What happens when you steal packages from a YouTuber that also happens to be a former NASA engineer? You become web content. Glittery, fart-smelling content.
Mark Rober is a former NASA and Apple engineer and a self-described “friend of science”. In his career as a content creator, he has uploaded troves of videos featuring DIY engineering, comparative and speculative experiments, science vlogs and interviews, and self-made gadgets. His YouTube channel alone boasts over 17 million subscribers who are in it for the laughs and the science.
With his innate skill and engineering prowess, you’d think that he’s better off spending his time testing rockets for space flight or discovering a new way to harness renewable energy.
But in this episode, he channeled his engineering skills to satisfy his “vengeance”.
“But to understand how we got here, we first have to go back in time a bit. Because that’s when this couple stole a package from my porch.”
However, even with the video footage, the authorities failed to do anything. Deeply inspired by the comedy film Home Alone, he went back to his workshop and vowed to use his engineering skills to avenge his package and the two million packages stolen from porches across the United States every year.
He explained, that since packages are mostly stolen in December, this prank has become a yearly tradition to remind would-be porch pirates to choose a different schtick, but in the most glittery and fabulous way possible.
The Glitterbomb is a small box-sized gadget measuring about a foot wide and deep, and a foot and half tall. It is equipped with four cameras to record the thief’s face no matter which side the box is opened. It also has a spinning wheel on top that spews up biodegradable glitters to celebrate the thief’s induction into the trap. There are also several vials for a fart-smelling liquid that sprays out every thirty seconds. To add to the flair, it also has lights to illuminate the faces of the thieves and red and blue flashing lights to stay faithful with the arrest mood.
The gadget seemed simple and elegant from the outside, but the engineering and technology that was poured into the prank is nothing short of amazing. It sends the recorded footage straight to the cloud server, can relay messages to the thieves, and is equipped with a GPS for easy retrieval.
Any porch pirate will snag a brand new “BOSE Buzz Collection”, not knowing that they’re bringing home one of the most sophisticatedly engineered pranks known to man.
The first porch pirate to be recorded sets his newly stolen Buzz Collection headset down on his magnificently carpeted floor. The other vantage points even reveal alphabet posters and kids’ toys which would definitely earn him the “Dad of the Year” award, especially with the kind of role model that he is.
He opens the box which quickly prompted the Glitterbox to play audio clips from the movie Home Alone.
The whirring of the glitter wheel coated his pants and carpet with golden sparkles followed by a quick spritz of delectable smelling fart. He tried to seal the box once more but Mark’s “updates” only allowed him to put the box back halfway.
After getting showered with fart essence and dusted with glitter, the box suddenly started counting down. He panics, thinking that the box would do something more sinister, and he runs to throw the entire thing out. Hopefully, that would teach him a thing or two about taking something that’s not his.
The next one opens the package and gets all excited that they’re getting a collection of earbuds and headsets. He even smugly celebrates with “It’s all yours now, baby!” to his girlfriend while he ripped the box open.
But of course, the only collection he’ll ever get is a collection of punishment for stealing.
The glitter bomb whirs and dusts their bed like confectioners’ sugar on brownies. He quickly snags the box as it sprayed him with No.25 limited edition, “eau de unflushed toilet”.
The best part, he panicked so much on the countdown that he jammed the entire thing in the closet. Talk about stinking up everything you own.
Watch the whole video to see how the other porch pirates got punished, and Mark Rober’s plan to stop scammers.
SHARE this to your friends and family and show them that karma is as fabulous as it is stinky.
