ZOMBIES AHEAD!

January 29, 2009 11:50 AM

CAUTION! ZOMBIES! AHEAD!!!

First(?) published on Make, these instructions on how to set the text on construction warning signs lead to hilarity.

say... you got your INTARWEB in my RL!!1

posted by butterstick (50 comments total)

AND HERE I AM!
posted by Astro Zombie at 11:52 AM on January 29 [4 favorites has favorites]

Oh man I was 1 click away from posting this, well played.

Also I think it's originally from Ihack. Which is in the running for my new homepage.
posted by Potomac Avenue at 11:53 AM on January 29

Dude, yay!

Also: Braaaaaiiiinnnns!!
posted by Mister_A at 11:55 AM on January 29

I Stumbled Upon (literally) the original i-hacked post over the weekend and knew that it would inevitably lead to sophomoric shenanigans. And thankfully it did.
posted by JeffK at 11:56 AM on January 29

As I have been telling all of my friends . . .
I love that the city worker attributed this to a "computer genius from UT"
It couldn't possibly be just another slacker with a computer who read (as most of us have) how to do this.

I am sorry that I missed seeing it in person.
posted by Seamus at 11:57 AM on January 29

I just hope they catch whoever did this and give them the sternest penalty under the law: a weekly show on Adult Swim.
posted by Potomac Avenue at 11:57 AM on January 29

This is terrible! I can't believe you asshats are cheering this on! Now when the real zombies come, nobody will believe the traffic signs, and the commute will suck!
posted by It's Raining Florence Henderson at 12:00 PM on January 29 [8 favorites has favorites]

I'm on my way to the rooftop of Mercy Hospital.
posted by smoothvirus at 12:02 PM on January 29 [2 favorites has favorites]

This has been a crappy day. Thanks for the post; it's a definite bright spot.

You know, assuming the zombie apocalypse isn't actually upon us....
posted by Brak at 12:03 PM on January 29

We all ride bikes, Flo. Bikes made out of your braaaaaaaiinnnss!
posted by Mister_A at 12:04 PM on January 29

And how many people have used this knowledge for awesome?

And by awesome, I mean changing the sign's message to one that asks for hugs.
posted by Spatch at 12:05 PM on January 29

So, really small bikes, then?
posted by It's Raining Florence Henderson at 12:05 PM on January 29

Sure, just a hack. That's the COVER story.

They (slowly) invade our space, and we fall back. They eat brains, and we fall back. Not again. The line must be drawn HERE. This far NO farther. And I will make them pay for what they've done...y'know, to disrupt traffic.
posted by Smedleyman at 12:12 PM on January 29

Do you believe in zombies? Do you have a zombie escape plan? Let us know what you think about zombies by participating in our message board.

Wow. That's quite the all-inclusive local news website.
posted by yhbc at 12:14 PM on January 29 [2 favorites has favorites]

It's especially good to be warned that they're nazi zombies. So that blacks, jews, and gypsies know that they're extra likely to get their brains devoured.
posted by Caduceus at 12:19 PM on January 29

Yeeeeesssss, really small biiiiiiiiiiikes!
posted by Mister_A at 12:19 PM on January 29

"And so they had to break in and hack into the computer to do it, so they were pretty determined," said Hartley.

Security-through-unchanged-default-passwords rarely works.
posted by DU at 12:20 PM on January 29

Also, here's something depressing: These DOT road signs at least had padlocks on them, which makes them about 10000% more secure than voting machines.
posted by DU at 12:21 PM on January 29

I would rather suspect a Nazi zombie would avoid eating the brains of jews, gypsies, etc. But on the other hand, they're zombies...
posted by Mister_A at 12:21 PM on January 29

Hold “Control” and “Shift” and while holding, enter “DIPY”. This will reset the sign and reset the password to “DOTS” in the process.

Wow. Protection fail.
posted by Big_B at 12:22 PM on January 29 [1 favorite has favorites]

No, no, they'd be sure to eat the brains. They wouldn't any jews to join the ranks of the master undead race by biting them and not finishing the job.
posted by Caduceus at 12:24 PM on January 29

Yeah, woke up to this on the news this morning.

Absolutely beautiful.:)
posted by spirit72 at 12:29 PM on January 29

Caduceus, your zombological scholarship is impeccable. Come here a moment, and let me get a look at that nice big ripe braaaaaiiiinnn!
posted by Mister_A at 12:30 PM on January 29

I hesitate to submit to your demands.
posted by Caduceus at 12:31 PM on January 29 [1 favorite has favorites]

ZOMG!
posted by piratebowling at 12:35 PM on January 29

As the ONLY documented Zombie on Metafilter, I want to assure you that I was NOT in Austin.
posted by HuronBob at 12:35 PM on January 29

No zombies have been seen in the area, and with any luck, Tuesday night’s cold front killed off any undead with ghoulish plans to invade the city.

Dear, sweet Katie Petroski, do you know nothing? That only delays their arrival!

And I'd think Nazi Zombies would prefer eating the brains of the unwanted. After all, eating the brains of something doesn't make them zombies, it just destroys them. Now if they were to bite or chew on any other parts of the body, then you'd get more zombies. At least, if these are your modern zombies, of the Romero era.

HuronBob, are you discounting the documented case of Space Zombieism?
posted by filthy light thief at 12:38 PM on January 29

"Run for cold climates"? "Nazi zombies"?

Viral marketing for "Dead Snow", surely?
posted by robcorr at 12:38 PM on January 29

Pshh. Saw it on the news, switched to my emergency ride.

you never know it could be happening BE PREPARED
posted by Unicorn on the cob at 12:39 PM on January 29 [1 favorite has favorites]

> The biggest safety hazard came from drivers slowing down or stopping their car to take pictures, Jones said.

Dude's totally in denial about those zombies.
posted by ardgedee at 12:40 PM on January 29

Oh, and I think we'll all be safe in the mall. There's a gun shop across the street, and I have a plan to get over there if need be. But I think we should stay away from islands, no matter how secluded and safe they sound.
posted by filthy light thief at 12:41 PM on January 29

The Bush Vs Zombies video at the bottom of the first link is worth a look.

My zombie escape plan: The swipe card protected roof of my workplace.
posted by minifigs at 12:43 PM on January 29

Notice how in the two news articles in the first two links above point out how wrong, dangerous and illegal the act is, but also end with their own little lame jokes:

- "Do you believe in zombies? Do you have a zombie escape plan? Let us know what you think about zombies by participating in our message board ."

-"No zombies have been seen in the area, and with any luck, Tuesday night’s cold front killed off any undead with ghoulish plans to invade the city."

Grrr. So which is it? Funny prank - or Dangerous Terrorism?
posted by yeti at 12:44 PM on January 29

Well this is just lovely.
posted by Uppity Pigeon #2 at 12:55 PM on January 29

I'm crying on the inside. The sign mentioned in the Austin American-Statesman is on my daily commute to and from work, and yet I missed it.
posted by spamguy at 12:58 PM on January 29

I heard some nerds were all like "this is a viral ad for a movie". They a lie?
posted by ND¢ at 1:07 PM on January 29

That KXAN site is the most web-savvy site for a traditional news organization I've ever seen, so much so that I didn't believe it was a real site at first.
posted by scottreynen at 1:39 PM on January 29

I'm gonna be a total wet blanket here: Those signs are put up for safety reasons to warn of road conditions ahead. Good thing no one got hurt.
posted by marxchivist at 1:40 PM on January 29

This reminds me -- I need to return to Malton one of these days.
posted by incessant at 1:50 PM on January 29

Wet blanket, they need to be reprogrammed for that purpose, right? If memory serves, they usually say "Drive Safe" or something similar when they're not being used for a traffic or weather emergency; presumably that's what they said before they were zombified.
posted by craven_morhead at 2:08 PM on January 29

Yeah, I'm gonna chime in and say that up here in MA, those things are usually sitting on the side of the road, turned off. They're definitely not dragged out only in cases of emergency to provide warnings to people.
posted by explosion at 2:30 PM on January 29

A wet blanket won't help you against zombies marxchivist ;)
- you need a fiery stick, shotgun or some running shoes.
posted by stumcg at 2:38 PM on January 29

Craven, considering it was South Lamar, the signs were probably there to warn people to avoid the the Nouveau-Not-So-Richeas they leapt from their condos in despair.
posted by Seamus at 2:44 PM on January 29

Poor form. Phony zombie attack bulletins reduce readiness.
posted by porn in the woods at 2:45 PM on January 29

I love local news:

Speculation among the tech-savvy on the Internet is that the signs were inspired by the zombie video game Call of Duty 5, World at War, which is the top game in the country right now

posted by Bort at 2:52 PM on January 29

How about if they changed it to say "Drive Safe, Bitches"?
posted by davejay at 2:54 PM on January 29

I had my own sighting last year outside D.C.
posted by Stonestock Relentless at 4:48 PM on January 29

First it was zombies, now it's raptors.
posted by scalefree at 12:02 PM on February 2

YOUR TAX DOLLARS AT WORK
posted by not_on_display at 7:42 PM on February 3

Now they're just getting silly. I can accept zombies & even raptors. But everybody knows there are no British anymore.
posted by scalefree at 7:19 AM on February 7