Ben had just bought a used car and was still getting familiar with all the buttons and knobs. One evening, his wife joined him for a drive. They were ten minutes in when she pointed at a button near the steering wheel.
“What does that one do?”
Ben, full of confidence, replied, “It’s probably for the fog lights or cruise control. I’ll check the manual later.”
Moments passed. Then curiosity won. He pressed the button.
Nothing.
Five seconds later, the hazard lights turned on. Then the wipers. Then the windows began rolling up and down in rhythm—like the car had entered “party mode.”
His wife blinked. “Are we being hacked?”
Ben frantically hit the button again. The horn let out one long dramatic honk, followed by total silence.
Then the radio turned on, blasting static.
They stared ahead in horror.
Ben whispered, “Maybe we just initiated the self-destruct sequence.”
Back at home, he searched online and found the manual in a forum thread. The button was labeled “Child Lock Calibration Mode.”
His wife stared at him. “Why would that include dramatic horn solos?”
Ben shrugged. “To warn the child they’ve been calibrated?”