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...

2008.06.12 - New Hack Writeups Added
The hack gallery is now up to date. Check out the timeline. If anything is missing, let us know!

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...

2008 Epiphany Toilet on Building 37

Fully functional open air toilet installed on building 37.

[2008.10.05]

2008 NASA Logo on the Dot

Hackers put the NASA logo on the Dot for the 50th anniversary of NASA beginning operations.

[2008.10.01]

2008 Violation Notices on Hacks

To protest an what was viewed as an overly restrictive hacking policy, hackers placed black cloth and violation notices on the hack exhibit in the stata center

[2008.09.29]

2008 Trapped in a sign factory, send help!