For some reason, two teens in Sedalia, Missouri, are getting national press for hijacking a Taco Bell frequency and saying inappropriate things to customers in the waiting line.
If these teens were the MacGyvers of drive-through technology, I could understand the press. But drive-through hijacking has been an art now for years. Back in my high school days, you really only needed a CB radio (not that I know anything about this practice) but now most signals are stealthier. Still, enterprising people have figured out that all you need to break into the new systems is a toaster and a ham radio.
YouTube is full of videos of kids doing exactly what the Sedalia teens did. Their big mistake was pulling the stunt in a small town where the police don't have much too do -- and not being funny. It doesn't take any creativity to just yell obscenities, which is what the teens did the entire time.
Between building the modded ham radio and finding the right frequency, the prank takes several hours to complete. You'd think that in that time period, one of the teens would have said to the other, We should really have an act to go along with this.
Most of the pranks on YouTube involve pretending to not understand what
the person is ordering, pretending to be from a rival chain or
pretending to be outsourced help. (That was before drive-throughs really were outsourced help). These teenagers real crime is just being annoying.
If, hypothetically, I had ever hijacked a drive-through signal before
many restaurants started switching systems, I might have asked
customers if they were aware the restaurant had just been bought by the
Church of Latter Day Saints and then, after each item they ordered, read
a Bible verse to them and asked them to ponder it. Of course, that's a
complete hypothetical.
Also, in the spirit of hacking things, here's a link on how to hack electronic road signs.
I do not condone hacking or tampering with anything, especially signs
owned by the government. Don't break the law and don't just use obscenities.
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