Cap crunch cereal whisle
In 1971, a simple toy whistle tucked inside a box of cap’n crunch cereal cracked open the most powerful phone network in the world. hacker john draper discovered the whistle produced a 2600 hz tone—the exact frequency needed to trick at&t’s system into granting free long-distance calls. by mimicking this signal, he could bypass billing and connect anywhere for free.
draper, soon nicknamed “captain crunch,” became a legend among early tech enthusiasts. he later mentored young innovators steve jobs and steve wozniak, teaching them how phone systems worked—a crash course in hacking that helped shape their revolutionary approach to technology. from a plastic whistle to the future of silicon valley, it all began with a lucky breakfast prize. 📞🎶
sources: phil lapsedas, phone phreaking and the captain (1983); steve wozniak, iwoz (2006); national telecommunications museum archives
#PhonePhreaking #HackerHistory #TechOrigins
draper, soon nicknamed “captain crunch,” became a legend among early tech enthusiasts. he later mentored young innovators steve jobs and steve wozniak, teaching them how phone systems worked—a crash course in hacking that helped shape their revolutionary approach to technology. from a plastic whistle to the future of silicon valley, it all began with a lucky breakfast prize. 📞🎶
sources: phil lapsedas, phone phreaking and the captain (1983); steve wozniak, iwoz (2006); national telecommunications museum archives
#PhonePhreaking #HackerHistory #TechOrigins
