911+5, MIT Style

The students at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have a long and storied history of putting their engineering talents to "practical" use. Whether it's commemorating the university president's first day at work by hiding his office, or honoring Vice President Al Gore's speech at MIT's graduation with a game of Buzzword Bingo, or a Campus Patrol cruiser (complete with donuts and a "no permit for this location" parking ticket) parked on the Great Dome for the last day of classes, MIT's engineers mark important occasions in their own inimitable way. (They also occasionally swipe heavy artillery from rival schools, but that's a different story.)

Today, of course, is the fifth anniversary of the September 11 attacks, and the iconic response by the Fire Department of New York City. To commemorate the day, MIT's "hackers" took advantage of the Great Dome ... and parked a 25-foot fire truck atop it. MIT doesn't really have a fire department, so the hackers had to invent their own shield, with the motto "Meminimus" ("We Remember"; also punning on MIT's motto "Mens et Manus"). They also provided a couple of (presumably stuffed) Dalmatians to ride along on the truck.

The "official" MIT Hack Gallery entry, including pictures: http://hacks.mit.edu/Hacks/by_year/2006/firetruck/

911+5, MIT Style

The students at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have a long and storied history of putting their engineering talents to "practical" use. Whether it's commemorating the university president's first day at work by hiding his office, or honoring Vice President Al Gore's speech at MIT's graduation with a game of Buzzword Bingo, or a Campus Patrol cruiser (complete with donuts and a "no permit for this location" parking ticket) parked on the Great Dome for the last day of classes, MIT's engineers mark important occasions in their own inimitable way. (They also occasionally swipe heavy artillery from rival schools, but that's a different story.)

Today, of course, is the fifth anniversary of the September 11 attacks, and the iconic response by the Fire Department of New York City. To commemorate the day, MIT's "hackers" took advantage of the Great Dome ... and parked a 25-foot fire truck atop it. MIT doesn't really have a fire department, so the hackers had to invent their own shield, with the motto "Meminimus" ("We Remember"; also punning on MIT's motto "Mens et Manus"). They also provided a couple of (presumably stuffed) Dalmatians to ride along on the truck.

The "official" MIT Hack Gallery entry, including pictures: http://hacks.mit.edu/Hacks/by_year/2006/firetruck/