This Weekend's Road Sign Hacks Part of National Fad

As you know, unidentified pranksters recently hacked three electronic road signs downtown, offering, "NEW YORK IS DYING," and the cryptic, "SHIT BIRD ORL." While New York may indeed be dying, it's not special in this regard, nor particularly creative: For months now, E-vandals across America have personalized these signs with their own messages. Last month, traffic signs in Illinois, Texas, and Indiana were altered with messages like "DAILY LANE CLOSURES DUE TO ZOMBIES" and "RAPTORS AHEAD - CAUTION". Here in New York, all we got was "PARTY AT JULIE'S"—without even any info on Julie's address or whether there would be hotties there. Of course, the city isn't amused; one official tells the Post this "could pose a dangerous distraction for drivers, for pedestrians, for everyone." And while we're certainly not advocating distractions, surely New York deserves better hackers: If you had the chance to reprogram one of these signs, what would you say to the world? (Besides "GO BACK TO JERSEY.") And would you buy the T-shirt?

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By John Del Signore in News on March 17, 2009 11:58 AM

Comments [rss]

hubcap

RIOT

NOW B4

2 LATE

NannyState

FILTH AHEAD

#3 TRAIN JUST LEFT

PLEAD INSANITY

firewire

I would go with any of the following:

ELVIS LIVES

I SMURF YOU

PANTS ON FIRE

DON'T READ THIS

THIS IS FUCK

I'm just surprised companies haven't tried to utilize this hacking technology for viral marketing campaigns, especially in the film industry.

hobbzie

Oh, John, will you EVER miss an opportunity to try and gain street cred by dissing Jersey? Yawn.

{sighs out loud}

banjoandro

"If you see this warning, IT'S TOO LATE!!!"

Comic Book Guy

HOMO SAYS WHAT?

NannyState

I'd make it say, "Expect Delays". Ironic!

evan7257

Ceci n'est pas une hacked sign.

calcetines

This is great

Spirit of 76

If I had the chance to reprogram the sign, I wouldn't do it. Any idiot can vandalize, and idiots usually do.

wobbleSmith

how upstanding of you!

..or is this just a clever confession?

zoofroy

I just assumed the "shit bird orl" one was done in haste, and the person fucked up what they really meant. Or maybe they were retarded.

feelthebuzz

Wonder if any of these people got the idea from CSI:NY? There was an episode where a subway train signal was hacked by an iPhone type device and also referenced the fact that street signals can be hacked pretty easily using the same technique.