MIT Hackers Appropriate Caltech Cannon

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."

Comments

Rat?

[Lazy Mustard]

Looks more like BEAVER to me..

I didn't realize theft was a "hack".

[bchernicoff]

I am going to go hack a few liquor stores tonight. Anyone want to be my driver?

the really brilliant bit of this caltech prank was

[Surt]

... the social engineering in convincing most people (and silencing the others) that the cannon had not belonged to MIT in the first place, and then been stolen by Caltech. Then it gets really funny when they convince a bunch of MITers to steal it and put it back right where it was in the first place. I mean seriously, who falls for a cannon being native to California? Were we a big part of the civil war?

Terrorists!

[Anonymous Coward]

Stealing a weapon of mass destruction and transporting it across state lines... throw them all in a detention center immediately! They are obviously a threat to our Freedom and Way of Life.

Seriously, where is the hysterical reaction from Caltech Administrators, FBI, and DHS?

The Eighth Commandment

[Locke2005]

Which part of "Thou shalt not steal" are the MIT hackers not quite clear on? Perhaps MIT should offer some ethics classes instead of focusing purely on engineering. (Pranks are all very well and good, but stealing should be called stealing, not euphemistically referred to as "appropriation".)