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In Boston in the '90s and early 2000s, an out of order parking meter meant you could park for free. There was a sensor in the coin slot to detect jams which wou

In Boston in the '90s and early 2000s, an out of order parking meter meant you could park for free. There was a sensor in the coin slot to detect jams which would in turn put the meter out of order. If you ripped off the flip up lid from a Dunkin Donuts coffee cup and inserted it into and removed it from the coin slot, the meter would go out of order. It was almost as if that's what the Dunkin engineers designed it for. It worked every time. Many a cold morning in Boston my father would prefer to pay the $1 for his Dunkin coffee than pay for parking as we ran errands in the city. A trail of disabled meters laid in our wake. Not the best lesson for 8 year old me but a funny memory nonetheless. RIP Dad.

FrankoDelMar 3y ago
My father used to do this too in Boston, but instead by jamming the slot with some kind of paper past the point of removing it. Extra points for using the orange colored envelope you got with your last parking ticket. Definitely was not a good lesson for a similarly aged me.
- foooorsyth 3y ago
  > My father used to do this too in Boston, but instead by jamming the slot with some kind of paper past the point of removing it This is why the Dunkin flip up lid was such a technological innovation: my dad was worried that he’d get reported by a meter maid if they continuously found his junker purple Oldsmobile Eighty-Eight (out of place in the Back Bay) in front of meters with obvious and visible paper jams. The Dunkin lid did just enough to permanently trip the jam sensor while also being removable and reusable. It gave you just enough plausible deniability. For a while there he just kept one in his center console instead of bothering with change machines. >Extra points for using the orange colored envelope you got with your last parking ticket Nothing worse than seeing that neon orange envelope under your wiper blade from afar when returning to your car. Those meter maids were like ninjas.
- c1sc0 3y ago
  I’d argue that it is a very good lesson for that age …
more_corn 3y ago
I was visiting my cousin in Seattle, I must have been 15. Everyone else went in while he “fixed the meter” I hung back and watched. He sat on the curb filing a penny on the concrete. Apparently if you file it so it fits in the dime slot the rough edge would catch and you could just keep spinning the dial to add the max time to the meter. Of course don’t choose one of the old copper ones or you’ll be there all night. The repair shops must have hated that. Imagine having to take apart meter after meter to remove the stuck penny.

FrankoDelMar 3y ago

My father used to do this too in Boston, but instead by jamming the slot with some kind of paper past the point of removing it. Extra points for using the orange colored envelope you got with your last parking ticket. Definitely was not a good lesson for a similarly aged me.

foooorsyth 3y ago
> My father used to do this too in Boston, but instead by jamming the slot with some kind of paper past the point of removing it This is why the Dunkin flip up lid was such a technological innovation: my dad was worried that he’d get reported by a meter maid if they continuously found his junker purple Oldsmobile Eighty-Eight (out of place in the Back Bay) in front of meters with obvious and visible paper jams. The Dunkin lid did just enough to permanently trip the jam sensor while also being removable and reusable. It gave you just enough plausible deniability. For a while there he just kept one in his center console instead of bothering with change machines. >Extra points for using the orange colored envelope you got with your last parking ticket Nothing worse than seeing that neon orange envelope under your wiper blade from afar when returning to your car. Those meter maids were like ninjas.
c1sc0 3y ago
I’d argue that it is a very good lesson for that age …

more_corn 3y ago

I was visiting my cousin in Seattle, I must have been 15. Everyone else went in while he “fixed the meter” I hung back and watched. He sat on the curb filing a penny on the concrete. Apparently if you file it so it fits in the dime slot the rough edge would catch and you could just keep spinning the dial to add the max time to the meter. Of course don’t choose one of the old copper ones or you’ll be there all night. The repair shops must have hated that. Imagine having to take apart meter after meter to remove the stuck penny.