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Subversive Gifts for New College Students?

openyourmind asks: "A friend's daughter is going to college, and I want to send her a package to help her in school. What kinds of things did you wish you had, but couldn't get, in college? I have already included a lockpick set, a UVmarking pen, and an LED flashlight in her care package. What else? Legal items only, please."

57 of 1,132 comments (clear)

  1. Camera by TellarHK · · Score: 5, Funny

    One of those micro-sized Pen-cams or something along those lines. Just perfect for breaking into the professors offices and snapping shots of tests.

    1. Re:Camera by darkonc · · Score: 5, Funny
      Just perfect for breaking into the professors offices and snapping shots of tests.

      Yeah.. It'd go real nice with the lockpick set.
      Not that I want to be nitpicky, or anything, but aren't burglery tools considered illegal in most jurisdictions? Perhaps they're only to help her 'make backups of her dorm room contents'?

      --
      Sometimes boldness is in fashion. Sometimes only the brave will be bold.
    2. Re:Camera by H310iSe · · Score: 3, Funny

      Lockpicks are a clear violation of the DMCA as a circumvention tool.

      --
      closed minded is as closed minded does
    3. Re:Camera by z_gringo · · Score: 2, Funny

      I agree. Ignorance is no excuse for the law....

      --
      -- -- Warning. Do not stare directly at the sun.
  2. Condoms by Bozovision · · Score: 4, Funny

    Definitely.

    1. Re:Condoms by Havokmon · · Score: 3, Funny
      How did I find out Semisid didn't work? Isn't it obvious? (check out my web site..) :P

      --
      "I can't give you a brain, so I'll give you a diploma" - The Great Oz (blatently stolen sig)
    2. Re:Condoms by global_diffusion · · Score: 4, Funny

      condoms are free at colleges. I recommend a vibrator. Like a Hello Kitty Vibrator.

    3. Re:Condoms by rot26 · · Score: 4, Funny

      Semisid is more expensive than condoms.

      And it tastes like fucking soap.

      --



      To ensure perfect aim, shoot first and call whatever you hit the target
    4. Re:Condoms by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

      We did too when I was in college (early 90s). The problem was that they gave us Lifestyles, which which were the only brand to fail Consumer Reports testing. Thanks for caring, U of Md.

    5. Re:Condoms by Moonshadow · · Score: 5, Funny
      What kinds of things did you wish you had, but couldn't get, in college?

      Laid?

    6. Re:Condoms by akruppa · · Score: 5, Funny

      > condoms are free at colleges. I recommend a vibrator. Like a Hello Kitty Vibrator

      Didn't you read the article heading? It says "from the tools-for-use-outside-of-the-box dept."

      Alex

      --
      Heisenberg may have been here
    7. Re:Condoms by Dahan · · Score: 1, Funny
      And wtf is this box i keep hearing about.

      It has something to do with lesbians... to become a lesbian, my mom says all I have to do is chow on this box.

  3. Keg tapper by billmaly · · Score: 3, Funny

    And a fake ID. Nuff said.

  4. The real question is...what can she get for you? by Hee+Hee+Hee · · Score: 3, Funny

    Some of the most interesting items I've found have been on and around college campuses. Ask her to send YOU some stuff, once she gets settled in there.

    --
    - Bill
  5. wrist bands by Deanasc · · Score: 4, Funny

    A case of those wrist bands they let you wear to show you're over 21 to drink at the bar. Every color and striping.

    --
    I've hit Karma 50 and gotten a Score:5, Troll... I win!
  6. well... by beleg777 · · Score: 3, Funny

    Back in college I always wanted a girlfriend. since you're talking about a girl that probably doesn't apply, but anyway.

    --

    Science may someday discover what faith has always known.
    1. Re:well... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny

      When I was in college, lots of girls had girlfriends.

  7. Demotivators, baby. by 2Flower · · Score: 3, Funny

    You can't go wrong with Demotivators in calendar or poster form. Heck, every one even lists 'disaffected students' as an ideal target audience!

    Okay, so they're not illegal, but they'll give your bright-eyed student a glimpse at the future of things to come after they start actively using your other gifts...

    1. Re:Demotivators, baby. by ObviousGuy · · Score: 3, Funny

      Gotta recommend against the lava lamp. First of all, every freshman thinks that those lamps are the queen's shit, when in fact they are pretty poor at anything other than being a beer-warming hazard. Second, everyone else will have them, what's the point?

      Here are my recommendations of non-essential items:

      1) 10g Fish tank. Use 4 milk crates to prop it up and cover the crates with some sort of cheap flea-market tapestry. Black light works especially well for effect. Note: don't keep a lot of fish, you don't want to clean the damn thing all the time.

      2) Small table. Excellent for putting your beer on.

      3) Couch (love seat). Buy at local flea market. Split the cost with your roommate and carry it back together (or rent a truck), it's a good bonding experience especially considering that you'll probably end up hating each other by the end of the year.

      4) Mini fridge. Keeps beer cold, good place to put reading lamp.

      5) Reading lamp. You didn't think you'd get out of college without reading did you? Playboy is okay, but Hustler and Club are real monkey spanking material.

      Those are only a few things that I'd recommend for the freshman-to-be.

      Also, when meeting other freshmen, especially girls, remember that they are as frightened and disoriented as you. They are looking for someone to hold onto to guide them through their delicate college years. Introduce yourself and get in their pants before the upperclassmen get to them (you have about 2 weeks at the most, 4 days max for really cute girls).

      --
      I have been pwned because my /. password was too easy to guess.
  8. The main thing I would wish ... by warmcat · · Score: 4, Funny

    ... is that my Father had better choice in his friends, so that I would not be the target of this attempt at being turned into a Dark Angel ripoff by someone old enough to know better than to use younger folks for their vicarious thrills.

    1. Re:The main thing I would wish ... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

      No shit.

      I mean, if she wanted a lockpick set, she could order one. They're not illegal, there's nothing stopping her from getting one. What the hell is she going to do with it, anyway, break in to other people's rooms? There's easier ways to do that, using social engineering, which will also teach her skills that she can use in the business world.

    2. Re:The main thing I would wish ... by Reality+Master+101 · · Score: 2, Funny

      Damn straight. Here's an idea: Why don't you ask your FRIEND what he would like you to send to "subvert" his daughter.

      What an asshole. With friends like that, who needs stalkers. Why do I have the feeling that this "friend" is hoping the daughter will gratefully fulfill some sick fantasy of his.

      --
      Sometimes it's best to just let stupid people be stupid.
  9. From the horses mouth... by Entropy_ah · · Score: 3, Funny

    As a student currenty in his third year of college, I have one suggestion....
    MONEY!!!!

    --
    my other penis is a vagina
  10. Things I Couldn't Get in College by Grip3n · · Score: 4, Funny

    Laid

    --
    To make a pun demonstrates the highest understanding of a language
  11. subversive items? by mosch · · Score: 4, Funny
    To help her financially, I suggest giving her the glassware and precursors required to synthesize MDMA.

    To help her socially, I suggest a bong, the barware neccessary for mixing drinks a bit better than most college kids do, and a decent stereo.

    To help her medically, I suggest condoms and umm... more condoms.

  12. Lockpicks and an LED flashlight? by Twister002 · · Score: 3, Funny

    What is she studying? Prof. Badinovs "How to be a nogoodnik" at Whatsamatta U?

    What would you need lockpicks at college for?

    Now an iPod, she could get free software from the computer center at least.

    Heck, get her a tape recorder so she can tape lectures or a small video camera.

    Or if she has trouble paying tuition, get her a web cam and a guide to "Whoring yourself on the internet".

    --
    "For a successful technology, honesty must take precedence over public relations for nature cannot be fooled." -Feynman
  13. Well, duh! by catseye · · Score: 5, Funny
    Give her what every shy, young, sweet, innocent, 18-year-old female college freshman needs:

    a webcam!

    At least, that's what I think they all need...

    --
    What did the walrus say to the penguin? "No soap, radio."
    1. Re:Well, duh! by thirty-seven · · Score: 2, Funny

      >Give her what every shy, young, sweet, innocent,
      >18-year-old female college freshman needs:
      >a webcam!
      >
      >At least, that's what I think they all need...

      I fine idea, but not very original. That is, if the half dozen different icq messages I get everyday are true, then there must be tens of thousands of naked co-ed college girls with webcams, all eager to please me!

      --

      Atheism is a religion to the same extent that not collecting stamps is a hobby.

  14. Most subversive tool ever by CaffeineAddict2001 · · Score: 5, Funny

    Breast Implants. If used skillfully they can break into any room.

  15. A 10" Vibrator by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    To help her avoid STDs, and enable her to concentrate on her studies without getting sidetracked by guys and relationships.

  16. Re:laws in Texas by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    (IANAL, but I used to watch Perry Mason.) Last time I was in Texas, it was illegal for the driver of a car to have an open alcoholic beverage, but of course the passenger could be holding two of them. Also, I think this limitation didn't apply to pickup trucks.

  17. Re:Lockpicks by FireballFreddy · · Score: 4, Funny
    Forget a dictionary, just a link to OneLook is fine. Good for both spelling and definitions, I use it almost daily.

    For subversives:

    1. Wireless camera constantly recording to her computer. Or maybe motion-activated. *shrug* Catch those damn dorm-thieves in the act.
    2. Motion-Sensor light aimed toward the door. Maybe the light will scare them off. If not, it'll help the camera take a better picture. ;)
    3. Water-balloon slingshot. Especially good for launching pudding cups and/or eggs out windows at people, cars, and loud swans.
    4. In response to all the condom posts... if you really value this chick, buy her ass a chastity belt.
    5. Leather pants. You can't be subversive without a good, tight pair of leather pants. Plus they look hot on chicks. Although the lock on the chastity belt might make an unsightly bulge...

    -FF

    --
    SQUEAK, the Death of Rats explained.
  18. Laser pointer by Anarchofascist · · Score: 3, Funny

    There's nothing like a laser pointer for adding that little touch of frustration to tired and emotional lecturers.

    However, USE SPARINGLY and only when you cannot be spotted. A little subliminal flash across the board when he/she is writing, and he or she will not know whether to get angry or dismis it as an acid flashback.

    --
    Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more, Or close the wall up with our American dead!
  19. A good toolset... by realgone · · Score: 3, Funny
    that can handle those odd-shaped screws/nuts/bolts/etc. Back in my first year of higher ed -- Stevens Institute of Technology, god how I don't miss it -- swiping the licence plates from the college president's car was *the* campus sport. Each time a set of plates disappeared, they'd use more exotic fasteners. And every time, they'd be swiped again. Heck, one guy I knew must have had a good half dozen of the poor guy's plates in his room.

    Oh, and those tools are good for... erm... "borrowing" all sorts of other things, too. Truly,the gift that keeps on giving. =)

  20. Re:A few suggestions by tedtimmons · · Score: 4, Funny
    Think laundry. You always need quarters. Just send a couple rolls and it should last a while. Make sure you tell her what it is for so she doesn't just go spend it

    Yeah, because it's so annoying to be behind a college student who is buying $50 in groceries with quarters.

    -ted

  21. Re:Lockpicks by Cpt_Kirks · · Score: 2, Funny

    Although the lock on the chastity belt might make an unsightly bulge

    You mean, like the one I have now thinking about chicks in leather pants?

  22. Re:Depends on her major and college by Chucow · · Score: 3, Funny
    A $100 wal-mart bike would do for that (get a lock, too).

    Make sure it's a good lock, what with all the people running around with their new lockpicking tools ;)

  23. Re:Needed Things... by GungaDan · · Score: 3, Funny
    "One hitters" and "bongs" are perfectly legal in most jurisdictions, provided they have no illegal residue on them. Rolling papers are no good, as they leave the residue on the fingers, and who can throw away a good roach, anyway? Best bet? Glass bong and an autoclave. Or heroin.

    --
    Eloi are stupid, throw morlocks at them!
  24. A really subversive gift ... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    ... would be my phone number. I can subvert in 3 seconds flat.

  25. Re:A few Good Things by Peapod · · Score: 2, Funny

    You forgot a shrink wrap machine so you can seal up the boxes after you copy the CDs and the serial numbers.

  26. Re:What I wish I had taken by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    And always wear sunscreen!

  27. Re:Marketing Troll? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

    If they've read the same posts I have they've already got caffienated condoms in the works.

  28. Re:Lockpicks by KittyFishnets · · Score: 4, Funny

    A chastity belt? Well, that explains why she needs lockpicks...

  29. Re:well now... by jonnythan · · Score: 3, Funny

    A case of ramen? Better make it a cord.

  30. Re:Lockpicks by jsprat · · Score: 3, Funny
    5. Leather pants. You can't be subversive without a good, tight pair of leather pants. Plus they look hot on chicks. Although the lock on the chastity belt might make an unsightly bulge...

    So, what good is the chastity belt when it comes with a lockpick included?

  31. !!! you have to ask !!! by _ph1ux_ · · Score: 5, Funny

    "What kinds of things did you wish you had, but couldn't get, in college"

    SEX

  32. Re:Not All Condoms are Alike: by nobody69 · · Score: 3, Funny

    plus no more embarrassment from walking up to a 16 year old counter clerk with a big bottle of lubricant and a jumbo pack of raingear. :-)

    While dating my wife, I once picked up a box of strawberries, a can of Redi-Whip and a box of condoms at the grocery store. The tennybopper checkout girl roboticly said "Have a good night" and the pimply-faced bagger said "I think he's gonna." I just smiled and ran out of the store.

    --
    "Bugger this, I want a better world." - Jenny Sparks
  33. I'm available... by Art+Tatum · · Score: 5, Funny

    Why not give her me? I'm single and I'm cuddly.

  34. Re:What fun by slaker · · Score: 5, Funny

    OK, so I'm lame enough to reply to myself. Sue me.

    Shotgun-style microphone. See telescope, above. This one is actually probably more fun, since fewer people know what the hell they are.

    Stethyscope I use one in my apartment to this day to decide if my neighbors are fighting/beating their kids or if it's just a TV that's turned up really loud.

    Potato gun. We used to pack one full of undies and shoot it out the dormitory window.

    Tools! Particularly a decent drill or cordless screwdriver. I once stole the door from a couple of guys in my dorm who were annoying me. Of course, the utility of a $7 toolset from Walgreens merits its inclusion anyway.

    Stereo from hell. I listen to classical music. So did everyone else on my floor and the floors around mine, thanks to me. I used to turn the volume up on my stereo to about halfway so I didn't have to interrupt my favorite symphony just to go to the bathroom (70 feet and probably 40 cinderblock walls away). Think about the opening of "The Big U" for a hint of what I mean. Once I beat anyone else who thought their music should be inflicted on everyone else into submission, I turned mine down too.

    Vacuum pump. Another great trick. Make a slight negative pressure inside someone's closed room and watch them get knocked off their feet opening their door. Or break a window, if you aren't careful (I went to an engineering school. Can you tell?)

    Quarter-on-a-string or four. To keep from having to actually pay for laundry machines. Laundromats might care. Dorms don't.

    Powerful magnet. Wow are these fun.

    Overhead projector. Your very own Batsignal.

    Racketballs or other suitably bouncy objects. Great fun in the hall.

    Block-and-tackle/pulley system. Great for getting contraband into dorms. Where I went to school, the guys on the highest floor of my dorm used one to hoist up alcohol (which was banned in dorms). Also great for moving day.

    Button-maker/Tshirt printer. Sounds lame, but actually a decent source of income and not without spurious subversive uses, either.

    Instant or digital camera. Roommate in a compromising position? Immortalize him forever!

    No sense of shame. This makes dealing with drunks and morons particularly amusing.

    --
    -- I wanna decide who lives and who dies - Crow T. Robot, MST3K
  35. Re:Thinking back... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    I once bought a third network card from my university's bookstore. They have a policy of "if it's opened, we don't take it back." I ran home, plugged it in, and to my dismay, discovered that it was the *exact same* make and model as another network card in my system (doh!). The drivers for that card that came with the 2.4.18 kernel couldn't handle that. I emailed the author of the driver, who wasn't much help. I wound up using saran wrap and a blow dryer as a make-shift shrinkwrapper. The bookstore manager was a little suspicious (I ignored him when he asked if it had been opened), but he exchanged it for another card anyway.

    Seriously though... a shrinkwrapper is a lifesaver for lame return policies.

  36. Horse condoms by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Funny

    Go to a vet and get about 3 horse condoms, used for breeding.

    Tell her to unpackage 1 when she moves in and nail it to the wall. When asked she can innocently say "That was from my last boyfriend. I sure do miss him".

  37. Re:Honestly, don't be such a hard ass by guttentag · · Score: 3, Funny
    I paid for my £2000 computer myself
    That may be so, but I'll bet you had to get help carrying your 2000-pound computer up the stairs, Mr. I-Do-Everything-Myself...
  38. Re:Not All Condoms are Alike: by knewman_1971 · · Score: 5, Funny

    Dude, get off my brainwave...

    I once walked out of a grocery store with a box of milk-bones, a dog leash and collar, a container of cool-whip, a box of condoms, and a bottle of champagne.

    My girlfriend and I had just adopted a puppy. The champagne and cool-whip were for a dinner party with her parents. The condoms were for after dinner.

    When the clerk looked at my g/f and said "So, the champagne makes it easier to wear the collar and leash, right?", I thought she was going to die, on the spot.

    I, of course, laughed so hard I cried.

    --
    where is the "I feel for ya, but that's some funny ass shit" moderation?
  39. Having just finished my 1st year in Rez...` by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    Whiteboard markers.
    Shower Sandals (warts are gross)
    Thermal beer sleves
    Tylenol, Nytol, Gravol, Pepto(Rez food is also gross)
    *EAR PLUGS*
    One of those protective tooth brush tubes
    Bounce sheets
    String of Xmas lights
    Cammo Netting
    Blow up chair
    *CONDONMS* -- Sadly rez's seem to get the condom factory rejects! Myself and numerous other guys had breakage problems with RezRubbers (Lifestyles brand).

    AFA the lockpick goes... dont. If her rez is anything like mine, she'll have a great time trying to figure out those $250 locks with the cylindrical 3" keys.

    IMHO go for the hello kitty vibrator instead ;)

    Webcam was also alot of voyueristic fun for myself and others this year...

    Oh... and finally give her advice! I found out the hard way that HS is a cakewalk compared to Uni

    Goodluck!

  40. Items for cheap fun: by graybeard · · Score: 3, Funny

    1) juggling balls -- learning to juggle is a great way to get the blood moving when you need a break from the books. The beanbag style can double as hacky sacks.

    2) frisbee -- sometimes by accident (wink, wink) they get thrown toward cute guys.

    3) ukulele -- easy to play, and making your own music is so much better than listening to the same-old same-old on the radio.

  41. Easy! by spongebob · · Score: 3, Funny

    A Get out of Jail free card!

    I wish I had one of those...

  42. Re:lockpick set? by jlanthripp · · Score: 2, Funny
    Just wondering, how did you confirm that they were in fact the owners of the car you were hired to break into? Did you have access to the car rego database so you could check their ID or something?

    On the occasions that my girlfriend has locked her keys in the car and had to call a locksmith, not once has she ever been asked for proof of identification or proof of ownership of the car. I have since added a copy of her car key to my own keychain, BTW, and conservatively estimate that we've saved about a thousand dollars in locksmithing expenses by doing so.

    A reasonably entertaining story, related to this topic: The one time I locked my keys in my car, I was at a shopping mall. The mall security rent-a-cops lent me a coat hanger from their office in the mall with the express purpose of breaking into my car. They didn't ask me for identification, proof of car ownership, not even for my name. For all they knew, I could have been stealing the nicest car in the lot with a coat hanger they had loaned me. And this was when I was about 19 years old, with hair down to my waist and wearing an Exhorder t-shirt that was adorned with a skull, an upside down cross, and the words "Get Rude" - not exactly the epitome of a "clean cut" type. After I was done, BTW, I returned the mangled coat hanger to the rent-a-cops, hopped in the car, and lit up a joint while driving out of the parking lot.

    --
    "Alcohol, Tobacco, & Firearms" should be a convenience store, not a government agency.