Millions of people in the Chicago area were forced to watch a major broadcast hijacking exactly 34 years ago. On the evening of November 22, 1987, a masked person took over transmission twice, uttering seemingly meaningless jokes and trivia for a total of two minutes.
The incident, dubbed “Max Headroom signal jacking” because of the perpetrators’ mask choice, sparked a lot of speculation, but no answers. Authorities were unable to apprehend the culprits despite a lengthy investigation.
However, the event has been immortalized due to the lack of clarity, making it a must-know for any fan of hacker culture and subversive art.
The first interruption
The Max Headroom hack appears to be a scene from a modern hacker film like Mr. Robot or even a techy horror film. The hack becomes stranger the more you read about it.
The first intrusion lasted about 25 seconds and happened during the sports segment of Chicago’s WGN-TV newscast. The broadcast was initially interrupted by a ten-second black screen, followed by a creepy-looking masked person in front of a corrugated metal background.
A screeching digital noise accompanied the interruption, making it unclear whether the character had anything to say.
WGN-engineers TV’s were perplexed, so they turned off the intrusion by changing the signal frequency between the broadcast studio and the station.
Once the stations’ engineers were able to get the regular broadcast back on the air, sports anchor Dan Roan commented, “Well, if you’re wondering what’s happened, so am I.”
Who is Max Headroom?
The creepy aesthetics were not chosen at random. The perpetrator was dressed as Max Headroom, a fictional British TV character.
A fictional ‘artificial intelligence’ character appeared in the first season of the show. In reality, Canadian-American actor Matt Frewer wore prosthetic makeup to create the character’s computer-generated appearance.
In the TV show, Max Headroom was a journalist who was assassinated over digging dirt on the corporation that owned the TV station he worked at. Headroom’s hacker friend preserved his brain and uploaded it to the network, effectively turning him into a digital entity.
The ghost of Headroom used to appear in broadcasts, like in a modern horror story, sharing snarky, sometimes off-beat jokes with a dash of social commentary.
‘Giant masterpiece’
Viewers only heard what the people behind the Max Headroom mask had to say after a second attempt at hijacking the TV signal. Hackers broke into the signal of another Chicago-based station, WTTW, around 11:20 p.m. the same night.
The perpetrators began an episode of Doctor Who by saying, “He’s a fricking nerd,” followed by a digitalized laughter reminiscent of the original Max Headroom show.
The 90-second video was disorganized, with the perpetrator gliding over seemingly random subjects. WGN sportscaster Chuck Swirsky was called a “frickin’ liberal,” and a Pepsi can was displayed while a Coca-Cola slogan was called.
Swirsky later expressed concern for his safety, claiming that he was singled out in the transmission for no apparent reason.
The hijacker then began humming the Temptations’ 1966 song “Your love is fading.” However, the twitchy, strange-sounding character’s somewhat juvenile presentation makes it difficult not to see a movie villain in him.
In the middle of the video, the hacker proudly stated, “I just made a giant masterpiece for the Greatest World Newspaper nerds.” The first station to be hacked that day was WGN-TV, which stands for “World’s Greatest Newspaper.”
The interruption was followed by a side view of exposed buttocks being spanked by a female character with a fly swatter. The broadcast returned to normal a few seconds later, leaving many people puzzled by the ordeal.
The second hijacking came to an end when the hackers terminated the transmission on their own. WTTW did not have engineers on the scene to deal with the signal disruption.
Targeted attack
According to television engineers, whoever was behind the attack needed access to a costly transmitter because hijacking the broadcast required extremely high-powered equipment.
It’s thought that the intrusion was carried out by using a transmitter to overturn the signal sent by TV studios to transmitters that amplified the signal to reach Chicago audiences. Between the studio and the transmitter, the perpetrators most likely used a high-rise apartment or a roof.
“You need a lot of power to do that, and the interfering signal has to be quite strong,” WGN director of engineering Robert Strutzel told the Chicago Tribune the day after the incident.
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) launched an investigation into the attack. It never discovered who was behind it, though. No one took responsibility for the hijacking, despite the fact that the case’s five-year statute of limitations had expired in 1992, meaning the perpetrators would face no charges even if they came forward.
The attack was suspected to be carried out by students, disgruntled employees, and radio enthusiasts. Only those involved in the attack, 34 years later, are certain who carried it out. The attack is one of the most well-known hacking attempts due to the cryptic broadcast, bizarre broadcast, and lack of accountability.
The Max Headroom hack occurred less than a year after a satellite dish salesman, John R. MacDoughall, interrupted HBO’s transmission with a written message criticizing the company for preventing non-subscribers from receiving the stations’ transmission. Despite the fact that millions of people saw the message, authorities only fined MacDougall $5,000.
Inside The Mysterious Death Of The Famed Gothic Writer Edgar Allan Poe
Hours before his death Edgar Allen Poe was found on the streets of Baltimore. He was incoherent, wearing another man’s clothes, and unable to explain how he got there. The cause of his death is an unsolved mystery.
How did Howard Florey discover penicillin
Penicillin was discovered by Alexander Fleming, but he never attempted to turn it into an antibiotic. It wasn't until ten years later that Howard Florey discovered Fleming's obscure paper and understood the mold's potential. Up to 200 million lives may have been saved as a result of Florey's work.
The Tragic Story Of Mary Ann Bevan, The ‘Ugliest Woman In The World’
After the death of her husband, Mary Ann Bevan had no income to support herself and her children. She then decided to enter a contest where she won the title of “ugliest woman” and was later hired by a circus. She endured this ridicule from the world to provide for her family.
June and Jennifer Gibbons The silent twin who Only Spoke to Each Other
Identical twins June and Jennifer Gibbons were born on 11 April 1963 at a military hospital in Aden, Yemen where their father worked as part of the Royal Air Force.
A Brief History of the PlayStation Gaming Console
Sony's PlayStation was never meant to be an actual product. Instead, it was intended to be a CD-ROM console that would support Nintendo games. However, when Nintendo backed out of the deal at the last minute, Sony went ahead and launched what soon became one of the most successful gaming consoles of all time.
Why was the Eiffel Tower almost demolished
The Eiffel Tower was intended to be a temporary structure for the World's Fair in 1889, but it was nearly dismantled and sold for scrap metal. It was saved because of its potential use as a radio antenna, and it now serves as a tourist attraction as well as a working broadcast tower.
story of the youngest mother in the world at age of five - Lina Medina
Lina Medina, a five-year-old Peruvian girl, became the youngest mother in history in 1939 when she gave birth to a boy.
Iranian inmate dies from happiness after finding out he will not be executed
An Iranian man who was convicted of murder reportedly died from happiness after learning that his death sentence was being commuted.
Inside China’s Footbinding Tradition: The Painful Ritual of Lotus Shoes and Bound Feet
In China, Lotus shoes were used to bind women's feet to keep their feet small
The history of Flour sack clothing fashion
After Kansas mill owners found women reused flour sack materials into apparel in the 1920s and 1930s, they started applying patterned designs to give families with more fashionable patterns and material.
The 1976 April Fools' Pranks, Planetary Alignment
On April fool's Day, 1976, the BBC convinced many listeners that a special alignment of the planets would temporarily decrease gravity on Earth. Phone lines were flooded with callers who claimed they felt the effects.
Mario Segale, Developer Who Inspired Nintendo to Name Super Mario
Super Mario is named after real-life businessman Mario Segale, who was renting out a warehouse to Nintendo. After Nintendo fell far behind on rent, Segale did not evict them but gave them a second chance to come up with the money. Nintendo succeeded and named their main character after him.
Blanche Monnier: Imprisoned For 25 Years For Falling in Love
Blanche Monnier, she was a French woman noted for her beauty, she wished to marry an old lawyer that her mother disapproved of, so she locked her in a small dark room in her attic for 25 years.
Graves holding hands over wall, A Catholic woman and her Protestant husband grave
A protestant man and a Catholic woman who weren't allowed from being buried together in a graveyard in 19th-century Holland turned their graves into a monument showing them holding hands across the wall separating them.
Vince Coleman, a railway dispatcher, sacrificed his own life
Vince Coleman, a railway dispatcher, sacrificed his life in order to warn an incoming train of an imminent explosion. His telegraph said “Hold up the train. Ammunition ship afire in harbor making for Pier 6 and will explode. Guess this will be my last message. Good-bye, boys.” He saved 300 lives.
8 Interesting Facts About The Unsinkable Ship, TITANIC
If you ask your friends what's the most famous ship in history the answer in most cases will be the same, of course the legendary Titanic. Its history is full of mysteries, at first it was a source of hope and national pride as well as proof of the triumphs of mankind but it soon became a source of nostalgia and pain, the extent of which cannot be described in words.
Remembering the miracles of the 1985 Mexico earthquake (unbelievable stories)
In 1985, after an 8.0 magnitude earthquake hit Mexico City, nearly all newborn babies survived a collapsed hospital. They are known as “Miracle Babies” for surviving 7 days without nourishment, water, warmth or human contact.
Louis Le Prince Invented the motion picture camera, and then he mysteriously disappeared
Louis Le Prince, the inventor of motion pictures, vanished without a trace in 1890. Thomas Edison quickly claimed the title of "first and sole inventor of cinema," even taking Le Prince's son to court to dispute it. A few years later, the son also dies under mysterious circumstances.
The 1814 London beer flood
In 1814, there was a beer flood in London when a tank containing more than 300,000 gallons ruptured in which 8 people drowned.
Quaker Oats Fed Children with Radioactive Oatmeal
In the 1940s and 1950s, Quaker Oats and MIT conducted experiments on radioactive iron and calcium-containing cereal. The diet was part of a study to see if the nutrients in Quaker oatmeal traveled throughout the body. In January 1998, a $1.85 million settlement was reached for 30 victims who came forward.
Did Gil Pérez Really Teleport from Manila to Mexico Overnight? The 1593 Mystery
On October 24, 1593, while performing his guard duties at Manila's Governor's Palace in the Philippines, Gil Perez stopped to lean against a wall and sleep for a while. He opened his eyes to find himself in an unusual environment. Gil was in the Plaza Mayor in Mexico City. They imprisoned Perez, but the authorities in Mexico City decided to release him and return him home.
Xin Zhui And The Story Of The Stunningly Intact Lady Dai Mummy
A 2,000-year-old mummy of a Chinese woman, Xin Zhui, also known as “Lady Dai,” was preserved in 21 gallons of an “unknown liquid.” With her original hair, organs, eyebrows, and eyelashes intact, the mummy still has blood in her veins. Her skin and ligaments are soft and as flexible as that of a living person.
Hedy Lamarr, A Hollywood actress who also a mathematician and inventor
Hollywood actress Hedy Lamarr was also a mathematician and the inventor of frequency hopping spread spectrum, a technology still used for bluetooth and wifi
What is the story behind Wrigley chewing gum?
Wrigley's was originally a soap company that gifted baking powder with their soap. The baking powder became more popular than the soap so they switched to selling baking powder with chewing gum as a gift. The gum became more popular than the baking powder so the company switched to selling gum.
The touching story of David Vetter (bubble boy), the 'boy who lived in a bubble
David Vetter lived his whole 12 years in sterile “bubble”. He was “outside” for 20 second after being removed from his mother’s womb. He never touched any human.
