In Las Vegas, skilled computer hackers work day and night on figuring out ways to circumvent the electronic safeguards that protect our computer systems from complete and total failure. Meanwhile, in towns and cities all throughout the United States, people are setting to work trying to figure out ways to circumvent the physical safeguards that protect our homes, offices, and cars from complete and total security. These days, intrepid problem-solvers are participating in lock-picking competitions for fun and profit.
The sport has been dubbed “locksport,” in which people buy locks from the store, then set about trying to figure out ways to open them using various tools. There are various formats of locksport competitions, but there’s always one rule that remains in place: “You never pick a lock you don’t own and you never pick a lock that’s in regular use,” said Schuyler Towne, a 26-year-old locksport participant. There’s head-to-head speed picking, lockpick wizard (in which participants are given a bag of locks and various tools and forced to pick them all using just what’s on hand), and of course, the ever-popular “escaping from handcuffs” lockpicking challenge.
“This is why I pick: I love competing,” Towne said. “Nothing makes me happier than sitting down across from another person and attempting to open a lock faster than they can.”
Image: padlock
Tags: locksport, locks, lock picking, breaking locks, Somerville, Massachusetts, TOOOL, The Open Organization of Lockpickers, lock-picking contests, finding flaws in locks, problem-solving games, unusual puzzles, unusual habits, Schuyler Towne
