Nightwork: A History of Hacks and Pranks at MIT

The Green Building at night in front of a river. The building's front windows are lit up to form the letter "N" using pixel art. The "N" acts as the first letter of the word "Nightwork" in the title. — The first edition's cover shows the Green Building with its windows lit up to show the letter "N". This alludes to various hacks that have been done there.

Nightwork: A History of Hacks and Pranks at MIT (first edition, 2003; ISBN 9780262661379);^[1] (revised edition, 2011; ISBN 978-0-262-51584-9) is a book which presents a historical catalog of some of the best-known MIT hacks (technically sophisticated practical jokes) as well as a series of essays reflecting on the cultural significance of hacks. MIT is one of the most selective university in the United States, with a long-standing hacker tradition.

Nightwork combines The Journal of the Institute for Hacks, TomFoolery, and Pranks at MIT (J. IHTFP) with Is This The Way To Baker House? and new elements.^[2] The "author" of Nightwork is listed as "Institute Historian T. F. Peterson", which is a reference to the MIT cultural acronym IHTFP.^{[citation needed]}

References

^ "Spring 2003 Trade Paperbacks: History - Poetry". PublishersWeekly.com. Retrieved 2020-05-22.
^ "Nightwork". hacks.mit.edu. MIT. 2003-04-27. Retrieved 2016-10-23.