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Youtube NASA Technology

Former NASA Engineer Thwarts Porch Pirates Again With 'Glitter Bomb 2.0' (engadget.com) 94

Posted by BeauHD from the karmic-justice dept.
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Engadget: YouTuber and former NASA engineer Mark Rober is at it again with the Glitter Bomb 2.0 designed to give porch pirates some stinky karmic justice. After experiencing a package theft last year, Rober decided to exact revenge by creating the original glitter bomb. It looked like a real delivery and was designed to go off when opened by thieves, covering them with glitter and emitting a fart smell, while recording the whole thing. He made another one this year with an even nastier stench, and got an assist from the man who inspired the idea: Home Alone's Macaulay Culkin.

Rober said he spent six months retooling the bomb, which combines GPS trackers, smartphones with wide-angle cameras, fart spray and glitter. This time, the design was more streamlined, had much more powerful fart spray ("that's like proper poo," said one test subject), and featured sound effects like a countdown and police radio chatter. The whole thing was sponsored by Bose and the product box featured fake Bose "Buzz" headphones named after a Home Alone character. Rober distributed the packages to 10 volunteers around the U.S., who placed them on their porches as bait. One would-be theft kenned to the scheme after glitter spilled out, as he was apparently aware of the original video (which currently has 77 million views). Another volunteer just took the package himself, so Rober sent him a Scientology subscription and cringey postcards to his neighbors. After the first Glitter Bomb video was posted last year, Rober had to re-post it after discovering that several of the "victims" were actually friends of a volunteer who agreed to place the packages on his porch.
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Former NASA Engineer Thwarts Porch Pirates Again With 'Glitter Bomb 2.0' More

Former NASA Engineer Thwarts Porch Pirates Again With 'Glitter Bomb 2.0'

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  • I know he admitted the first video was staged, but most of the reactions this time around appear to be just as staged. Also, I don't think you can post videos of people in their home to your channel without their permission; their home is not a 'public setting' and as such even criminals maintain an expectation of privacy in this instance.

    • Re:Wasn't this established as a staged video? (Score:4, Informative)

      by Paraselsius ( 2941499 ) on Wednesday December 18, 2019 @08:28AM (#59531674)

      I know he admitted the first video was staged, but most of the reactions this time around appear to be just as staged. Also, I don't think you can post videos of people in their home to your channel without their permission; their home is not a 'public setting' and as such even criminals maintain an expectation of privacy in this instance.

      Part of the footage used in the original video came from fake thieves who where friends of the volunteers that put the package outside their porch without the knowledge of Mark Rober. All footage that came from those instances are removed from the original video as soon as he was made aware of the issue. It was outside his control so claiming that he did this is oversimplification of the issue. In the end quite a few real thieves where caught by his glitterbomb not all instances providing usable footage.

      • Not usable because the truth was problematic

  • This sounds like a good deal (Score:3)

    by FictionPimp ( 712802 ) on Wednesday December 18, 2019 @08:26AM (#59531664) Homepage

    You are telling me, I can steal a box that contains GPS trackers, smartphones with wide-angle cameras, fart spray and glitter! Count me in!

    • Re:This sounds like a good deal (Score:4, Funny)

      by Freischutz ( 4776131 ) on Wednesday December 18, 2019 @08:51AM (#59531744)

      You are telling me, I can steal a box that contains GPS trackers, smartphones with wide-angle cameras, fart spray and glitter! Count me in!

      That depends on which house you go to. If you steal a package from my porch and open it you'll get a whole bunch of angry rattlesnakes.

      • Shouldn't it be a bobcat?

        • Re:This sounds like a good deal (Score:4, Funny)

          by Freischutz ( 4776131 ) on Wednesday December 18, 2019 @09:56AM (#59532010)

          Shouldn't it be a bobcat?

          That depends on the size of the package, a few of angry rattlesnakes will fit into a smaller box than a bobcat. On the other hand, when we're talking container sized shipments I like to fill them with angry evangelical abortion clinic protesters, Jehovah's witnesses missionaries, angry Trump supporters and drunk sports hooligans.

          • On the other hand, when we're talking container sized shipments I like to fill them with angry evangelical abortion clinic protesters, Jehovah's witnesses missionaries, angry Trump supporters and drunk sports hooligans.

            I'm sure you're violating at least a couple of international treaties against proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.

      • That depends on which house you go to. If you steal a package from my porch and open it you'll get a whole bunch of angry rattlesnakes.

        Are you a minion for a supervillain, a herpetologist, or just have a bad Slickdeals addiction even when it's something you really don't need? ("Box of angry rattlesnakes 90% off?! Holy shit buckets, that's SLICK! In for 10!")

      • Re: (Score:3)

        by eth1 ( 94901 )

        You are telling me, I can steal a box that contains GPS trackers, smartphones with wide-angle cameras, fart spray and glitter! Count me in!

        That depends on which house you go to. If you steal a package from my porch and open it you'll get a whole bunch of angry rattlesnakes.

        I mark all the boxes I ship with "WARNING: LIVE BEES" :P The delivery drivers tend to be a bit more gentle with them, too, for some reason.

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by AmiMoJo ( 196126 )

          There was a bike company that shipped in boxes marked "TV" because the found that delivery drivers took better care of them that way.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by MobyDisk ( 75490 )

      Maybe we need a contest to great the most unstealable package. One side tries to booby trap the prize in such a way that it is not worth stealing. The other side tries to counter the booby traps and get the prize without being glittered, farted upon, stained, or poisoned. The thief then has to make a better, even more unstealable package out of the parts in the original package plus whatever other gadgets they wish.

      I have an ESD gun here. I wonder if it can neutralize the traps... oooh, but then it migh

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by GuB-42 ( 2483988 )

      Yes, and if you take the package to keep it safe and call the owner so that he can pick it up, he will come and reward you $400 in cash for being honest. No need to be a thief.

      Also, one of his associates stole a package. I think he will regret it, just watch the video...

  • This native ad was lame the first time (Score:4, Insightful)

    by 0xdeaddead ( 797696 ) on Wednesday December 18, 2019 @08:36AM (#59531688) Homepage Journal

    It's lamer today.

  • Version 3 should be more expensive. (Score:5, Interesting)

    by jellomizer ( 103300 ) on Wednesday December 18, 2019 @08:39AM (#59531704)

    He probably should had had about $1000 worth of equipment in it. So he can call the police and get people who steal the boxes on Grand Theft

    That said, we are always going to get scummy people who will steal what isn't locked down. I expect with increased residential package delivery the better fix would be some sort of one way lock box to deliver packages in.

    • Re:Version 3 should be more expensive. (Score:5, Funny)

      by ArchieBunker ( 132337 ) on Wednesday December 18, 2019 @08:49AM (#59531736)

      Version 3 should bring back the guy who used blank shotgun shells when the box was lifted from the porch. Then see who still has clean pants afterward.

    • Traveling for work, the apartments they put us in have an Amazon Hub. Also you could have it delivered to the Hub at the grocery store.

    • 3D print handcuffs straight onto the perpetrator.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by AmiMoJo ( 196126 )

      Such boxes exist. The basic ones just lock and are bolted to something immovable. More advanced ones print a receipt or produce a one time QR code to scan.

      If you are starting from nothing then the basic box should be enough.

    • Re: (Score:1)

      by kyjo ( 1947414 )

      ...the better fix would be some sort of one way lock box to deliver packages in.

      The US delivery system still amazes me. Unless specifically requested by the recipient, I don't understand how a package can be considered as delivered if they just leave it unattended on a porch. They should deliver it personally and get a signature, otherwise they should drop it off at the nearest post office, which should be within the walking distance in any sufficiently populated area.

  • While I may understand this guys sentiment (with the assumption that this is not another fake) my assumption is that doing something like this is potentially illegal and the glitter bomb aspect could fall under some sort of anti-man trap laws.

    Tracking and identifying a thief is one thing, but setting a trap that could potentially maim them is a totally different thing.

    • Re: (Score:1)

      by Anonymous Coward

      the glitter bomb aspect could fall under some sort of anti-man trap laws.

      That's the dumbest thing I've ever heard. It doesn't even use explosives, it's just glitter. Vacuum it up.

      but setting a trap that could potentially maim them is a totally different thing.

      Getting maimed? It doesn't even use explosives. It uses a motor to spray the glitter.

      What's next? Are you going to tell us to think of the children?

      Don't steal packages and you don't need to worry about being injured by the contents.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by OzPeter ( 195038 )

        Getting maimed? It doesn't even use explosives. It uses a motor to spray the glitter.

        So you're all for having glitter explicitly sprayed into your eyes? Eyes are delicate things and vision can easily be damaged.

        And what if the person getting the glitter in the eyes isn't the porch pirate , but an innocent patsy. Will you not care about them either?

        And yes .. think of the children *is* a valid rebuttal in this case as you are deliberately setting up something outside of the law that could hurt people, (and would hurt children more than adults). That is called vigilantiasm and tends to be f

        • So you're all for having glitter explicitly sprayed into your eyes? Eyes are delicate things and vision can easily be damaged.

          Jesus, are there men that really think like this?

      • You haven't seen the story of the woman who lost an eye from a piece of glitter https://www.cosmopolitan.com/s... [cosmopolitan.com]

    • I would assume that any device sufficiently effective as a deterrent/revenge would also run the risk of running afoul of laws against booby traps or open the person responsible for some of civil litigation.

      I looked into acquiring bank-grade dye packs used to disrupt robberies, but as it turns out you can't buy them and they are sufficiently pyrotechnic to be potentially dangerous.

      I think there's probably some way to pull this off which wouldn't expose you to too much trouble involving some kind of non-toxic

    • While I may understand this guys sentiment (with the assumption that this is not another fake) my assumption is that doing something like this is potentially illegal and the glitter bomb aspect could fall under some sort of anti-man trap laws.

      Tracking and identifying a thief is one thing, but setting a trap that could potentially maim them is a totally different thing.

      I agree...if there are such things as "man trap" laws, we should make them LEGAL.

      I'm all for doing as much legal damage to a thief as po

    • Right, let's blame the VICTIM for "illegal acts" and ignore the THIEF that is fucking STEALING the thing in the first place! /s

      This is why America is fucked.

    • Maiming them is a very lame stretch compared to what was actually produced.

      As for the legality, sure, but who will report him? The only person who can bring suit is a victim who themselves would have to out themselves then as a criminal.

  • Great remake! (Score:3)

    by cascadingstylesheet ( 140919 ) on Wednesday December 18, 2019 @09:47AM (#59531956) Journal
    Nothing says "more authentic" like corporate sponsorship, after all!

  • OK, BOOMer (Score:5, Funny)

    by kackle ( 910159 ) on Wednesday December 18, 2019 @10:03AM (#59532076)
    Using C4 instead would be better for society.
  • And yes, the company I work for put out a memo saying this was fully acceptable. They recognize the problem of people stealing packages from porches. Want to bet this happens more often in better off neighborhoods because the packages are probably worth more?

    I actually don't understand why people have things delivered to where their might not be anyone home. Amazon has places where you can pick up packages. Everyone has friends or family, no matter how big of an asshole they are. Ask them. Ask where
    • I do this for valuable things, but when I need, say, paper towels? I just send it to the house. I live on a long, winding, dead-end street; outside of holidays, we don’t have any porch piracy anywhere nearby, and we haven’t had anything stolen at all from my house. Realistically I would probably be safe sending almost anything; the major limitation is that nobody is home to sign for it. There’s always someone in the office at work.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by MobyDisk ( 75490 )

        Who orders paper towels? Just steal napkins from work and tape them together!

        • Someone else at my job stole all the tape, so i've resorted to weaving together the 1-ply copier paper they provide in the bathroom.
  • Fill the box with useless, worthless crap and nasty notes saying "HA HA! (feel free to ramp it up from there)". Make it as heavy and bulky as possible. Now if there was only a way to fit a white elephant ( https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wik... [wikipedia.org] ) in one of those decoy boxes.
  • Angry, angry wasps.
  • Use habanero powder. And prevent the box from being put back over the package. And make it so that it can eject & disperse the payload if it's in any orientation.

  • Disappear them.

    If they never come home
    a) recidivism isn't an issue
    b) might provide object lesson to their peer group
    c) depending on what you do after, either your pigs or your garden are benefiting.

    I'm only kind of joking. Some people might say OMG you can't be talking about KILLING people for stealing a $5 Amazon delivery.
    Yes, yes I am.

    See the point isn't the value of the item - it's the DELIBERATE ACT OF THIEVERY.

    Think about it: there's no grey area here. These are people who are DELIBERATELY going ou

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