The MIT hacking community at its best

Parent Cafe
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<p>And by “hacking” I mean “pranking” (not “malicious computing”). Howe & Ser Moving has pulled off perhaps the hack of the decade.</p>

<p><a href=“http://mitcannon.com/[/url]”>http://mitcannon.com/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>Coincidence that MIT’s Campus Preview Weekend for admitted students starts today? I think not. ;)</p>

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<p>Better than the balloon coming out of the 50-yard line at the Harvard-Yale game?</p>

<p>Thanks for posting this. My son will be happy to hear about it!</p>

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<p>Couldn’t agree more, mootmom! They are the best!</p>

<p>BTW, if you just happen to know any of the merry pranksters, tell them to stop by the Mudd Hole (the on-campus student snack bar) the next time they’re in Claremont. I imagine there are a whole bunch of Mudders who’d gladly treat them to whatever they want.</p>

<p>(Coincidence that the hackers chose the exact 20th anniversary date of the original prank? I think not. :slight_smile: And the Brass Rat was a nice touch!)</p>

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<p>Howe ser? pretty cute…</p>

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<p>This kind of thing makes me SO proud of my alma mater.</p>

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<p>See the Wikipedia entry:</p>

<p>Rivalry with Caltech
There is a long-standing rivalry between Harvey Mudd and the nearby Caltech; except this rivalry is basically unacknowledged by Caltech. For example, in one prank, students from Mudd stole a memorial cannon from Fleming House at Caltech (originally from the National Guard) by dressing as maintenance people and carting it off on a flatbed truck for “cleaning;” Though thought a coup by the Mudd students, most Caltech students were in fact happy to see the cannon gone, as Fleming House is considered unpopular and obnoxious by most of the campus. Fleming students got it back by having their school President threaten legal action. <a href=“In%202006,%20MIT%20paid%20homage%20to%20Harvey%20Mudd%20by%20re-enacting%20the%20prank%20and%20moved%20the%20same%20cannon%20to%20their%20campus%20in%20Cambridge,%20Massachusetts.”>b</a>**</p>

<p>In another prank, Mudd students made a slight modification to a freeway sign that read as follows:</p>

<p>California Institute of Technology
Pasadena City College
Next Exit</p>

<p>Their prank was quite subtle; they put parentheses around “Pasadena City College,” so it read:</p>

<p>California Institute of Technology
(Pasadena City College)
Next Exit</p>

<p>The modified sign therefore implied that Caltech was in fact the same as Pasadena City College, a much less prestigious institution.</p>

<p><a href=“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harvey_Mudd_College[/url]”>http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harvey_Mudd_College&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

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<p>It was a good day for hacking – at the welcome ceremony for the Campus Preview Weekend, the lights suddenly went off, glow-in-the-dark bracelets and lightsticks were thrown into the crowd, strobe lights were turned on, and a recorded voice over a musical soundtrack announced that the prefrosh had entered the “Massachusetts Institute of Techno”. :D</p>

<p>The admissions staff was very much amused.</p>

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<p>Unless I’m mistaken that howser is a firearm, and I hope those hackers didn’t run afoul of MA’s mandatory penalty firearm laws. ;)</p>

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<p>Thanks much for posting this!</p>

<p>More pics here:
<a href=“http://web.mit.edu/jotong/Public/Photos/MIT/Caltech%20Cannon%20Hack/photos/[/url]”>http://web.mit.edu/jotong/Public/Photos/MIT/Caltech%20Cannon%20Hack/photos/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>If you are keeping score:<a href=“http://www.caltechvsmit.com/[/url]”>http://www.caltechvsmit.com/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

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<p>Yeah, I’ll digging the 20th year anniversary… to the day.</p>

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<p>Speaking from one who was there… it was a ball :)</p>

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<p>wait, what are you talking bout andi? i’m very interested. please PM if you can.</p>

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<p>I’m interested, too… where were you, Andi?</p>

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<p>The cannon is getting a lot of attention and admiration at its new home- in Cambridge, MA.</p>

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<p>Andi,</p>

<p>Hope the college acceptance process (you accept them…) is going great guns…</p>

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<p>I’m planning to view the cannon with my two sons next Tuesday. I hope that Caltech doesn’t manage to steal it back before then.</p>

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<p>I am guessing that andi was at the MIT prefrosh campus preview weekend. Andison has been attending classes at MIT this yr and MIT was one of his many acceptances this year. Andi- does this mean that he’s decided on MIT?</p>

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<p>Yeah, it’s been a real blast! And we’re not feeling like cannon fodder this time around…</p>

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<p>The story from Pasadena…</p>

<p><a href=“http://www.pasadenastarnews.com/news/ci_3682909[/url]”>http://www.pasadenastarnews.com/news/ci_3682909&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

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<p><a href=“http://web.mit.edu/ec/www/cannoncoeds/[/url]”>http://web.mit.edu/ec/www/cannoncoeds/&lt;/a&gt; Apparently this was an attempt to show Caltech that MIT has more and more attractive women.</p>

<p><a href=“http://web.mit.edu/jotong/Public/Photos/MIT/Caltech%20Cannon%20Hack/[/url]”>http://web.mit.edu/jotong/Public/Photos/MIT/Caltech%20Cannon%20Hack/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;