The Most Disturbing Hijacking in TV History

[@lucymorrison]

The Max Headroom dude is a legend, essentially broadcasted the first shitpost, left without explaining and was never found.

[@RemnantsPvP]

says something about nerds refuses to elaborate leaves

[@theauthor6669]

the fucking thuggery

[@that_little_mf]

Sigma chad

[@obamius4521]

@@that_little_mf For real

[@j-skullz]

I don't know why people thought it was creepy, unless people had different standards for that back in the 80s but I think it was funny lol, it was pretty much a meme before the internet

[@rawbones4117]

This guy has the knowhow to hijack a major broadcast and instead of doing anything evil he just goofed around. Legend.

[@micaelasanchez2oo955]

Fr 💀

[@Charcoaledmarmalade]

I would call him an idiot but at the same time he hijacked two stations

[@JohnZiTAB]

He could’ve broadcasted some psyop shit or hardcore porn. But nah, he just sang songs and mooned the camera.

[@CopyXat]

Nah not a idiot the ultimate shitpost god

[@Bearical]

@@Charcoaledmarmalade He's done something nobody else could. He didn't get caught as well. That's intelligence.

[@Oliver_Flower]

Imagine being a kid watching doctor who then just seening that. I think I would be scarred for life lmao💀

[@TehUltimateSnake]

Imagine falling asleep and waking up to that on the tv.

[@usb_licker69]

@@TehUltimateSnake that shit would literally scar me for life

[@FunniEmi]

@@usb_licker69 i broke your phone

[@usb_licker69]

@@FunniEmi NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

[@FunniEmi]

@@usb_licker69 rip bozo

[@tylertheguy3160]

Theory: I don't think it's weird that they haven't come forward even though the statute of limitations have ran out. Seeing as how smart these people had to have been to pull this off, I think it's very likely they have good careers. If it came forward they were involved in something like this, I'm willing to bet there's a good chance they'd be blacklisted from their field.

[@monterrang1]

that or they passed away by then

[@carlrygwelski586]

Or they became druggie burnouts like MTV typically breeds

[@chrisjimenez2192]

@@monterrang1 You both make very good points Possibly the 2 most likely to be true

[@willissudweeks1050]

Maybe so but this is a criminal act and criminals can be that smart as well. Doesn’t seem likely a lawyer did this to me.

[@willissudweeks1050]

I think that they may be involved in shit and don’t want to be public.

[@josephgioielli]

Max Headroom was a tv character. The story was Edison Carter, a news reported, was killed in a crash. The last words he saw were "Maximum Headroom" on a gate. After Carter dies, he comes back as the computer generated "Max Headroom". In the show, Max would interrupt tv shows and criticize the advertisers, government, corporations, etc. This incident tried to replicate the effect of the show.

[@AcidYoru]

Coma not dead

[@nignamedmutt7270]

Wow. You put it plain and fucking simple, and him have no clue how i haven't heard all this. As far as I could figure out(and every few years I'd fall back into this rabbit hole, for probably about 8 listening hours total) I was under the impression that he was just a short lived Pepsi promotional character lol

[@zabinoing]

Sounds like a creepypasta

[@kittyslash420andbrother]

People know who Max Headroom is dude

[@danieldaniels7571]

@@nignamedmutt7270 the Max Headroom TV series was released on VHS. I have it.

[@TheDigitalApple]

Imagine if it happens again. Same mask, same guy, same station. The internet would go wild!

[@tylertheguy3160]

I feel like it would be significantly harder to both pull off and get away with today.

[@indeedken]

That would be great

[@Mrnotpib]

I don’t even know if WGN is a thing anymore. I know it’s a midwestern thing, since we have a station where I live, but still 🤷‍♂️

[@vaffeldog]

@@Mrnotpib guy from chicago here and, yeah, its still a thing. i could be confusing it with WLS but i'm pretty sure

[@elbennoo]

You're the guy, aren't you?

[@barrysteakfriessimp_real]

i like to think that the hijackers are still out there laughing their asses off at people trying to find them and theorising on the truth behind the hijack. it's like 80s shitposting, which is why i find this incident both incredibly interesting and hilarious.

[@cheesemanexe116]

There probably dead

[@nicoffee777]

@@cheesemanexe116 not necessarily

[@cheesemanexe116]

HOLY SHIT I DONT CARE , FINE THEN. HE IS ALIVE SO WHAT , YOU DONT KNOW HIM WHY CARE

[@machinehl]

@@cheesemanexe116 if u dont care y u mad

[@nicoffee777]

@@cheesemanexe116 Bruh calm down 👎

[@MoeNinjaCat]

It's absolutely someone working in the field and area at the time. There was actually someone credible on twitter the other day who claimed the culprit was known among station techs in the area but, they didn't want to rat them out. I imagine it's probably an open secret with the old guard of those stations.

[@chrisjimenez2192]

Maybe, but I doubt it Someone ALWAYS talks & says something Next thing you know everyone knows That's why I don't believe this Twitter poster is credible

[@Chonkems]

@@chrisjimenez2192 Not everyone talks. That's just movies. There are men who refuse to confirm or deny their involvement in the '84 CIA operations in Afghanistan, despite the clear evidence and admittance from the agency that they were there.

[@chrisjimenez2192]

@@Chonkems ??? I'm not basing my logic on cinema I'm basing it on what can be seen in our society & BTW who's to say those men you speak of never told any of their wives, children, siblings, or close friends & just told them not to ever repeat what they told them???

[@Chonkems]

@@chrisjimenez2192 my guy. not everyone "talks eventually" also, try making your comment actual english. I cannot read that shit for the life of me.

[@chrisjimenez2192]

@@Chonkems Actual English??? Am I having a stroke or something? What is happening right now?

[@sandwhich6891]

bro got spanked live on tv and people take him seriously 💀

[@CreativeCreatorCreates]

I remember when this happened. It was VERY creepy and off putting. This was more for the nature of it, and how it happened. I believe this was 6th-7th grade for me.

[@niezyje8922]

i can picture how scary it would be, probably felt threatening too

[@notoriety7473]

Bro mayo

[@user-so3yw8tr1x]

Brooo you acually witnessed this happening?? More details pleaseee 🙏

[@ConnerV]

@@notoriety7473 big mayo

[@SallaryfprDNP]

How the fuck does everyboey find this creepy/disturbing

[@BarronVonPeugeot]

What's disturbing is the fact that because there was no Internet you would think that it was just your OWN TV glitching out until you saw the news the next morning making you go to sleep thinking your house was haunted or some shit.

[@ross9944]

I'd probably call a couple of my friends and ask if they saw it too

[@Rekkuza-eu6sp]

Repent and follow Jesus my friend! Repenting doesn't mean confessing your sins to others, but to stop doing them altogether. Belief in Messiah alone is not enough to get you into heaven, you must become a new creation and be born again by responding to the Holy Spirit. - Matthew 7:21-23, Revelation 3:15-16 cf. Hebrews 10:26-29. Pay close attention to your thoughts and how you respond to your inner monologue because it has a greater impact than you think. Call on the name of Jesus and pray for Him to intervene in your life, and do all that you can to follow His ways.

[@dirksdead671]

@@Rekkuza-eu6sp goku vs Jesus who wins

[@terestar1]

Considering its Doctor Who, people may have thought it was just part of the episode.

[@Bumafa]

​@@dirksdead671Jesus would rise again but so would Goku if they had the dragonballs so they tie

[@andreajanota6258]

We actually had this on tape for a time since my dad would often tape doctor who in case he didn’t get home from work on time. We think it was an inside job because hardly anyone at that time would have powerful enough stuff to do this.

[@_androo_9202]

What happened to the tape?

[@notoriety7473]

Bro mayo

[@burbplayer960]

Bro mayo

[@muffinman7755]

Bro mayo

[@Gio286_]

bro mayo

[@panqueque445]

"I didn't put 2 and 2 together at the time" Bruh, come on. You're telling me if someone tells you to watch the TV tonight to see "something big", and something big happens, you're not gonna remember it?

[@daph0307]

And how are they clear when they said to watch the channel? What was supposed to happen if it weren't them?

[@300kSammy]

the fact that eminem recreated this is mental

[@loudducc4253]

Lmfao

[@omegadomega]

when

[@lpnkorn15]

@@omegadomega Rap God music video

[@j-drummer9132]

Muse did the same in the Dig Down and Algorithm videos

[@Scourge_007_DM]

I always think about eminem whenever I watch this

[@psychicmouse1051]

I love how 50% of the comments are talking about how creepy this is while the other 50% are just laughing their asses off

[@bananaowner_real]

He’s just beginning to feel like a rap god

[@Awesome2000WasTaken]

All his people from the front to the back nod, back nod

[@samfromspace6230]

Now who thinks his arms are long enough to slap box slap box

[@jeronimocespedes5655]

They said he raps like a robot, so call him rap bot

[@g4lde697]

But for him to rap like a computer must be in his genes

[@some__random__guy]

@@g4lde697he has a laptop in his back pocket

[@preston1513]

-Hijacks TV -Dances around and says some shit about nerds -Gets his ass slapped -Leaves -Refuses to elaborate

[@Nottyastro]

That's a legend right there.

[@cadencase5216]

@@Nottyastro fr

[@Rekkuza-eu6sp]

Repent and follow Jesus my friend! Repenting doesn't mean confessing your sins to others, but to stop doing them altogether. Belief in Messiah alone is not enough to get you into heaven, you must become a new creation and be born again by responding to the Holy Spirit. - Matthew 7:21-23, Revelation 3:15-16 cf. Hebrews 10:26-29. Pay close attention to your thoughts and how you respond to your inner monologue because it has a greater impact than you think. Call on the name of Jesus and pray for Him to intervene in your life, and do all that you can to follow His ways.

[@wooded4103]

W

[@clappinmonkey0944]

God level trolling

[@saintjupi]

i remember hearing that who it was was actually known in the small circle of tv radio communication workers but they all kept who did it a secret

[@rebelfrost8183]

How did you find this out?

[@halfbakedproductions7887]

Yep, I've read that too. Seems to be some kind of local pirate radio or phreaking scene operating at the time - the culprit was probably a young hippie who moved in those circles, but had a day job in TV/broadcast engineering and knew exactly what to do. I think that's the most likely answer. These days you get salaried IT workers who lurk on the hacker scene, get up to mischief in their downtime, general 'computer geeks' with personal projects etc. The same scenario probably applies here.

[@Mngalahad]

little people know that max headroom was the name of the scientist; not the monster.

[@renakunisaki]

Godzilla is the name of the species, not the individual. (I just made that up)

[@wildsideofthings7733]

@@renakunisaki haha now I'm just imagining how lazy a godzilla taxnomy could be Species: Godzilla Genus: Godzilla Family: Godzilidae Order: Godziliform

[@obonyxiam]

why do big people not know this?

[@notoriety7473]

Bro mayo

[@joegaming2189]

@@wildsideofthings7733 hah, like how they did with the western lowland gorilla

[@NumeroPerdido]

For me the most intriguing mystery of this whole incident is what they use to make that corrugated metal sheet to rotate like that.

[@hills3786]

it was pre recorded so maybe just edited

[@breezyhillproductions349]

They could have easily just had it on a contraption of some sort with someone behind it, rotating it like that.

[@thebluepineapple684]

didn't even realize what that was

[@themaritimegirl]

My first assumption is there's an actual person holding it up to the camera and manually rotating it, but I suppose these guys were obviously smart enough to build some sort of motor-driven contraption to do it.

[@keloonpa58.62]

@@hills3786 I doubt it, editing like that for random people back in those days wasn’t really possible.

[@TdwtSierraFan123]

My theory : I think it was a group of rogue employees that got fired / didn't like their working conditions and so they planned this intrusion for revenge. This would explain why they call Chuck, the sportscaster "a freaking liberal", throwing shade on their former colleagues as well as the news station in general. This would also explain why the guy in the Max Headroom mask shows his bare ass on screen at one point, possibly to get the station fined or something. As for why they used Max Headroom, I think it's a critique of media and popular culture in general. The 3 former employees could've been disillusioned with their bad experience in the broadcasting industry and therefore poked fun at TV and advertising.

[@halfbakedproductions7887]

I think at least one of the culprits was a young hippie in the local phreaking/punk scene who at some time had worked a day job in TV/broadcast engineering. They knew exactly what to do, and how to do it. Even in those days it wasn't _that_ easy. You needed some knowledge.

[@pant49era17]

Really where did they get the thousands of dollars of equipment to do it. They didn’t break into the stations and use there equipment they would of had there own. Where they driving around with a satellite dish on top of there cars. I still think it was Wayne and Garth. If they could transmit a cable access show from there basement in aurora which is miles outside of chicago why not this? Lol 😂😂

[@lemmythebulldog8812]

This guy is forever considered the most legendary Troll on the planet

[@Rekkuza-eu6sp]

Repent and follow Jesus my friend! Repenting doesn't mean confessing your sins to others, but to stop doing them altogether. Belief in Messiah alone is not enough to get you into heaven, you must become a new creation and be born again by responding to the Holy Spirit. - Matthew 7:21-23, Revelation 3:15-16 cf. Hebrews 10:26-29. Pay close attention to your thoughts and how you respond to your inner monologue because it has a greater impact than you think. Call on the name of Jesus and pray for Him to intervene in your life, and do all that you can to follow His ways.

[@Ghostofthegallow]

Can't imagine how freaked out the people at home must have been. Cause you go from watching TV or listening to it for background noise to it starting to glitch out. At first you think something is wrong with the set so you go over to it then bam creepy mask guy

[@lolcow6668]

They were most likely annoyed more than anything

[@jadenippersiel912]

Especially before the days of the internet,

[@Emilythematerialgurl]

​@@lolcow6668 which makes me laugh even more

[@anonymousdoe3755]

if u werent poor everyone had remoted then lol

[@Man-in-Cap]

@@anonymousdoe3755 I guess even other channel was just him

[@masterseal0418]

The Max Headroom Incident is legendary, and was the subject of numerous YTPs and inspired the most ridiculously long ARG titled The Wyoming Incident. Clutch Cargo also gave in to parody by Pixar and Brad Bird for The Incredibles, including commentary by Mr. Incredible and Frozone.

[@atomicspid2129]

God I remember watching the Mr. Incredible and Frozone thing as a kid lol.

[@AzureRoxe]

The Wyoming Incident is also another can of worms since that ARG ended up going WAY off the rails with a ridiculously high amount of info and lore, only to just get seemingly hijacked a few times and then canceled.

[@viennakendrick]

hold on, the wyoming incident was an ARG? i remember seeing it for the first time a few years ago when i was like 12 and being SCARRED for life 💀 can someone tell me what actually happened?

[@iunnoo]

@@viennakendrick me too im so lost

[@notoriety7473]

Bro mayo

[@PhillyFan23]

I can’t imagine living with this thought that you were the hijacker, I would not be able to keep it to myself and not brag about it

[@Fiszy]

i mean the guy could be dead this is a long time ago and was pretty obviously an adult, whos to say he hasnt died in the meantime

[@lothsper]

There's no way you could get away with something like this nowadays but I got to say props to them for doing it

[@lothsper]

@MrTruthBomb really you think a child was involved

[@lothsper]

@Jack McHue ok fair enough

[@andrewtat3188]

just imagine: you’re home by yourself as a kid, with the lights off and the TV on, watching football, and then all of a sudden the Max Headroom guy comes on

[@permaevil]

This incident always interested me but It’s unfortunate how no one has it figured out or has gotten more new clues to this day.

[@Rekkuza-eu6sp]

Repent and follow Jesus my friend! Repenting doesn't mean confessing your sins to others, but to stop doing them altogether. Belief in Messiah alone is not enough to get you into heaven, you must become a new creation and be born again by responding to the Holy Spirit. - Matthew 7:21-23, Revelation 3:15-16 cf. Hebrews 10:26-29. Pay close attention to your thoughts and how you respond to your inner monologue because it has a greater impact than you think. Call on the name of Jesus and pray for Him to intervene in your life, and do all that you can to follow His ways.

[@redditfunnyhurhur6023]

​@@Rekkuza-eu6sp hail satan

[@Jg_23_12]

Ok listen I have a theory I'm not sure but there was or is a College close to the radio station Maybe a group of students figured out how to hijack the transmission or some shit

[@9852323]

Just imagine how happy you’d be if this popped up and you just so happened to have your vcr recording.

[@Chonkems]

They train FBI analysts on this very case. There's very little known about it, of course, but it works as a good training tool for critical thinking.

[@FURYBrenton]

What do they train?

[@Rekkuza-eu6sp]

Repent and follow Jesus my friend! Repenting doesn't mean confessing your sins to others, but to stop doing them altogether. Belief in Messiah alone is not enough to get you into heaven, you must become a new creation and be born again by responding to the Holy Spirit. - Matthew 7:21-23, Revelation 3:15-16 cf. Hebrews 10:26-29. Pay close attention to your thoughts and how you respond to your inner monologue because it has a greater impact than you think. Call on the name of Jesus and pray for Him to intervene in your life, and do all that you can to follow His ways.

[@Chonkems]

@@FURYBrenton Analysts' critical thinking skills and deductive reasoning.

[@FURYBrenton]

@@Chonkems Of what? Can’t be doing much since they have no idea about the whole thing.

[@niknak8299]

@@Rekkuza-eu6sp Amen!

[@TheHungoverMoth]

Here's the thing about the third suspect, it's an online post that could easily be faked, plus the letters he used referring to the two main suspects are "J" and "K" - I'm sure I don't need to tell you guys what "JK" stands for. But still, it's pretty interesting. Great video.

[@zionistgoddessofstars]

Well, in Men in Black, the two main characters are called J and K.

[@Valerie-nm1gr]

Doubt it's intentional, J and K are extremely common first initials in masculine given names common in the Anglophone world at the time. (James, John, Jason, Kevin, Kris, Kenneth, etc.)

[@yannickgrignon2473]

...are you implying JK Simmons was involved in this? Because that would be hilarious

[@TheHungoverMoth]

@@yannickgrignon2473 Well, now I want that to be the implication.

[@renakunisaki]

And then there's an "M". So who is L?

[@shrampsxd6532]

My grandpa witnessed both of the incidents. He was watching wgn and witnessed the first and was thinking what the hell. He then went over to wbbm because he just didn't want to know what that wad and started watching the doctor who, (his favorite show) and witnessed it again. What kind of luck lmao. He said he was so confused he just stared at the stuff happening and was so brain dead.

[@shrampsxd6532]

@Kai French ong tho

[@TFTdarkstar01]

On god=I know right?

[@mrbee0075]

Maybe it wasn’t luck. Maybe he knew it was going to occur. 😳

[@shrampsxd6532]

@@mrbee0075 uhhhhh so your calling my grandpa a tech wizard??? He doesn't even know how to press exit on the TV remote

[@shrampsxd6532]

@@TFTdarkstar01 precisely

[@cheesuschrist42069]

I don't know why but the guy saying "fricken liberal" just gets a chuckle out of me

[@UltimateTS64]

Bro if I was a kid and saw this, I'd be too scared to watch TV ever again 😂

[@something_els3]

Same.

[@adamkwalczyk]

Theory number 4: they were actually employees of the first of the stations. Once their wrongdoing was discovered, their bosses agreed to keep it quiet if only they pull this embarrassment out again on their competitors from the latter station.

[@thegeth4293]

But it happened on the same night

[@raemoend]

pbs is never really considered as a competitor by anybody

[@temmieton9755]

This Max Headroom Incident is basically just this meme but in real life: >Person does an incredibly wacky thing out of nowhere. >Doesn't explain >Leaves

[@NicolasSequeira]

It's pretty obvious who did it- Max Headroom did it. Why are we still arguing over this?

[@gavinshirley]

That's what we call a guess

[@NicolasSequeira]

@@gavinshirley Not really. He's right there in the video, showing his face for the world to see. If he wanted to be more careful about revealing his identity, he should have worn a mask or something

[@Sidequest_Complete]

@@NicolasSequeira EXACTLY

[@gavinshirley]

@@NicolasSequeira did i just fall for your trick...

[@sir1k8]

@@NicolasSequeira did you not see him holding the mask while keeping his face off camera??

[@dreampillet]

After all these years, it's hard to argue otherwise; this was indeed a masterpiece and I guess we are the newspaper nerds of the world.

[@Venture825]

Smart to do it during Doctor Who, viewers probably would’ve thought this was just part of the plot lol

[@VenomSnake00]

I remember the first time I learned about this story. It actually kept me up at night at first 😅 Something about it is so disturbing but I don’t know why. It just feels wrong

[@thebluepineapple684]

i know. it's just so.. off putting. made me scared that max headroom was gonna break into my house

[@hollowayJunior]

looking at it now I think it’s hilarious. But the FIRST time felt incredibly disturbing

[@notoriety7473]

Bro mayo

[@jacksonpriestap3685]

I don’t think I should’ve watched this at 2AM😂😭

[@childeofepickness]

@@thebluepineapple684 *New phobia unlocked!*

[@demontamerbf18]

This case is so interesting to me, how could anybody hijack a TV channel and don't get caught?

[@theempire3141]

Because back then it was harder to track suspects since technology was not as advanced as it is now.

[@Rexdrinksredbull]

This case used to scare the hell out of me, to the point where I couldn't even watch clips of it; for some reason, it just set off my "creepy and uncanny" alarms

[@klucy9206]

Same. Especially at 5:05 when he randomly comes towards the camera

[@KremBotop]

I first heard about this event in an old and nostalgic YT channel called This Exists, long before I even knew about the original Max Headroom.

[@halfbakedproductions7887]

I've heard more than once that the culprit(s) are very well known amongst their peers in that scene. A case of "if you know, you know" i.e. it's only a mystery because you don't know the answer.

[@booksnuggler2494]

OR the peers just wanted people to think that so more people wouldn't try it, and later acted in-the-know but secretive to be cool. What's easier than saying you know a secret but will never tell? It seems strange that NOBODY in the know has let anything slip. Most people aren't good about keeping secrets, and the only ones who had a real motive to keep it secret were the perpetrators. There was a reward, too, and you gotta kinda think whoever played Max was fairly annoying IRL, enough that someone would have said something - unless he was the KID of a techie or something. HOWEVER, if I were one of these in-the-know peers, I wouldn't want to be the person who let it slip, especially these days. These are pre-hacking legends and you'd be taking your chances with the many people who want it to stay secret forever. Either way is possible. The local pro techies either know all or know nothing at all. I tend to think they're talking out their a**es, though.

[@VideoJe1]

This is one of the oldest mysteries around, and thus its covered frequently in KZbin. But after all these years of mentions and videos, yours is the only one that explains who tf is Max Headroom lol.

[@sourbees]

No joke, had no clue what anyone meant by Max headroom and where they got the name for the longest time

[@notsyzagts7967]

So you guys had to wait for a youtuber to explain it? You do know that you could've easily done a basic internet search to get the information you needed. It seems modern internet learning isn't researching information, it's waiting for others to deliver it to you....sad.

[@VideoJe1]

@@notsyzagts7967 what a weird nitpicking. It just that nobody mentions who he was in the videos, that's it. Nice fanfic tho.

[@sourbees]

@@notsyzagts7967 No one in any of their research videos mention the origins of the name, which as an informational video you'd assume they'd mention it? I'm afraid I'm not gonna spend my 3am video enjoying time looking up who max headroom is lol

[@TypeLproductions]

@@notsyzagts7967are you happy?

[@VintageFlub]

Great video, I personally find the bridezillas broadcast interruption on the wedding central channel in 2010 equally if not more creepy, but this one always was a classic

[@Iceclaw77]

You're not the only one. The Bridezillas one is terrifying.

[@HighFlyingOwlOfMinerva]

I just looked up to see what you meant and holy shit yeah, it *is* indeed very off-putting. Maybe sourcebrew can shed some light on this in a future video?

[@VintageFlub]

@@HighFlyingOwlOfMinerva one can dream ❤️☮️

[@ashtonlove5161]

I had no idea that clip exists, and I find that one creepier than the max headroom video. It's the off putting smile and eyes and that it only lasts for a few seconds.

[@sexygirlmax2019]

i just watched it, wtf...

[@maccamachine]

Another great video man I’ve known about this case for a long time now but it’s still interesting to watch about every so often

[@MichaelMorbius4ever]

I can't help but wonder if that rotating sheet of metal was part of how they were able to get the hijacking done because the buzzing that constantly goes on in the 2nd video seems to change in frequency buzz with every swing of the lines.

[@pip5528]

This captivated me back in 2015 when I first learned about it. I even made a presentation on it in high school in regards to past current events.

[@MissTriana127]

Thats so cool!!

[@eeeeeeee143]

That literally scared me so much in ‘First Broadcast’ because I’d never seen it before and wouldn’t have thought that it would be that loud since my volume was halfway on my phone

[@anthonycharles4545]

The Max Headroom incident is what you call IRL Analog horror I'm surprised Matpat did not cover it.

[@Dclerkin17]

He actually touched on it in the Burger King stream donation advertisements video

[@RealWrestlingBeaver]

@Yeeter McPeeterson a tv*

[@blakeshororunboxing3601]

MAT PAT PLEASE COVER THIS!!

[@Dclerkin17]

@@blakeshororunboxing3601 He very briefly touched on it in a Food Theory video about Burger King using donation TTS to promote themselves on twitch

[@colemorrison8957]

How the hell is this horror? What is so damn scary about it? it is just Old shit posting

[@Matt-md5yt]

Heard of this over my life and still crazy how it was a thing

[@richdiscoveries]

I remember this when I was a kid. I didn't see it happened or anything, but I remember it being all over the news. Somehow it is delightfully creepy LOL

[@dinosharttt]

I don’t think it’s creepy it’s just kind of funny

[@richdiscoveries]

@@dinosharttt the part with the woman smacking his ass with the fly swatter had me laughing. Imagine what the network execs were thinking as that was happening. OMG, MAKE IT STOP!!! LOL I would have laughed my ass off if I saw that on tv, but you know there was probably a bunch of people that were horribly offended somehow

[@CoasterMan13Official]

I didn't think it was disturbing, I thought it was hilarious!

[@jsadramelch]

same

[@Anewguy_21]

Same it was dumb theh were probably drunk lmao

[@themoosehoof]

I can see how it would freak people out the garbled audio and vaguely creepy mask could definitely be unsettling

[@lavapanda0]

Not creepy, a lil bit disturbing, just weird

[@corisei]

Same ngl💀

[@michaeld4854]

The Max Headroom hijacker was most probably not in his thirties or forties, but in his twenties. WGN ran reruns of Clutch Cargo for years in the 1970's. The hijacker was most certainly a Chicago native (referencing not only WGN's reruns and Chuck Swirskey, but also a local classic Chicago song "Your Love is Fading"). Plus, the humor is certainly something from someone that's around standard college age.

[@Jg_23_12]

Actually there is a university close to the radio station or something like that

[@greentree68]

I read somewhere that Clutch Cargo was airing in reruns/syndication on one of the channels that were hijacked, but I can’t seem to find a source to back this up claim anywhere.

[@sexygirlmax2019]

i did too! weird.

[@halfbakedproductions7887]

The hackers apparently went after as many as ten different stations that night (or over a day or two) but it was the WTTW hack that was truly successful. The rest were either thwarted by the engineering teams or something else went wrong.

[@119Agent]

FYI, Clutch Cargo was airing on TV during the 1980's. Anyone watching TV in the 80's could have potentially seen Clutch Cargo; they didn't necessarily have to see it when it originally aired in 1959.

[@llynxfyremusic]

This guy has become infamous now and the clip has been warped into a shitpost but I can't imagine how freaky it would have been for a dude watching the game or a film alone and suddenly that shows up on your screen.

[@landon1857]

Bro just imagine being a kid watching highlights for your fav sports team and watching this come up they would be scared for life

[@joadarium9605]

This definitely one of your best edited videos yet! And on such a classic case too

[@WesTheHunter]

I remember this was during an episode of Doctor Who.

[@WesTheHunter]

That mask with the glasses and the general quality is disturbing as hell, I'd be screaming if that happened to me directly.

[@golfboyshi]

this man was literally the greatest troll of all time

[@Smarties.]

I first heard of Max Headroom through this incident and ever since I've really loved Max Headroom as a character it sucks that nowadays Mex headroom is best know for this incident I wonder if this hijacking wouldn't be viewed as creepy if they didn't use those mask and had one of another popular 80s character if they had one less eerie looking I feel like most people would view this incident as funny

[@tessfabled4115]

It's the same thing that happened with Mac Tonight too :(

[@p4ngolin]

they used this mask because they were trying to emulate the max headroom tv show specifically.

[@sexygirlmax2019]

same i love him

[@booksnuggler2494]

If they'd used Alf, I would legit be tracking the true perps like a bloodhound just to smack them with a flyswatter. Loathed that damn puppet so much.

[@Crazyrayz]

Why does everybody think this is scary? It's freaking hilarious how he could've done ANYTHING on live tv but instead he just danced around and got spanked, this man is literally a legend

[@connorecrement7955]

This and the DB Cooper thing have always perplexed me. DB Cooper probably died and his body ravaged by animals so we’ll never know the truth about him most likely. But I think the identity of the max headroom hijackers is possible to solve

[@changkaishrek3071]

He probably died from the fall.

[@zeal8111]

DB Cooper is Loki duh

[@kurexx3424]

@@changkaishrek3071 I think he got away with it tbh and survived the fall, it’s crazy to think about and is very hard to imagine him surviving that, but they never found his body… they searched the area where he jumped from and you would think they would’ve found his body or the cash sooner or later

[@changkaishrek3071]

@@kurexx3424 The force that he’d experience would immediately kill him. If not that, then the wilderness still would’ve. His body probably decomposed to the point it’s really not there.

[@Rekkuza-eu6sp]

Repent and follow Jesus my friend! Repenting doesn't mean confessing your sins to others, but to stop doing them altogether. Belief in Messiah alone is not enough to get you into heaven, you must become a new creation and be born again by responding to the Holy Spirit. - Matthew 7:21-23, Revelation 3:15-16 cf. Hebrews 10:26-29. Pay close attention to your thoughts and how you respond to your inner monologue because it has a greater impact than you think. Call on the name of Jesus and pray for Him to intervene in your life, and do all that you can to follow His ways.

[@thedougtime]

You forgot to mention that Max Headroom was also popular for a cyberpunk movie and TV series that was all about pirating TV signals.

[@UnwantedGeorgeRubinsContent]

Eric Fournier is credited as the Max Headroom guy on the IMDB along with 'Anonymous' and 'Max Headroom Hijacker'. Yes, this hijacking has an IMDB.

[@smithintern-tainment7868]

I love this kinda stuff, and the fact that it happened on television local to me makes it all the more interesting

[@NixieEppler]

I occasionally get reminded that not everyone has seen the max headroom show. Highly recommend, smoke a blunt first tho 😂

[@DubioserAltschauerberger1510]

The same thing in 2022 wouldn't be even a viral thing anymore. But back in the 80s, it was a shocking interruption

[@Yellow_Flannel]

As creepy as it is now, imagine this in 1987

[@Unproductivenonsense]

“It was me Barry. I hacked those two tv stations in the 80s.?😂😂😂

[@ThatIndianaPlanespotter]

16:12 really caught me off guard because I live in Bloomington, Indiana. Nice video by the way.

[@rivii9600]

Lol This was the birth of trolling at its finest legends never die 👍

[@rivii9600]

@James Furey lol just tell me 2 fuck off once they caught the master mind behind this hijack besides that kiss my black ass bruh 🤟

[@NickFilmsYo]

This is actually really interesting and the fact that this happened 35 years ago and still tell this day nobody knew who the hijacker was, this right here is a video keep it up man 👌🔥 this story is crazy man

[@AUM_-po9sc]

I remember watching Oddity Archive's videos on that incident.

[@LambdaMiscellaneous]

It's not even disturbing, it's hillarious 💀

[@leonmonto6172]

Whoever the people were they are legends 😂😂

[@clemclemclemclemcl]

dude if i was a kid and saw that while im trying to watch cartoon network or something id be pissing and crying lmao

[@LambdaMiscellaneous]

@@clemclemclemclemcl That's cartoon network, you would probably be under 11.

[@loupoker5394]

@@clemclemclemclemcl lmao, actually Max Headroom Incident frame was in Cartoon Network/Adult Swim show, it's was called Space Ghost something

[@clemclemclemclemcl]

@@loupoker5394 space ghost coast to coast?

[@destiny8917]

I noticed one interesting little thing, if you pay attention to the guy at 12:34 and the guy in the max headroom mask, you will notice that they have similar hands, look closely, maybe it’s my syndrome of searching for deep meaning, but they look similar

[@senbonzlenci1219]

Vid hasn’t even started yet and I already know it’s gonna be a banger

[@jordan-pd6jg]

i just started a painting of a screencap from the hijacking this morning what a coincidence

[@hatinassafroduck7807]

he’s the one running all memes to this day

[@lukebrown3658]

South Park sorta did this in 1998 with season 1 ending with “ Who is Eric Cartmans father” cliffhanger. Then the first episode of season 2 was a Terrance and Philip special lol.

[@Loudesss]

This guy is likely not alive anymore, if they’re referencing something from 1959 and are a fully grown man in this video, we can gather that they were born likely around 1945-1965. It’s likely they were older possibly 30-50 at the time of 1987, because having the knowledge to hack two huge stations at a younger age is quite slim.

[@aortaplatinum]

Unless you have other evidence to support the age range, I don't think that factors in. People seem to forget that even after it's time, media still exists, so it's very possible the hijacker was introduced to Clutch Cargo by an older family member or friend, despite potentially being too young to have watched it in it's original airings. So that may make things harder...

[@r66fplaysgames]

I believe there were some TV stations, in the 70's & 80's that were showing reruns of Clutch Cargo. In the 90's & 2000's, in the US, there were still cable & satellite TV stations running old cartoons from the 50's-70's. One TV station in the Kansas City area (KSMO-TV, Ch. 62 in Kansas City, MO.) was showing reruns of the Adventures of Rocky & Bullwinkle on weekday mornings, at 6:30AM, back around 2003-04.

[@OBrasilo]

I suspect the suspects were early teens. The guys seems bigger than the girl spanking him in the end, so I would put her at 12, and him at 15, would be also consistent with the way the guy talks - it just reminds me of how we talked at that kind of age. Cartoons have reairs - I was born in 1987 but I have seen on TV cartoons from before I was born.

[@chairmanofthebored]

Quentin Tarantino was born 3 years after Clutch Cargo originally aired but included it in Pulp Fiction. According to sourcebrew syndication doesn’t exist so the hacker had seen it when clutch Cargo aired (only once) and QT is a time traveler.

[@Legend813a]

@@chairmanofthebored older cartoons were available to television stations as 8mm or 16mm films in syndication to mostly UHF stations as early as the late 1960s, Clutch Cargo and Captain Fathom we're widely available to stations in the great lakes area and were broadcast over the air into the early 80s

[@booksnuggler2494]

@@Legend813a Yes, and that's the Great Lakes US and Canada. Per Toonopedia: "Clutch's five-minute episodes were syndicated to TV stations for use in locally-produced shows where a host would introduce cartoons and sometimes do skits between them. A whopping 52 episodes were made, representing a triumph of budget over production values. They ran for a few years, repeated over and over like most cartoons on TV, but after a while, programmers seem to have forgotten they ever existed." I wasn't born until late 60's but these are familiar, at least the technique is. We'd see lots of animated shows in the 70's and 80's that had been off the air for ages, like Roger Ramjet and Astro Boy. They often popped up if regularly scheduled programs were unavailable, or if some afternoon sports thing/Olympics/whatever threw the schedule off. They were useful because they were short, I guess.

[@Brey]

If the same guy and girl wanted to come clean they wouldn't be able to. They would just be seen as liars trying to garner attention without anyone in the public media finding interest. They executed whatever they needed to do to not get caught. This'll forever be a mystery for the rest of mankind.

[@samjohnson1405]

This always reminds me of classic good mythical morning episodes

[@MickleThePickleP2815]

Imagine you were a kid watching Dr Who and you see that

[@josephgioielli]

I wonder if it was corrugated plastic painted silver? I guess we will never know.

[@MCHLNLSN]

he beginning to feel like a rap god lmao

[@kuriptic]

If he is still alive, he is probably around 50-80 now. Damn.

[@vx99u]

They could have been a teen during the time of the filming. I suspect that they might have been in their early teens 14-16 and the girl might have been way younger because the size difference between them is immense, though that could be very wrong. How could a teen be capable of broadcasting on the tv, let alone having the knowledge and tools needed to do it.

[@nobudgetshortfilms5510]

​@@vx99u If he was 15, he's 50 now, it was 35 years ago

[@Ranger52]

I had never heard of this until now. This is incredible. Thanks for making this.

[@Andiswa_Sidwaba]

The way he tells him to bend over though😂, still I’m very intrigued on to who is behind this, and I could imagine how scared lots of people were during this hijacking!

[@Detrevnl23]

jeez if this is the most disturbing tv hijacking, then there hasn't even been a disturbing one.

[@ItzTheMemeLord]

He didn’t say your love is fading, he said “I love you baby”

[@spectacle2]

And if its quite all right i love you

[@ItzTheMemeLord]

@@spectacle2 AY YO!?

[@Goosea]

this is seriously the most doctor who stuff i've seen

[@Exton_Z1]

The channel station shouldn’t have cut off the hijack, they should’ve let it play properly then we could’ve figured from a extended version clip

[@Zanyboy.23]

They wouldn't of knew it at that time tho

[@JesusChrist-jh6jo]

Imagine watching TV then this appears and there is like a 5 year old and you have to stop them crying from seeing this

[@kez963]

They couldn't get the audio at the first attempt 😅

[@TdwtSierraFan123]

I think it was just a test to see if their intrusion worked, because you can still hear some distorted eery noises during the first intrusion.

[@benji079]

I love this video bro it's so good!

[@MyLovelyvoice]

I’m so intrigued by this case. Btw I’m pretty sure it was a can of Pepsi he was holding since Coke’s cans are primarily red