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We’ve all been there. You locked yourself out of your apartment, lost the key to your bike lock, or wanted to steal the contents of a mysterious-looking shipping container (kidding). So, what’s an average person to do? Learn from the experts—on YouTube, of course.
In a video released May 30, YouTube user HelpfulLockPicker breaks down what lock picking actually entails. With the help of a clear acrylic padlock, he first demonstrates how a key works in the first place, revealing the process is surprisingly simple. The peaks and valleys in your average key correspond with metal driver pins pressed into the lock’s cavity by springs. When you put your key into the lock, those elevated points press the diver pins up, making them level and allowing you to open the lock.
Opening a lock without a key, as it turns out, is terrifyingly straightforward. Using different lock-picking tools, HelpfulLockPicker demonstrates this by picking, zipping, rocking, and raking his way to unlocked success. While movies want you to believe it takes serious skills to pick locks, it’s clear all it really takes is a few simple tools and the patience to watch a seven-minute YouTube video (which you can watch above).
There are a couple ways to digest this information. Either you can upgrade all the locks in your house so they can’t be picked, or you can stop worrying about whether you locked the house before you left for work, because if someone really wanted to get in, they could probably find a way.
