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120 Comments
- billflu, on 10/12/2007, -6/+112That is certainly a big smile for some one that is about to die.
- rworne, on 10/12/2007, -2/+86People don't seem to realize that these were alarm boxes that were found on street corners on or near telephone poles.
Young street urchins were pulling the lever to see the fire trucks go by. These are not old versions of the "pull the handle" alarms found in buildings.
Still, if you need to leave the spot because you are in danger, just take a lesson from the common coyote. - MrPig, on 10/12/2007, -7/+88Direct link to image:
http://blog.modernmechanix.com/mags/qf/c/ModernMechanix/2-1938/lrg_firebox_pranks.jpg - Piper7865, on 10/12/2007, -1/+73This is for a street corner fire alarm from back in the day, so chances are if you're pulling it you're not in a burning building anyway. This was to deter kids from pulling the alarm for fun.
- patch6, on 10/12/2007, -5/+77At least the smiling corpse will lighten the mortician's day somewhat.
- spengy, on 10/12/2007, -7/+62Yeah, I bet it worked really well. Unless the kids back then knew what a stick was. Put a stick in there instead of your arm.
- trogdor282, on 10/12/2007, -4/+41Some capital letters for the slow people who STILL don't get it:
THIS ALARM DOES NOT TRAP YOU IN THE FIRE! IT JUST GIVES YOU A BIGASS WRISTBAND! - djNullSpace, on 10/12/2007, -1/+35@ spengy: You have to twist a dial. Probably couldn't do it with a stick. Maybe one of those plastic "claw" things from Kay-Bee Toys though. The ones that are like clamps with a handle and they make all kinds of noise when you squeeze the lever. Yeah, nevermind. :)
- neosublime, on 10/12/2007, -5/+34They should hang a hack saw next to the alarm incase there is a real fire.
"Saw 4: False Alarm" - inactive, on 10/12/2007, -1/+28But it's not funny that way... :(
- skoles, on 10/12/2007, -1/+27This is a box alarm which is placed on a telephone pole out on the street. So if someone saw a fire they could pull the handle and it would send a signal to the fire station indicating a "box" had been pulled and by checking the box # they know what street it's on.
These are not something installed in a house or building. - ulyssesyt, on 10/12/2007, -2/+28sigh. when "fire boxes" existed, ones like these were OUTSIDE. not in buildings.
- mikeman10001, on 10/12/2007, -8/+35I know this might just be a crazy idea but... what if they just put their arm behind it, or beside it to pull it?
- yableo, on 10/12/2007, -5/+32how could such an obvious flaw be overlooked....?
1938 issue of The Onion? :) - idonthack, on 10/12/2007, -1/+261. Discreetly set up webcam watching the alarm
2. Catch ***** in the act
3. Make him realize why that stopped being funny in Junior High - Crypty, on 10/12/2007, -1/+26At my school the fire alarms, when pulled, spray your hand with a very hard to wash off ink.
A few pranksters have been caught this way over the years. - Terc, on 10/12/2007, -1/+23because this was invented 70 years ago
- ylikone, on 10/12/2007, -6/+28They have a cuff locked to their wrist for a while... so what? Will that kill them? It's not like they are locked to the alarm. Notice in the picture, the cuff has COME OFF the alarm and is now firmly attached to the wrist.
- TenebrousX, on 10/12/2007, -3/+25believe it or not, some users like to read the story before they digg it
- Klisk, on 10/12/2007, -0/+21Here too, but the kids were smart enough to use big rubber gloves, and ditch them right there at the alarm. For some reason the teachers were compelled to WARN us that they would spray us. So naturally any prankster was prepared.
- amowls, on 10/12/2007, -3/+23They should install those in my dorm. The alarm gets pulled almost once a week and always at 3 am.
- Sp0rAdiC, on 10/12/2007, -10/+27MrPig is dugg down... why? There is absolutely nothing of value in that "article", all we need is the picture.
- TenebrousX, on 10/12/2007, -2/+17http://tinypic.com/2cfpau9.jpg
- Johnnie, on 10/12/2007, -0/+14uhh... because this looks like its from the 30's.
- FreakTrap, on 10/12/2007, -4/+17"THE sending of false fire alarms by mischievous persons may be eliminated through use of a newly developed call box. To use the device, the sender of an alarm must pass a hand through a special compartment to reach the signal dial. Once the dial has been turned..."
Keyword, 'turned'...
I've never seen someone reach into a small compartment with a stick and manage to turn a dial with just a stick...
EDIT: Beaten to it, and by over eight minutes... =/ - ylikone, on 10/12/2007, -0/+13People WANT this to lock the person to the alarm box because it's funnier that way. Don't tell them to understand how it really works because that wouldn't be fun at all. Alas, you will get dug down for pointing out the truth. Sigh.
- Suspected, on 10/12/2007, -2/+14You talk about a malfunction as if it's the worst thing that can happen. I'm more scared of it functioning and burning me to a crisp before the fire department arrives.
- dbr_onix, on 10/12/2007, -6/+16Ever wonder why it didn't catch on?
- Ben - AeonTorpor, on 10/12/2007, -0/+10Hahaha, married?
- RyeBrye, on 10/12/2007, -1/+8/ You are still in the dorms? One year is sufficient. Time to enter the real world.
- esansone, on 10/12/2007, -2/+9I don't think it actually traps you next to the alarm... when I first saw the picture I just figured the thing that's locked to your hand is not even attached to the alarm. (detaches after it locks maybe?). It doesn't even look like it is attached to the alarm. Look at the angle. There's like no point to it being like that if it were attached.
So even if it was inside a burning building, you'd still be able to escape. - aknowles5139, on 10/12/2007, -1/+8yes you could do that.... but back then the camera was bigger than the ATM or fire alarm:P
- Chongo, on 10/12/2007, -6/+12@mikeman10001 - Why that IS crazy talk! Don't you understand how these things work!?
- grgt1994, on 10/12/2007, -3/+9You cant imagine turning a dial with a stick? Man, you need to work on that there imagination of your's. Shouldn't be so hard really.
- Magnumi, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6I've actually seen an old documentary video of this alarm system at work. It was developed because of too many false alarms going off. Particularly children used to play around with there "fire boxes" and caused a great deal of alarms which called for an immediate development of an system which would help identify the person who originally triggered the alarm. The hand must be vertically inserted through the bottom of the housing to get to the actual trigger. When the trigger is pulled the alarm goes off and the bottoms plate part clamps onto the users wrist. I'm not sure about the actual mechanics involved, but it would work even with non-adults (the clamp adjusted to the correct wrist size). Note that the bottom plate comes off completely and isn't attached by cable or chain as mentioned at digg.com. The bottom plate was made of heavy duty steel and was designed to be so big that it was hard to conceal under clothing. I consider this to be quite an interesting invention which did it's job well, but it wasn't very widely spread due to the fact that it was more costly to make and people didn't like the idea that they had to put their hand deep into the box and then have the thing clamp of their wrist.
- TheTrueAPlus, on 10/12/2007, -4/+10Did any one else think this was something modern?
- inactive, on 10/12/2007, -4/+10Can your stupid eyes see the picture? The compartment her hand is locked in is not attached to the box.
Her hand went up, pulled the alarm, and the cuff came down with her hand.
Here I thought diggers were just stupid when it came to politics. - ryodoan, on 10/12/2007, -1/+7I totally agree.
This year hasnt been to bad, only one prank alarm, but last year during finals we had three alarms, three nights in a row at 4:30 am.... I was ready to kill some one. - ylikone, on 10/12/2007, -2/+8To people saying put your arm around this device... you can't! When it is attached to the device, you have only one option of putting your hand up inside. The cuff locks to your wrist before you pull out. You now run away with a ubiquitous wrist cuff.
- msgyrd, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6The creepy grad students who still live in the dorms are the best (they've gotta be like 25 already). It's always fun to see people walking behind them snicker.
Honestly though...signing a lease for a small apartment and mailing your utility bills isn't that hard, especially for someone who supposedly made it through a year of college. It's a helluva lot cheaper too. I spent a year in the dorms (mandatory), then immediately moved out on my own. Where I am, it costs almost $250/month less than campus living, including transportation and food. Just find a place further away than say, 10 blocks from your campus and the housing prices are usually reasonable, get a roommate if you want to live even cheaper. - FreakTrap, on 10/12/2007, -3/+8In case you didn't notice... It is still a functioning fire alarm...
- ylikone, on 10/12/2007, -1/+6It doesn't prevent honest people from pulling the alarm... all they have to endure is walking around with the cuff locked to their wrist for a while.
- stateq2, on 10/12/2007, -2/+7OK....too much misinformation here
- inactive, on 10/12/2007, -8/+13It is amazing how far digg has sunk. EVERY comment pointing out the FACTS about how this device works are getting buried. Apparently the idiots on Digg don't like to be made a fool of. So they are burying all comments that
Burying the comments doesn't change the facts that you are moronically thought that the device locks the person to the alarm when it clearly does not. - Foma, on 10/12/2007, -4/+8"...these were alarm boxes that were found on street corners on or near telephone poles."
Thanks for single-handedly ruining *all my fun*.
Actually, it's still hilarious since the people would still presumably be in dangerous proximity to the fire. - inactive, on 10/12/2007, -4/+8How dare you speak the truth on Digg, prepare to get dug down.
- inactive, on 10/12/2007, -1/+5Except that would not be practical for hte ituations this fire alarm was designed for. Ink is OK for a school, where the prankster will still be around after the alarm is turned off.
This was designed for street side fire boxes. So what if you got ink on your hand? You just go home and wash it and no one will ever know. Whereas, if you have a smal box cuffed to your wrist, you pretty much have to wait to get it removed.
Again...hate to point out the ovious, but it does NOT lock the person to the alarm. It locks a small part of the alarm to the person. - WikiEasy, on 10/12/2007, -3/+6The cuff clearly comes off the alarm, so the person can run away. If they want to have the cuffs removed, they'd have to go to the fire station. If you're not a prankser you wouldn't mind the few hours of inconvenience. If you're a prankster though, you might think twice.
Can't believe you guys fell for this. - ylikone, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3Because it's not a flaw. The cuff only attaches to your wrist. You don't get locked to the alarm.
- blizzok, on 10/12/2007, -13/+164. ???
5. Profit!
:P -
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