Household Hacker
There's a man on Youtube who is trying to convince everyone that you can do some ridiculous technological feats. His username is Household Hacker, and he has nearly 3 million views on just one video.
*run a TV off of a AAA battery,
*intercept cell phone calls with a universal remote
*charge an ipod using only an onion and gatorade
*make a hi-fi speaker out of a penny, a paper plate, and a sheet of tinfoil
Although many of us realize that this is fake, a lot of people think it's true.
http://www.householdhacker.com/
I'm sure some of you will find it funny, while others won't. I'm still trying to figure out which side I'm on with this.
*run a TV off of a AAA battery,
*intercept cell phone calls with a universal remote
*charge an ipod using only an onion and gatorade
*make a hi-fi speaker out of a penny, a paper plate, and a sheet of tinfoil
Although many of us realize that this is fake, a lot of people think it's true.
http://www.householdhacker.com/
I'm sure some of you will find it funny, while others won't. I'm still trying to figure out which side I'm on with this.
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Jan 13, 2012. 10:24 PMBushie
says:
Always reminds me of the X-Files subtitles, when I read and hear about those kinds of sites:
"I want to believe."
"The truth is out there!"..
As for anyone actually hurting themselves from attempting some of the more ludicrous scams ~ well that's just Darwinism at work, isn't it?
"I want to believe."
"The truth is out there!"..
As for anyone actually hurting themselves from attempting some of the more ludicrous scams ~ well that's just Darwinism at work, isn't it?
Jan 5, 2012. 8:36 AMFenwick (author)
says:
When I made this, 4 years ago, the descriptions were different, and he made no admission of how they were fake.
Jan 19, 2011. 8:16 AMshadoward12
says:
It's not fake. I've successfully completed all of these projects, and a few others. I thought they were fake at first, but once you get it right, it'll blow your mind. My fave and the easiest one (in my opinion) is the home-made airhorn.
Cool. Write up some instructables on how you did those projects! With good writing and clear pictures, they're pretty much guaranteed to get Featured.
Jan 20, 2011. 2:39 PMFenwick (author)
says:
Obviously you haven't, or you're a troll.
I'm thinking it's the latter.
Some of the more recent projects are legit, (like maybe the airhorn one), but his early videos are all fake. I would love to see you try the "cell-phone interceptor" or any of the projects I listed in the topic. He acquired Youtube fame by lying to people.
I'm thinking it's the latter.
Some of the more recent projects are legit, (like maybe the airhorn one), but his early videos are all fake. I would love to see you try the "cell-phone interceptor" or any of the projects I listed in the topic. He acquired Youtube fame by lying to people.
Jan 24, 2011. 5:19 AMshadoward12
says:
As a matter of fact, I did make the cell phone interceptor, power a TV with AAA battery, and made the speaker. If you can't do it, you did something wrong. It took me 2 tries to get the cell phone interceptor right. It's hard, but it easier using simpler parts and a bit of clean up.
Aw, come on! You've gotta love the onion-and-gatorade battery! If someone's only science exposure was in elementary school, it sounds like it might actually work. After all, really batteries (and capacitors) have "electrolytes" in them, right? Right? Cough...
Yes, and it might work if you have a large number of them in series and an even larger number in parallel (to boost both voltage AND amperage)....I've powered a radio receiver (home built of course) with some homemade batteries using bowls and some water and vinegar (and the proper plates), but then, the radio only needed around a volt or volt and a half and a few uAmps of power to run it. ;-)
Jul 26, 2010. 8:13 AMjj.inc
says:
Are they all fake, he has a magnet gun thing that I think would actually work, at least I have seen multiple instructables like it, but you cannot make a speaker with a plate and some tinfoil.
May 6, 2008. 12:43 PMdiablonstuff
says:
the only thing i really hate is now he is going to trick a bunch of kids into ruining their shoes with his "hover shoes" hack.
It's the same kind of malarkey in videos like the one showing Coke poured over pork, and maggots coming out of it. Totally bogus.
Dec 21, 2007. 6:56 PMDoctor What
says:
Someone mentioned that one to me, two days ago. I thought he must have been mistaken, and that worms must have been coming out of the pork (since everyone knows that pork, if not properly cooked, can give you worms). But now it is put to rest.
However, as Snopes reports, that video is faked. First the worms most speak of in uncured (not yet smoked / partially cooked, and pumped with nitrates) picnic hams are not visible to the naked eye.
Next, by the time we get ham in the store, it has been processed enough that there are no worms living in it anymore.
Above is the faked video: and here is the link to the absolute truth about the matter
So, don't believe everything you see on video......ok ? :-)
Next, by the time we get ham in the store, it has been processed enough that there are no worms living in it anymore.
Above is the faked video: and here is the link to the absolute truth about the matter
So, don't believe everything you see on video......ok ? :-)
Dec 21, 2007. 6:36 PMnerdzilla
says:
He did have an instructable on how to build the speaker, but it (obviously) was taken off. It was quite popular, too.
Dec 20, 2007. 5:26 PMPatrik
says:
I was going to post my recipe for how to drive your car on DIY bioethanol, by pouring a pound of sugar and a beer into the gas tank...
But you never know what idiot out there on the interwubs might give it a try!
But you never know what idiot out there on the interwubs might give it a try!
Ack ! Sugar in the engine.....what a mess that would make....
Dec 21, 2007. 10:06 AMPatrik
says:
Ah, but the residual yeast in the beer will turn it into pure ethanol overnight. Just make sure to leave your car in a warm spot. You may also want to "burp" your gas cap a few times, to allow the fermentation gases to escape.
you'd only need to burp the tank if your "tank vent" is clogged ;-) (the vent, located towards the top of the filler tube, if clogged, your engine would cut out and such anyway as you would eventually not get any gasoline). One way to deter this from actually being done (fermenting one's own fuel) is to ask if anyone can actually "burn beer" LOL In order to get enough to burn, one must set up a distillation process......LOL a mobile still !
Dec 21, 2007. 11:45 AMPatrik
says:
Believe it or not - I've heard people imply on several occasions that beer must be flammable because it has alcohol. I think all those instances were from kids who were underage, so they may not have had much first-hand experience with beer (although definitely old enough they should have known what a hare-brained idea it was). And to keep with the HHH theme... No, you do need to burp your gas tank, because the fermentation will create so much foam that it will tend to clog up the fume vents built into your gas tank. But don't worry - once you switch to home-brewn bioethanol, you won't need those vents anymore anyway. Oh, and while it's true that beer has a lot of water, note that we're starting from pure sugar here, so we'll be getting almost pure ethanol. Any remaining water in the ethanol will evaporate due to the temperature of the engine before the ethanol gets to the cylinders. ;-) Man, I should start my own website...
Dec 12, 2007. 8:05 AMHiNtZ
says:
I think we should all work together to remove this moron from the internet. All i need to know is who hosts his website, I can do the rest......I'm sure his hosting company would love to know that he is instructing people to make home made fire hazards (cell phone interceptor) without them actually knowing it. You can shout & scream all day long on his site & youtube.....so why don't we try something differn't?
Dec 19, 2007. 8:47 PMamc1851
says:
It is going to be kind of useless to report him to the hosting company, because it is kind of the same thing, it is www.dreamhost.com: DreamHost Web Hosting 417 Associated Rd #324 Brea, CA 92821 US +1.2139471032 If you can hack him, you will be appreciated.
Dec 20, 2007. 8:13 AMHiNtZ
says:
What about getting those nutters on 4chan.org to hack him? They love that sort of thing!
Dec 20, 2007. 7:59 PMFenwick (author)
says:
Maybe, but they employ the NYPA policy (Not Your Personal Army). Then again, it's against the entire internet community. *shrug*.
Dec 20, 2007. 8:52 PMPatrik
says:
In the grand scheme of things, I think pranksters like HHH are fairly harmless. He's kinda like April 1st all year round, with a few things that actually work sprinkled in...
If you really want to "remove some morons from the internet", I think there are far more deserving targets: Creationists, hate sites, holocaust deniers, child pornographers, you name it.
I wouldn't advocate anyone becoming an internet vigilante, but I think anyone singling out HHH should seriously reconsider their priorities..
If you really want to "remove some morons from the internet", I think there are far more deserving targets: Creationists, hate sites, holocaust deniers, child pornographers, you name it.
I wouldn't advocate anyone becoming an internet vigilante, but I think anyone singling out HHH should seriously reconsider their priorities..
At best, persons like that make good targets for dumb and dumber jokes LOL As long as his inaneness does not become "dangerous" (if you stick your fingers into light sockets, you will be able to shock your little brother the rest of the day; right ?) :-)
Dec 20, 2007. 3:55 PMledzep567
says:
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH this is just plain stupid hahaha although, a certain high comes from fooling 3 million people lol
either that, or he tried to hack his own brain first but didn't find anything to hack, and so he wrote it all down....and created the videos.
Why, he would read the script and then look for the materials i.e. props provided for him to use..... ;-)
Dec 19, 2007. 8:50 PMamc1851
says:
If you really want to see the opposite to HHH, just visit my site at youtube.com it is alexmena1971, there you can see the scientific and instructional explanation of how to make things for under a buck, not lies.
Dec 12, 2007. 8:07 AMHiNtZ
says:
Oh, and apparently..... the Household Hacker logs on from a Comcast cable internet connection in Sacramento Taken from elsewhere on the net ;)
Nov 21, 2007. 1:03 PMits a lion
says:
i love this comment. The RCA cables are the key to this experiment, as they are the only cheap cables on the market that convert the DC power produced by the AAA battery to the AC current required to run plug-in appliances. As for the use of bigger batteries, there is an upper limit, as anything over a standard C battery will result in more resistance than standard RCA cables can withstand. It may be worth investing in a few sets of Monster Brand RCA cables if you are interested in using D batteries, or multiple AAA cells in series.
Sounds like Ken Umbach's site, and, more specifically, his story on the California Velcro shortages.
Nov 21, 2007. 12:32 PMJohn Smith
says:
Maybe it's just a coincidence, but when I checked HHH and some of the accounts that support him, all of their pages say last login 1 hour ago, and that seemed kinda weird. Just thought I'd let ya know.
Nov 21, 2007. 7:29 PMJohn Smith
says:
Is there any way to check a Youtube profile's IP address?
Nov 21, 2007. 8:09 PMPunkguyta
says:
As far as I know, not possible unless you're a mod or admin.
This guy really infuriates me. I posted on one of his videos that it was fake etc... and got flamed by 8 year olds saying "OMG I CANT BELEEV U SED THAT CUZ DIS IS SUPER KOOL AND I JUST TREID IT AND IT WORKZ ROFLLOL". So I gave up, thinking to myself that anyone who is gullible enough to believe this stuff and try to "Charge an iPod with an onion" deserves the waste of time that they get from trying it.
Nov 21, 2007. 12:17 PMPunkguyta
says:
It's probably the same guy in the videos logging into different accounts and commenting to raise credibility.
are they all totally fake? I haven't viewed most of them...but I know where I can buy digital clocks that run off of potatoes, tomatoes, etc. and so a very small voltage can be gotten from some household items / fruits, and although it would be difficult at best to charge a battery from this arrangement, some things can actually be run from them.
Nov 21, 2007. 8:08 AMPunkguyta
says:
I was just watching this the other day! It's the most ridiculous shit I've ever seen. Yes you can run a clock off a potato but this guy took an onion and got it to soak up a cup of gatorade (do onions even absorb liquids in the first place?) then plugs the usb cable into the onion, that will never work ever. And it's even funnier to read his comment pages and people say it actually works,pshh I'm not even gonna try it.
Nov 20, 2007. 11:26 PMFenwick (author)
says:
The reason that those work is that it uses two different metals. The acids in the fruits react with the metals, and the electrons flow from one metal to the other. Heck, that's how your typical AA batteries work.
The problem with this is that the pins on the USB cable are exactly the same. Even if they did use copper and zinc for the different pins, it could only have an output of about 1.5 volts, which is not enough to charge an iPod at 5 volts. Some of the concepts are there, but not implemented correctly. Just enough to fool people.
If you had 4 onions in a series, connected with copper and zinc, you could get up to 5 volts, which you could splice into a iPod charge cable and charge it.
The rest of his videos follow the same pattern. For example, you really CAN make a speaker out of a styrofoam plate, but it's more complicated than simply taping a penny on top of tinfoil as he claims.
The problem with this is that the pins on the USB cable are exactly the same. Even if they did use copper and zinc for the different pins, it could only have an output of about 1.5 volts, which is not enough to charge an iPod at 5 volts. Some of the concepts are there, but not implemented correctly. Just enough to fool people.
If you had 4 onions in a series, connected with copper and zinc, you could get up to 5 volts, which you could splice into a iPod charge cable and charge it.
The rest of his videos follow the same pattern. For example, you really CAN make a speaker out of a styrofoam plate, but it's more complicated than simply taping a penny on top of tinfoil as he claims.
Dec 21, 2007. 5:16 PMamc1851
says:
You cannot charge an Ipod using anything except the right usb charger, the material-metal from which the pins from the usb connector are made is totally out of the question, it is about "which pin is positive, which is negative, which is logic and which is ground, etc.
Yeah, it has been a long time since I fooled around with that stuff. thanks for the clarification. As you noted, some of them are really dumb, that one on powering one's tv is ludicrous.
Nov 21, 2007. 9:11 AMPunkguyta
says:
I would have given him half the credit if he tried hooking the AA battery up to the POWER CORD, however this was via the rca video/audio input jacks, this works HOW? lmao...
No, he hooked it up to the power cord. The RCA cables were just a way to get people to ruin perfectly good cables while routing 1.5VDC to a device that requires 120VAC to work.
Nov 21, 2007. 12:58 PMits a lion
says:
macguyver could do it. actually know what... he would use a power chord, rca jacks, and a AA battery and make a tv.
Nov 21, 2007. 8:12 PMPunkguyta
says:
Not even Macguyver could do it, he would just shake his head in shame.
Nov 22, 2007. 7:06 AMPunkguyta
says:
This is completely unrelated to what we're talking about (But he that's what this site is about), but where has Lemonie been?
Nov 22, 2007. 6:07 PMits a lion
says:
i dont know. come to think about it i havent seen west in a while either. maybe i havent been paying attention though.
Nov 22, 2007. 6:34 PMPunkguyta
says:
Yes I was gonna say, I just emailed him a couple days ago to see if he was still selling a camera he had and he hasn't replied.
I don't know, Las Vegas has been overly busy elsewhere lately too it seems :-)
Nov 22, 2007. 8:49 AMPunkguyta
says:
But I've seen Las Vegas kicking around once in a while but I'm thinking maybe the two of them are scheming a master plan together.
you forgot the paper clip and the rubber band necessary for this task LOL
Hmm, that is even beyond belief on any scale I am familiar with :-)
his works HOW? lmao...
The same way "movies" -work- ; suspended disbelief LOL
his works HOW? lmao...
The same way "movies" -work- ; suspended disbelief LOL
Nov 21, 2007. 12:17 PMPunkguyta
says:
Oh yeah, forgot that bonds movie where he powers up a broken tv with a watch battery to receive transmissions from HQ
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