Even though it’s Friday, this is not a red meat Friday post. But it is a whimsical tale to serve as a digestif for your week. It’s a charming story that is reminiscent of the famous MIT hacks except that rather than being simply a prank, it was intended to fix a problem. The tale began in 2001 in downtown Los Angeles near the city hall where a number of freeways converge. The problem was the highway signage that drivers depended on to navigate through the tangle of intersecting freeways was hard to see because much of it consisted of small signs at the side of the road.
Street artist Richard Ankrom decided that this couldn’t stand and set out to fix the signage. He had some experience with sign making so making the sign wasn’t the problem—although it did have its difficulties. The real challenge was getting the sign installed. Ankrom went by the theory that if you looked like you belonged and knew what you were doing, no one would question you.
The best part of the story was that CalTrans remained unaware of the hack for 8 years and only learned of it because Ankrom started talking about it after the statute of limitations expired. To their credit, CalTrans left the sign in place until they made an official one that’s still in place.
You can get all the details by reading the article over at Motor Bisquit that discusses the prank. There’s a video that shows Ankrom building and installing the sign that’s definitely worth watching.