MIT Hackers Appropriate Caltech Cannon 329
Bob Hearn writes "Some Slashdotters might remember the story Caltech Pranks MIT's Prefrosh Weekend from a year ago. MIT Hackers have gotten even. Sometime in the middle of the night, Caltech's famous cannon appeared at the base of MIT's Green building. A plaque in front of it reads: 'CALTECH CANNON April 6, 2006 MIT hackers posing as the Howe & Ser Moving Company Appropriated this cannon on March 28, 2006. It later appeared on MIT's campus with the addition of a large brass rat made of gold-plated aluminum. In honor of its previous owners, the cannon points towards Padadena, CA.' The brass rat (MIT ring) is really a rather impressive bit of aluminum machining. Harvey Mudd College previously stole the cannon, in 1986, but later had to give it back."
We Must Not Allow a University Cannon Gap! (Score:5, Funny)
The first will be a large scale grant to beef up our offensive against all other universities by using the rocket and aerodynamic sciences departments to further develop a V3-Schneider program. Remember, we care not about the surrounding buildings of our targets, but only require a half mile 'radius of terror' so that we can effectively instill fear into the hearts of other academic institutions.
The second grant will go to the physics department so that they can develop hilarious Rube Goldberg booby traps around our V3-Schneider platform in an effort to reduce sabotage. Another part of it will go into a free weight old fashion stationary trebuchet aimed at the one lone road into the University. In the event of an invasion, all incoming vehicles will have flying refrigerators to contend with.
Remember people, this is war and we will not waver or falter.
Re:We Must Not Allow a University Cannon Gap! (Score:2)
HUZZAH!
HUZZAH!
Nice tooling! (Score:2)
-nB
Re:Nice tooling! (Score:3, Informative)
Easy typo seing as they are so close to each other on the keyboards...
BTW: http://web.mit.edu/jotong/Public/Photos/MIT/Calte
Re:Nice tooling! (Score:2)
Re:Nice tooling! (Score:2)
-nB
Gold plated aluminium brass rat? (Score:5, Insightful)
Come on, it's either aluminium or gold plated - there's no brass in there at all.
Re:Gold plated aluminium brass rat? (Score:2, Informative)
The brass rat on the cannon is gold plated aluminum.
Re:Gold plated aluminium brass rat? (Score:5, Informative)
Re:Gold plated aluminium brass rat? (Score:3, Informative)
I think the blurb is misleading in not making it clear the the Brass Rat [mit.edu] is a proper noun. Specifically, it is the amusing name given to the MIT class ring, which traditionally pictures a beaver, nature's engineer. Capitalize proper names, you tards! Oh, but I guess that would be considered "editing", and they don;t do that around here...
Re:Gold plated aluminium brass rat? (Score:2, Informative)
I think what you meant is not that they don't edit, but rather that they don't edit properly.
Re:Gold plated aluminium brass rat? (Score:2)
See image here:
http://www.caltechcannon.com/2.jpg [caltechcannon.com]
Re:Gold plated aluminium brass rat? (Score:2)
Re:Gold plated aluminium brass rat? (Score:2)
and they don;t do that around
^^^^^
*BLAM!*
Re:Gold plated aluminium brass rat? (Score:3, Insightful)
That button next to the "Submit" button, the one called "Preview", is typicaly used for editing.
Re:Gold plated aluminium brass rat? (Score:3, Funny)
MIT hacks (Score:5, Funny)
IHTFP : Interesting Hacks To Fascinate People
Re:MIT hacks (Score:4, Informative)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IHTFP [wikipedia.org]
-Cinnamon
Re:MIT hacks (Score:5, Funny)
Re:MIT hacks (Score:2)
I used to work in Cambridge, right across the street from one of the MIT parking lots for their facilities department. For a while one of their vans (looked like a converted ambulance) sported the message "IHTFP Hack Removal Squad" on its side. It looked professionally done - quite a good hack in my opinion.
Re:MIT hacks (Score:3, Funny)
the really brilliant bit of this caltech prank was (Score:2, Troll)
Homoerotic Cannon Envy (Score:3, Funny)
For you see, all nerds have inside them at least a little bit of 'cannon envy'...
The Elusive California Cannon (Score:2)
Re:the really brilliant bit of this caltech prank (Score:3, Informative)
Cannon Fodder (Score:5, Funny)
*Scoff* (Score:5, Funny)
What kind of sysadmins are they!?
Re:*Scoff* (Score:5, Funny)
What kind of sysadmins are they!?
Give them a break, they just got finished with the first physical exertion of their lives.
Re:*Scoff* (Score:2)
a big relief (Score:5, Informative)
Re:a big relief (Score:2)
Re:a big relief (Score:5, Informative)
Bottom line: Caltech's security guards are rent-a-cops; MIT's are policemen. I cannot recall a single incident in my six years at Caltech where security responded to a call fast enough to see perpetrators. I personally committed a number of, ah, acts at leisurely pace because there was no reason to hurry. I've been to the rooftops in the middle of the day countless times. It's no big deal. You cannot do the same thing at MIT with such cavalier ease because the campus has been hardened against hacking, and the MIT Campus Police are reasonably quick to respond, and reasonably quick-witted.
Kudos to the MIT group for pulling off an impressive feat!
Re:a big relief (Score:2, Funny)
Re:a big relief (Score:5, Funny)
Never been to Caltech, but when I was at MIT [mumble-mumble] years ago, I think the primary job of the Campus Police was to make sure we didn't get arrested by the Cambridge Police.
Check out the offsite link... (Score:5, Informative)
Re:Check out the offsite link... (Score:2)
Re:Check out the offsite link... (Score:2)
Whois - caltechcannon.com [whois.sc]
Domains by Proxy, Inc.
DomainsByProxy.com
15111 N. Hayden Rd., Ste 160, PMB 353
Scottsdale, Arizona 85260
United States
Registered through: GoDaddy.com
Domain Name: CALTECHCANNON.COM
Cr
Re:Check out the offsite link... (Score:2)
From an HMC mailing list (Score:5, Funny)
Date: 28 March 06 19:56:34 PST
To: [HMC internal mailing list]
Howdy,
Did anyone steal the Caltech cannon Monday night/Tuesday
morning? They called and said it was stolen and were hoping it was here.
Chris Sundberg
Associate Dean of Students
Harvey Mudd College
Re:From an HMC mailing list (Score:3, Informative)
Re:From an HMC mailing list (Score:2)
Atleast, Chris Sundberg [hmc.edu] seems to be an actual Associate Dean of Students/Director of Student Activities at HMC.
Re:From an HMC mailing list (Score:2, Insightful)
Jeff (HMC '02)
Re:From an HMC mailing list (Score:4, Informative)
I was a Mudder in '86 when we took the cannon. As far as I am concerned, the point of the prank was taking the cannon and preventing Caltech from taking it back. That was a success, and there were some seriously frustrated students in Pasadena. Keeping it wasn't really the point. Mudders loaded the cannon in a truck and drove it back Caltech after being asked by the Mudd administration. It was an exciting ride with an escort of Caltech people swerving at the truck on the freeway.
We had what seemed to be a very one-sided rivalry with Caltech. I'm still embarrassed by the T-shirts which read "Caltech: A division of Harvery Mudd College; but Caltech didn't seem to know that HMC existed. (For those who don't know, both have outstanding undergraduate programs in science and engineering). Caltech has a long history of pranks, so it they were a natural target for Mudders. I hope Caltech shows better character this time around.
Re:From an HMC mailing list (Score:4, Informative)
Re:From an HMC mailing list (Score:2)
It's pathetic that MIT did it and not HMC.
Impressive effort (Score:5, Funny)
My own favorite first year engineering trick: Many years ago people arrived at the main building of the University of Manitoba to find a stump in the middle of the lawn. Everyone was up in arms. Who cut down the stately old pine? It was quite a while before someone realized: "Hey, there was no tree there in the first place."
Re:Impressive effort (Score:4, Funny)
Re:Impressive effort (Score:3)
Not much of a hack regardless, just simple theft. A for effort, F for creativity.
Re:Impressive effort (Score:5, Funny)
Gets stolen a lot (Score:2, Insightful)
Comment removed (Score:5, Funny)
Those wacky Latin scholars (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Those wacky Latin scholars (Score:2)
Re:Those wacky Latin scholars (Score:3, Informative)
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&hs=GwX&lr=&clie nt=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&defl=e n&q=define:Howitzer&sa=X&oi=glossary_definition&ct =title [google.com]
Re:Those wacky Latin scholars (Score:5, Interesting)
DAve
Re:Those wacky Latin scholars (Score:2)
Re:Those wacky Latin scholars (Score:3, Informative)
Response (Score:5, Funny)
Weighting (Score:5, Insightful)
Caltech pulls a number of silly little pranks that, to be quite honest, no one really noticed, and garners 6 points for their "feud" with MIT... MIT students socially engineer themselves into being able to steal and drive Caltech's cannon across the United States, point it back at Caltech and install a large (really well made) brass rat onto the barrel of the cannon and create a plaque commemorating the heist.
All that's worth one point? Pff.
Not that I really care or anything; it's like my attitude towards the Red Sox... it's not until they're in the playoffs or the series that I pay attention.
Re:Weighting (Score:5, Informative)
Re:Weighting (Score:2)
Re:Weighting (Score:2)
Pictures Mirrored (Score:5, Informative)
Re:Pictures Mirrored (Score:2)
Re:Pictures Mirrored (Score:3, Funny)
Wait... you put 10 2.5M graphics on your web page describing an escalation of rivalries between two cross-continental engineering schools, and we killed your web server?
Flickr Pictures Here (Score:3, Informative)
Padadena? (Score:2)
Re:Padadena? (Score:2)
Re:Padadena? (Score:2)
Bob,
We all miss keys on occasion but some of us go back and proofread what we've written and try to fix our mistakes out of curtesy and respect for our reader(s).
This is especially important when there is a typo in a proper name such as Pasadena. You know it is Pasadena and the people at Cal-Tech know it is Pasadena but it makes you appear somewhat arrogant and self-centered when you seem to assume that everyone in the world (who reads Slashdot) knows th
Tragedy (Score:2)
That ain't a rat... (Score:2)
Wikipedia already updated (Score:2, Informative)
Props to MIT... good show!
Re:Wikipedia already updated (Score:5, Interesting)
"It is rumored that Harvey Mudd will attempt to steal the cannon again this year in celebration of the 20th anniversary of their original theft. Be warned. Thankfully Dabney house has planned ahead, and relocated the cannon to a safehouse in Compton."
So, was this "relocation" the actual MIT appropriation?
Careful... (Score:2)
Re:Careful... (Score:2)
Caltech Alumni Reaction (Score:3, Insightful)
I hope this gets current Caltech students off their collective keister to do something. No notable pranks in recent years, and they're most currently known for hiking up Mt. Wilson without appropriate equipment (come on, even alumni know that it's c-o-o-o-ld up on Mt. Wilson). If this causes an increase in Caltech-MIT prank warfare, then I'm all for it. Let the arms race, um, continue!
As an alum myself (BSEE, 2000) I say let MIT have it. It belongs to Harvey Mudd anyway.
Cannon No. 42 (Score:2)
No. 42
Model of 1896
Rock Island Arsenal
1900
JWB
Of course MIT wanted this cannon. It must obviously shoot forth with great power the answer to Life, The Universe, And Everything!
More pictures (Score:2)
caltech students say- Good Riddance! (Score:5, Insightful)
The cannon has been RF'ed (HaXXored) a bunch of times (yes, I served time at the Institute). Mostly this has been done by the other caltech students (shock!, awe?), but it was determined to be one of a very few objects that were un-touchable by the administration to prevent on-going student horse play. It was one of the few things you could be expelled permanently from school for (or simultaneously blow several heads off with large quantities of spaghetti). Instead we bricked in the front of Fleming one night, or changed the Hollywood sign, or flooded and froze the hallways, and we got in trouble, but not big trouble. The cannon has been turned around to face Fleming (on one night before they were set to fire it... they still get 4 times a year?), and everyone (from another house) has wanted to apply more permanent silence by the use of LN2 (use your brain), but it was forbidden by the honor code. Not only you, but your house would be punished. The Flems can go get it for all I care.
The truly sad thing is that the administration seems to have taken a line in the last 10 years against any pranks. Anything interesting has largely been forbidden by the Administration (by which I mean, when the police come after you the Institute attorneys won't be on your side). Unfortunately, caltech isn't big enough for the Administration to trip over its own feet enough, it's a bit too nimble and "all knowing" for the Institutes good. Plausible deniability can be a good thing. As I mentioned to the deans when I left (low these many years ago), I felt it had turned from a school of higher learning, to an Institute of lower liability. (On that topic, has anyone noticed how that guy from Numbers is trying to look just like Gary Lorden?). It's sad to see, but they've tried to stop lock picking, tunneling, bon fires, and every other form of fun... I hope they wake up now, and realize that if the students don't train security regularly, the Institute will be publicly humiliated for it.
p.s. for reference caltech is never capitalized except in formal communications
p.s. the Board of Directors will try to get the LA times not to run any story related to this
Parentheses, braces, brackets, and other standard forms of indicating meta information have ceased to function. Ceasing communication.
Re:caltech students say- Good Riddance! (Score:5, Informative)
MIT Hackers Appropriate Fleming Cannon (Score:3, Informative)
Impressive (Score:3, Informative)
I want to know how they did it! (Score:2)
Any
Materials Science (Score:4, Funny)
MIT's materials science program sure has come a long way...
I've never been to MIT but.... (Score:2)
If Caltech are the rightful owners... (Score:4, Funny)
Why? (Score:3, Insightful)
The worlds biggest brass rat (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:Rat? (Score:2, Informative)
The beaver, nature's engineer, is the school's mascot.
(oh wait, replying to a troll modded post by the time I hit reply -- oh, well)
Re:From a Harvey Mudd mailing list (Score:2)
Re:I didn't realize theft was a "hack". (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:/.'d (Score:2)
Re:/.'d (Score:2)
Re:Question (Score:2)
Re:Question (Score:2)
Re:Beaver (Score:2)
Re:Only the Flems (Score:2)
Oh, and hey Flems - where the hell were you when they stole your ****ing cannon?
Re:Only the Flems (Score:3, Funny)
Re:It's not Caltech's cannon! (Score:2)
Re:The Eighth Commandment (Score:5, Insightful)
This is different from your car, where the car is understood to belong to you, is your personal property, and is not tacitly understood by anyone to be a suitable target of prankerism.
The fact that the Canon was taken from Caltech means that it is being used in the manner which everyone invisioned it would be used.
Note, by the way, that Caltech demanded Harvey Mudd to return the cannon on threat of legal action only after Caltech students attempted to negotiate with Harvey Mudd's administration in good faith for a number of ways to recapture the cannon--including air-lifting it and moving it in the middle of the night. When Harvey Mudd declined all such negotations, it was clear that Harvey Mudd wasn't playing along, that the act of "prankerism" became an act of theft, and that's when the lawyers were called in.