A techy Halloween: Tetris pumpkin and five other pumpkin hacks
Not so long ago, making a jack-o-lantern was as simple as cutting out three triangles and creating a wide, leering jaggedy smile. Put a candle in the middle and you’re done. Simple, classic, easy.
But times are changing. Over the past several years pumpkin hackers have been experimenting with LED lights, circuit boards, and even robotics to soup up their pumpkins. Previous experiments in pumpkin hacking have culminated in what we think may be the greatest pumpkin hack of all time: the Tetris Pumpkin, by Nathan Pryor, a programmer based in Washington.
Using 128 LED lights, he created a playable Tetris game in a pumpkin, complete with a joystick built into the pumpkin’s stem.
In a blog post describing what we’re calling the Great Tetris Pumpkin Project in detail, Pryor writes that the entire pumpkin hack took him about 12 hours to complete. It took him three tries just to find the perfect pumpkin.
If you are dazzled by the Tetris Pumpkin like we are, then check out these five cool pumpkin hacks.
ALSO:
Apple delays launch of iTunes update
Super storm Sandy: Tracking the recovery on the Internet
Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer’s tweet treat: Halloween photo of her son
Inside the business of entertainment
The Wide Shot brings you news, analysis and insights on everything from streaming wars to production — and what it all means for the future.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
