[emhart]

Disc Detainer locks are far from impossible to pick: Disc Detainer lock talk from LayerOne: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jv5N6pHXf-E

"We need to start attacking disc detainer locks" from Shmoocon: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nT0PDQUZi74

Nirav Patel's 3D printed DDetainer key: http://eclecti.cc/hardware/physical-keygen-now-for-disc-deta...

Guide to Disc Detainer Locks: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wnW5GgaDKFc&list=PL7F406AFC7...

But, as to your actual question of "why" there is a lot that goes into it. Henry Robinson Towne is a central figure in particular, but so is the great lock controversy of 1851, which was a watershed moment in how most english-speaking societies dealt with mechanical security ever after.

[ganeumann]

For those interested in the Great Lock Controversy of 1851: http://www.slate.com/articles/life/crime/features/2013/the_l...

[Snail_Commando]

"...the great lock controversy of 1851..." That's so quaint. I wonder if "The Browser Wars", or something of its ilk, will have the same ring to it in 160 years.

[tripzilch]

oh absolutely, and I try to be as solemn as possible about it:

"I used to be a web developer during the Browser Wars, man ... A veteran, yes. I remember being happy when we could develop for IE7 compatibility ..."

(embellish with stories about getting up at 4am, walking barefoot in the snow, uphill both ways, etc. as you see fit)

[emhart]

Hah, that's funny. I often forget that we may be participating in some future historians most exciting discovery...

[jamiesonbecker]

Agree. Think the late 1800's is most fascinating period in economic history.