Lock Picking | Obscura Society | Atlas Obscura

One of the world’s best lock picks teaches a crowd of 300 how to pick locks and party with Atlas Obscura – Subscribe for new videos every Thurs http://bit.ly/1PcJ14b

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On March 28th 2014 the New York Obscura Society invited one of the world’s best lock pickers, Schuyler Towne, to join us in hosting a lock picking extravaganza and cocktail soiree in the beautiful John M. Mossman Lock Museum and reading room of the General Society of Mechanics and Tradesmen.

Attendees were greeted with their own personal lock picking kits along with either a key or a lock strung upon red ribbon to wear around their necks. Guests were encouraged to seek out their match, and paired locks and keys were awarded prizes at the end of the night.
Schuyler started the night off strong by wowing the crowd with his ability to pick one lock after another all while blindfolded, before delving into a detailed demonstration on the inner workings of the lock and the various methods of lock picking.

Craft cocktails named in honor of history’s most notorious heists were enjoyed along with the lavish surroundings of the General Society’s Mossman Museum, home to the world’s largest collection of vintage bank vault locks, with early locking mechanisms dating all the way back to 4000 BCE.

Later in the evening guests competed to pick burlesque star and Schuyler’s assistant for the night, Clara Coquette, free from a Houdini-esque binding of locks and chains. The competition was nothing short of fierce, with lock picking novices demonstrating their newfound talent with surprising amounts of precision and ease.