'Where's Waldo' at MIT?

In a large-scale hack, MIT hackers altered many different elements of the campus on the theme of 'Where's Waldo?' Some of the names inscribed on the buildings around Killian Court were creatively altered—'Focault' changed to 'Waldault' and 'Waldo' (in one case, 'Waldo' upside-down), Waldo's traditional hat, glasses, and cane appeared on the MIT Stata Center (Building 32), posters appeared around campus—"Odlaw [Waldo backwards] for President", and passerby in the Infinite Corridor found piles of ready-made paper Waldo hats for them to wear.

  • Waldo's hat, glasses, and cane as seen from MIT's Building 46.

            Christmas Presents in MIT's Lobby 7

            Just before the Christmas/New Years vacation, a series of wrapped gifts appeared in MIT's Lobby 7 atop the pedestals and hanging over the entrance to the Infinite Corridor. Some were addressed to individuals (Jack Florey, To Whom It May Concern), buildings, classes (The Class of 2008), students in general (All MIT Undergrads, on the package hanging over the entrance to the Infinite Corridor), and even buildings (W20).

                          Very Gehry Christmas Tree in the Stata Center Student Street Hacks Gallery

                          Just after Christmas vacation ended and MIT's Independent Activities Period was beginning, hackers put a Christmas tree amongst the hacks on display in the Stata Center's Student Street. There, courtesy the MIT Museum, are shown actual hacks from the Museum's archives—the actual police cruiser that was put on the dome, the Hilltop Steakhouse cow, the legendary fire hydrant attached to a drinking fountain. Hackers inserted a 'Christmas tree' styled in the way that the architect of the Stata Center, Frank Gehry, might do it: full of odd angles and avant-garde design. The accompanying plaque, laid out just like the plaques that describe the Museum-placed hacks, described the 'Very Gehry Christmas Tree' just as it was.
                                • The sign accompanying the Christmas Tree hack reads, "A Very Ghery Christmas, 2006. 'When the MIT Museum began exhibiting its collection of hacks on the first floor of the Ray and Maria Stata Center (Building 32), hackers took the opportunity to add their own exhibit. On December, 19, in the heart of finals week, hackers placed a Christmas tree in the midst of the other hacks on display. Inspired by the building's architect, Frank Ghery, the tree was constructed to simulate some of the colors and materials present in the building, along with appropriately unusual angles."