Cap crunch whistle phone6/26/2023 Earliest versions of the vintage Captain Crunch Whistle toy from 1964.įamous Phreaker John Draper discovered that the toy whistle emitted a tone of 2600 hertz. This was the same frequency that AT&T Long Lines required to indicate a trunk line was available to route a new call.Īlso known as Cap'n crunch Bosun whistle.Ĭap'n Crunch's now famous whistle and the so called crispy crunch cereal.Ĭap’n Crunch has been inspiring people to learn telephone electronics for decades. ![]() Quaker 1964 Cap'n Crunch Bosun whistle prize offer Cereal Box. Put simply, a phone phreak is an individual who uses secret and undocumented protocols and techniques to illicitly obtain telephone communications over public telephone networks. #70s plastic whistle phone scam free#Īn operator of these systems, often operating with malicious intent, exploits these hidden protocols and systems to make free phone calls and send text messages. Phone hacking is the breaking into and accessing of telephone networks to intercept telephone calls and send text messages. It is also a phrase used to describe the illegal practice of such activities.Ĭaptain Crunch was originally a Captain Crunch Licorice, discontinued in the 1990s. It has been discontinued once more in 2009. In the early 1970s, one of the Captain Crunch breakfast cereals featured a molded plastic whistle in the shape of the cereal mascot. Whistle versions of Captain Crunch Cereal appeared in grocery stores. The original whistle was described as being made of plastic and with a leather handle, similar to a real whistle. There are several versions of the whistle, some of which are much sought after by collectors. There are two versions of the original whistle a clear-colored plastic whistle and a red whistle with a leather case, resembling a model train whistle. The blue version, which appears in the early 1970s, has a more plastic-looking plastic handle and does not appear in any commercial advertising.Īll versions of the Captain Crunch whistle are currently listed as collectible on eBay.Ĭaptain Crunch's pump handle can be removed, but the horn will not work. Instead, the user can blow on the "horn" part of the whistle (which is actually the plastic piece that snaps together on the spout) and the Captain Crunch logo will light up. In the US, Captain Crunch's whistle was discontinued in 2009. It is unknown if it was discontinued in other countries. In the UK, the Captain Crunch Whistle was reissued in 2004 with new packaging and a new type of whistle made of plastic. The new whistle resembles the 1977 whistle released by Nestle, rather than the one released in the 1970s. The whistle has also changed to the colorless plastic previously used in the 1977 whistle. The new whistle is still smaller than the original whistle. Legend has it that 'Captain Crunch', phone phreaker extraordinaire, could seize trunks and make free telephone call using only this premium. In 2013, the whistle sold for $145 in a rare vintage toy auction on eBay. The auction ended on April 27, 2013, having attracted 54 bids. He gained notoriety in the 1970s for his ability to make free long-distance phone calls using a toy whistle that came with a box of Captain Crunch cereal. This is the highest selling one-of-a-kind item for vintage toys on the auction site, according to an eBay spokesman. John Draper, also known as 'Captain Crunch,' is a legendary figure in the history of computer hacking. The most popular whistle was the ever popular captain crunch. If you’re lucky enough to get one of these ever popular Captain Crunch whistles, it was likely given to you as a gift as a thank you for helping out with the project. As such, it’s likely one of your prized possessions. The Captain Crunch whistle was chosen based on the huge popularity of the line of crunchy cereal and because they’re super sweet. Both claim that this early venture was essential to the success of Apple, which they formed in 1976.ĭraper, meanwhile, eventually served time in jail for toll fraud (though he kept programming behind bars), and continued to create major technological innovations, including the first working word processor in the 70’s, and the first effective firewall in the 90’s, despite questionable habits outside of his inventions: in 2017, a report revealed Draper’s sexual harassment teenage fans at technology conventions.Like everything from the 60s and 70s, the whistle is made from a single sheet of parchment, which can be rolled up into a tube. In fact, the friends’ first business venture together was marketing blue boxes to aspiring phreakers. The blue boxes would have a lasting impact: “I don’t think there would ever have been an Apple Computer had there not been blue-boxing,” Steve Jobs once said in an interview.Īs a college student, Jobs and his friend Steve Wozniak had tracked down Draper to learn all about phone phreaks and early hacking. Later, Draper built devices called “blue boxes” to replicate the whistle tone, and other useful ones. A Star Wars Toy Heist and a Search for Redemption.
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