he also gives them all really interesting, 351 00:19:09,960 --> 00:19:13,200 Speaker 1: fanciful names. That's kind of part of the culture. So, 352 00:19:13,280 --> 00:19:16,360 Speaker 1: for instance, he has a steampunk computer that is called 353 00:19:16,440 --> 00:19:19,640 Speaker 1: and I'm going to butcher this name, but the Nagy 354 00:19:19,680 --> 00:19:26,000 Speaker 1: Magical movable type pixel O Dynamo Tronic computational engine. Alright, 355 00:19:26,040 --> 00:19:29,680 Speaker 1: then that's his computer and it looks awesome. His keyboards 356 00:19:29,680 --> 00:19:31,919 Speaker 1: are amazing. He's got tons and tons of stuff. If 357 00:19:31,920 --> 00:19:34,000 Speaker 1: you go to data manswer dot net you can see it. 358 00:19:34,000 --> 00:19:37,040 Speaker 1: It's a and and he he agreed to UM to 359 00:19:37,800 --> 00:19:39,960 Speaker 1: let me use some of the images for the article. 360 00:19:40,080 --> 00:19:45,040 Speaker 1: So he's top aces in my book. You know, how 361 00:19:45,080 --> 00:19:47,240 Speaker 1: about you got anything else? Now? You know I had 362 00:19:47,359 --> 00:19:50,680 Speaker 1: my my too big in my classics. Okay. The only 363 00:19:50,720 --> 00:19:52,440 Speaker 1: other thing I can talk about is that there are 364 00:19:52,520 --> 00:19:56,000 Speaker 1: hacks out there that are dangerous. Dangerous hacks not just 365 00:19:56,080 --> 00:19:58,040 Speaker 1: if you don't know what you're doing, but they're dangerous 366 00:19:58,040 --> 00:19:59,320 Speaker 1: even if you do know what you're doing and you 367 00:19:59,400 --> 00:20:01,719 Speaker 1: end up with them. You're not like talking poking yourself 368 00:20:01,760 --> 00:20:04,040 Speaker 1: with a hot soldering I mean, that is dangerous, yes, 369 00:20:04,040 --> 00:20:05,680 Speaker 1: but that's not what I'm talking Sucking yourself with a 370 00:20:06,240 --> 00:20:09,480 Speaker 1: monitor that hasn't discharged the electricity from then also dangerous, 371 00:20:09,400 --> 00:20:11,360 Speaker 1: is not what I'm talking about. I'm talking about things 372 00:20:11,359 --> 00:20:13,960 Speaker 1: that are dangerous once you build them and they're working properly, 373 00:20:14,119 --> 00:20:18,240 Speaker 1: like spud guns. That would be dangerous. But some one 374 00:20:18,359 --> 00:20:20,640 Speaker 1: talk like Chris, come on, work with me here about 375 00:20:20,640 --> 00:20:23,920 Speaker 1: things like spud guns or pneumatic rifles. There are a 376 00:20:23,960 --> 00:20:25,679 Speaker 1: lot of these out there and their hacks other and 377 00:20:25,760 --> 00:20:28,080 Speaker 1: most of the people who make the hacks will tell you, hey, 378 00:20:28,080 --> 00:20:30,520 Speaker 1: this is really dangerous stuff and it's neat to do, 379 00:20:31,080 --> 00:20:34,280 Speaker 1: but you've gotta be really, really careful because one, if 380 00:20:34,359 --> 00:20:36,560 Speaker 1: you put too much pressure in these things, they will 381 00:20:36,600 --> 00:20:39,200 Speaker 1: blow up and you will be hurt too. If you 382 00:20:39,280 --> 00:20:41,760 Speaker 1: pointed at someone and you pull a trigger, that person 383 00:20:41,800 --> 00:20:45,520 Speaker 1: will be hurt. Um three. In most in many places, 384 00:20:45,920 --> 00:20:49,040 Speaker 1: it may be illegal to construct such a device, So 385 00:20:49,560 --> 00:20:51,679 Speaker 1: be careful when you are looking around at hacks that 386 00:20:51,720 --> 00:20:53,800 Speaker 1: you want to tackle. Make sure that you know you're 387 00:20:53,840 --> 00:20:55,680 Speaker 1: not going to be violating any laws. You're not gonna 388 00:20:55,680 --> 00:20:57,800 Speaker 1: get any trouble, and you're most importantly, you're not gonna 389 00:20:57,840 --> 00:21:01,600 Speaker 1: hurt yourself or someone else. Right. So that's advice we 390 00:21:01,600 --> 00:21:03,840 Speaker 1: should all live by, don't you think. I think? So 391 00:21:04,080 --> 00:21:06,880 Speaker 1: you know what that brings us to? Oh yep, well, 392 00:21:06,920 --> 00:21:11,120 Speaker 1: listener mail, I wish I could hack that sound. Yeah, 393 00:21:11,240 --> 00:21:16,040 Speaker 1: keep wishing. So today's listener mail comes from Dale Johnson 394 00:21:16,119 --> 00:21:18,720 Speaker 1: and this actually came to us via Stuff you should 395 00:21:18,800 --> 00:21:21,639 Speaker 1: know that's a sister podcast of ours, and they wanted 396 00:21:21,720 --> 00:21:23,359 Speaker 1: us to kind of tackle this one because it had 397 00:21:23,400 --> 00:21:25,159 Speaker 1: the word hack in the title. But I don't think 398 00:21:25,160 --> 00:21:27,600 Speaker 1: they read the email very carefully because it's totally different 399 00:21:27,680 --> 00:21:30,600 Speaker 1: kind of hack. This is the hack hacks, the famous 400 00:21:30,640 --> 00:21:34,280 Speaker 1: hacks from Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Oh yeah, these are 401 00:21:34,320 --> 00:21:37,359 Speaker 1: the These are not hacks in like the computer hacking 402 00:21:37,400 --> 00:21:40,320 Speaker 1: sense or or really the electronics hacking sense. Basically, they're 403 00:21:40,359 --> 00:21:45,320 Speaker 1: hacking their campus. These are practical jokes that they play, 404 00:21:45,800 --> 00:21:48,919 Speaker 1: and no one ever seems to know exactly who's responsible 405 00:21:48,960 --> 00:21:52,440 Speaker 1: for them. But uh, they make some headlines from time 406 00:21:52,440 --> 00:21:54,479 Speaker 1: to time, opears to be more outrageous. One. There's been 407 00:21:54,520 --> 00:21:57,040 Speaker 1: some really some really really great ones, And I've just 408 00:21:57,080 --> 00:21:58,560 Speaker 1: got a few all run down to give you an 409 00:21:58,560 --> 00:22:00,680 Speaker 1: idea of what kind of hacks were talking about and 410 00:22:00,800 --> 00:22:06,600 Speaker 1: the sick twisted mines behind them. Brilliant, brilliant, sick twisted lines. No, 411 00:22:06,800 --> 00:22:10,399 Speaker 1: I have nothing but admiration for these people. Uh So, 412 00:22:10,680 --> 00:22:16,439 Speaker 1: for instance, here's one. Imagine waking up on m I 413 00:22:16,440 --> 00:22:20,840 Speaker 1: T campus and you're walking toward the h was known 414 00:22:20,840 --> 00:22:24,399 Speaker 1: as the Great Dome building has a huge dome, okay, 415 00:22:24,440 --> 00:22:27,040 Speaker 1: and you look and you notice there's something flashing on 416 00:22:27,040 --> 00:22:29,360 Speaker 1: top of the Dome and you look more carefully and 417 00:22:29,600 --> 00:22:33,119 Speaker 1: there is what appears to be a Chevallet Cavalier cop 418 00:22:33,200 --> 00:22:36,879 Speaker 1: car Campus cop car sitting on top of the dome. 419 00:22:38,160 --> 00:22:42,679 Speaker 1: That night, students had assembled uh the shell of a 420 00:22:42,880 --> 00:22:46,680 Speaker 1: Chevallet Cavalier around a wooden frame and they put working 421 00:22:46,880 --> 00:22:48,760 Speaker 1: lights on it. There was no siren or anything, but 422 00:22:48,800 --> 00:22:52,440 Speaker 1: they put working lights on ran and then they dispersed, 423 00:22:52,720 --> 00:22:55,000 Speaker 1: and the next morning people will see this car on 424 00:22:55,040 --> 00:22:57,919 Speaker 1: top of the Great Dome. It was a pretty cool 425 00:22:58,359 --> 00:23:00,639 Speaker 1: And they've done other things to the Great That's actually 426 00:23:00,640 --> 00:23:04,320 Speaker 1: a really popular place to to pull a classic hack 427 00:23:04,400 --> 00:23:07,000 Speaker 1: because it's such a you know, it's such an iconic 428 00:23:07,080 --> 00:23:10,040 Speaker 1: part of the m I T. Campus. Yes, uh so, 429 00:23:10,119 --> 00:23:14,680 Speaker 1: for instance, in to celebrate the release of the Star 430 00:23:14,760 --> 00:23:18,919 Speaker 1: Wars Episode one prequel, how little we knew back then, Um, 431 00:23:18,960 --> 00:23:23,240 Speaker 1: they turned the Great Dome into our two d two. 432 00:23:24,440 --> 00:23:26,760 Speaker 1: And one of the important things about these hacks is 433 00:23:26,800 --> 00:23:29,280 Speaker 1: they m I T. People don't want to do any 434 00:23:29,280 --> 00:23:33,119 Speaker 1: permanent damage now, so vandalism is out. Anything that would 435 00:23:33,119 --> 00:23:37,199 Speaker 1: cause lots of headaches for someone to fix, that's right 436 00:23:37,200 --> 00:23:39,960 Speaker 1: out the door, because it's considered bad form. Yeah. I 437 00:23:40,560 --> 00:23:42,720 Speaker 1: think that's uh, you know, I haven't really talked to 438 00:23:42,720 --> 00:23:45,120 Speaker 1: anybody personally who's been involved with these, but I think 439 00:23:45,119 --> 00:23:47,680 Speaker 1: that's part of the challenge, is to avoid doing any 440 00:23:47,760 --> 00:23:50,119 Speaker 1: kind of damage. Because sure you could drill holes or 441 00:23:50,400 --> 00:23:54,400 Speaker 1: you know whatever to make things stick or prop them up. 442 00:23:54,440 --> 00:23:56,520 Speaker 1: But if you can do it without doing any damage, 443 00:23:56,520 --> 00:23:59,679 Speaker 1: that hard, you know. And in this case, they use 444 00:24:00,040 --> 00:24:02,720 Speaker 1: brick to make the R two D two panels, so 445 00:24:02,720 --> 00:24:04,359 Speaker 1: they didn't, you know, there was no permit. They didn't 446 00:24:04,400 --> 00:24:08,040 Speaker 1: paint the dome or anything like that. And there's several others. 447 00:24:08,040 --> 00:24:11,120 Speaker 1: There's tons and tons more. I'll just give um two 448 00:24:11,119 --> 00:24:14,119 Speaker 1: really quick ones, uh, and then we can conclude. But 449 00:24:14,200 --> 00:24:16,359 Speaker 1: in two thousands there these both of these captain. In 450 00:24:16,359 --> 00:24:18,920 Speaker 1: two thousand and eight, Uh, the M I. T. Students 451 00:24:18,960 --> 00:24:23,600 Speaker 1: play several do not signs around campus do not something something, 452 00:24:24,040 --> 00:24:26,880 Speaker 1: and uh. They were all jokes that were based upon 453 00:24:26,960 --> 00:24:30,000 Speaker 1: the location that do not sign was left at. So, 454 00:24:30,119 --> 00:24:33,320 Speaker 1: for example, on the Department of Mathematics bulletin board it 455 00:24:33,400 --> 00:24:38,240 Speaker 1: said do not divide by zero. On the window of 456 00:24:38,280 --> 00:24:42,879 Speaker 1: the campus grill, it said do not has cheeseburger. But 457 00:24:42,960 --> 00:24:44,520 Speaker 1: there were other ones, like in the hallway says do 458 00:24:44,560 --> 00:24:47,760 Speaker 1: not do cartwheels, and uh, there's one that was upside 459 00:24:47,760 --> 00:24:49,960 Speaker 1: down and placed way up on the walls as do 460 00:24:50,000 --> 00:24:53,879 Speaker 1: not walk on ceiling. Lots of just silly little stuff 461 00:24:53,920 --> 00:24:55,960 Speaker 1: like that, and they were all over the entire campus. 462 00:24:56,240 --> 00:24:58,600 Speaker 1: And the other one, which I love because of my 463 00:24:58,720 --> 00:25:02,040 Speaker 1: love of zombies. Two thousand and eight during the campus 464 00:25:02,040 --> 00:25:05,280 Speaker 1: preview weekend, so this is when students prospective students are 465 00:25:05,320 --> 00:25:07,040 Speaker 1: coming to the campus to take a look at it. 466 00:25:07,680 --> 00:25:11,280 Speaker 1: Some students installed emergency zombie kits in a couple of 467 00:25:11,280 --> 00:25:13,560 Speaker 1: buildings and it was a big case with a glass 468 00:25:13,600 --> 00:25:16,320 Speaker 1: panel that had a chainsaw in it and it said 469 00:25:16,359 --> 00:25:21,480 Speaker 1: in case of zombie attack, break glass. That's just awesome. 470 00:25:22,440 --> 00:25:24,800 Speaker 1: And these are just a small list. There are there 471 00:25:24,840 --> 00:25:26,679 Speaker 1: are tons and tons of these hacks. I mean, m 472 00:25:26,720 --> 00:25:29,080 Speaker 1: I T is famous for them. Yep. And you know, 473 00:25:29,160 --> 00:25:31,040 Speaker 1: of course that we are going to get at least 474 00:25:31,160 --> 00:25:36,000 Speaker 1: one listener email from someone at cal Tech. He's going 475 00:25:36,040 --> 00:25:38,760 Speaker 1: to point out that cal Tech has its own and 476 00:25:38,880 --> 00:25:41,879 Speaker 1: they that may spawn other listener emails because there are 477 00:25:41,920 --> 00:25:44,280 Speaker 1: some fantastic hacks that have happened all over the country. 478 00:25:45,160 --> 00:25:48,880 Speaker 1: Harvey mud has has pulled pranks on Caltech in the past. Yeah, 479 00:25:48,960 --> 00:25:51,320 Speaker 1: this is this is one of those proud, proud traditions 480 00:25:51,359 --> 00:25:56,320 Speaker 1: of various engineering and technologies colleges throughout the United States. Um, 481 00:25:56,359 --> 00:25:59,280 Speaker 1: it's just m I T is particularly famous for them. Well, 482 00:25:59,280 --> 00:26:01,480 Speaker 1: that's a great disc sussion. I guess we can wrap 483 00:26:01,560 --> 00:26:04,560 Speaker 1: this up. If in any of you have any suggestions 484 00:26:04,680 --> 00:26:07,320 Speaker 1: or comments or corrections for us, you can write us 485 00:26:07,400 --> 00:26:09,919 Speaker 1: at tech stuff at how stuff works dot com. And 486 00:26:09,960 --> 00:26:14,359 Speaker 1: remember we have blogs now blogs he blogs, and you 487 00:26:14,400 --> 00:26:17,160 Speaker 1: can read those blogs at blogs dot how stuff works 488 00:26:17,160 --> 00:26:20,639 Speaker 1: dot com slash category slash tech stuff. And remember you 489 00:26:20,640 --> 00:26:22,719 Speaker 1: can read all about this sort of information on how 490 00:26:22,760 --> 00:26:25,000 Speaker 1: stuff works dot com. And we will talk to you 491 00:26:25,040 --> 00:26:28,840 Speaker 1: again really soon for more on this and thousands of 492 00:26:28,880 --> 00:26:36,160 Speaker 1: other topics. Is it how stuff works dot com brought 493 00:26:36,160 --> 00:26:39,359 Speaker 1: to you by the reinvented two thousand twelve camera. It's ready, 494 00:26:39,560 --> 00:26:40,000 Speaker 1: are you