Welcome to the IHTFP Gallery!

The IHTFP Gallery is dedicated to documenting the history of hacking at MIT.

The word hack at MIT usually refers to a clever, benign, and "ethical" prank or practical joke, which is both challenging for the perpetrators and amusing to the MIT community (and sometimes even the rest of the world!). Note that this has nothing to do with computer (or phone) hacking (which we call "cracking").

(More About the IHTFP Gallery and FAQ.)

Recent News...

2007.12.29 - 26 New Hack Writeups Added
26 new hack writeups have been added to the gallery for hacks between 2000 and 2007 in the last several days. Check out the timeline.

2007.10.25 - Hackers cheer on Boston Red Sox
In recognition of the the Red Sox competing in the 2007 Baseball World Series, hackers put a "GO SOX" banner above the New House dormitory. The Green Building (54) also had its lights turned on and off to spell "SOX" in a tradition known as "Greenspeak"

2007.06.08 - Hack during 2007 commencement
During the 2007 Commencement ceremony, five white panels dropped down from the front of Killian Hall displaying the words I'll Have Thesis Finished Pronto.

2007.05.19 - Syndicated news feed added to the Gallery
There's now an

xml/atom syndication feed of recent gallery news and write-up additions. This is also available through the mit_hacks feed on LiveJournal.

2007.05.11 - Site updates in progress
This site is undergoing significant updates. Some hacks after 1997 are missing write-ups and photos, but we're working on improving this. The timeline from 1997-present should be up-to-date, so please let us know if we're missing anything from it.

[More News...]

Recent Hacks...

2007 Larger-than-life board games around campus

On the morning of December 10th, hackers put up references to various board games around MIT. They included a cheese, mousetrap, and mouse from Mousetrap, the logo, cards, and dice from Cranium, the board from Scrabble, a giant chess set, a Settlers of Catan board, and Risk-themed MIT campus maps.

[2007.12.10]

2007 V for Vendetta / Guy Fawkes Day at MIT

Hackers placed Guy Fawkes / 'V' masks from the movie 'V for Vendetta' over the faces on posters in the Infinite Corridor on the morning of November 5th. That evening, they stormed the meeting of the Undergraduate Association Senate dressed all in black with similar 'V' masks and fired party poppers into the air after a short speech.

[2007.11.5]

2007 "GO SOX" banner on New House

In recognition of the the Red Sox competing in the 2007 Baseball World Series, hackers put a "GO SOX" banner above the New House dormitory. The Green Building (54) also had its lights turned on and off to spell "SOX" in a tradition known as "Greenspeak"

[2007.10.25]

2007 Sputnik in Lobby 10

For the 50th anniversary of Sputnik, hackers placed a beeping model of the satellite in Lobby 10.

[2007.10.04]

2007 John Harvard plays Halo3

During the night prior to the release of the heavily advertised Halo 3 video game, John Harvard was transformed to be a character from the game, complete with helmet and gun.

[2007.09.24]

2007 Purple Dome

Shortly before the start of term the lighting on the dome was given a purple hue.

[2007.09.02]

2007 Dark Mark from Harry Potter over Student Center

On the morning when the final Harry Potter book was being delivered to the doorsteps of muggles, a Dark Mark appeared above the Student Center.

[2007.07.21]

2007 Broomstick Parking for Harry Potter

A broomstick parking area, complete with broomsticks, appeared in the Stata Center in anticipation of the release of the seventh Harry Potter novel.

[2007.07.20]

2007 Red, White, and Blue Dome for Fourth of July

Taking advantage of the Great Dome's new LED lighting system, patriotic hackers made the dome Red, White, and Blue for the Fourth of July.

[2007.07.04]

2007 Great Dome goes Green

The Great Dome was turned green to highlight the dome's new environmentally friendly (green!) LED lighting system. The new lighting system was turned on in a Dome Lighting ceremony the day after commencement. This hack may still be up if it hasn't been taken down yet...

[2007.06.20]

[More Hacks...]

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