Hack is a term in the slang of the technology culture which has come into existence over the past few decades. As a noun, it has a number of related meanings. As a verb, it means creating or participating in a hack.
All of the modern meanings seem to be rooted in its widespread use as slang throughout the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), starting in the 1960s. There, the original meaning of \"hack\" was an elaborate and flamboyant student prank; it was used with hacker, meaning \"one who perpetrates a hack\". Past MIT hacks include:
* Covering the university\'s signature \"Great Dome\" (which seems to be something of a magnet for hacks) with tin foil
* Putting a fake (but convincing) MIT Campus Police cruiser on the Dome
* Decorating the Dome as R2-D2
* Hiding the university president\'s office by covering its entrance with a fake bulletin board
* Inflating a huge balloon on the playing field during a Harvard-Yale football game
*......
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