MIT Hacks, Pranks, and Other Forms of Guerilla Architecture

When a wealthy donor paid for the installation of solar-powered LED lighting to illuminate the Great Dome, hackers wasted no time in using the new feature to their own ends. For Earth Day, they turned it green. For the 4th of July, they turned it red, white, and blue. During the beginning of term, they turned it purple.

The release of the book "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows," the last in the Harry Potter series, inspired two different hacks at MIT. The day before the book was released, the Student Street area of MIT's Stata Center (Building 32) gained a "Broomstick Parking Area," complete with brooms and "BROOMSTICK PARKING ONLY. All others will be towed" sign. The day of the book's release, a glowing-green Dark Mark appeared on the roof of MIT's Stratton Student Center (Building W20).

To commemorate the 50th anniversary of the launching of the Sputnik satellite, MIT hackers hung a life-size replica of the satellite in Lobby 10. The satellite emitted a beeping sound, approximating the sound of the radio signal emitted by the original satellite in 1957.