The Way Everything Works on Instagram: "Picking a lock with a piece of paper is based on how simple pin-tumbler locks are designed internally. Inside the lock, small spring-loaded pins sit in two parts: the pin stack and the plug. When the correct key is inserted, it lifts each pin to the exact height where the gap between them lines up with the plug, allowing it to turn. A thin piece of paper or similar flexible material doesn’t “unlock” the door by force—it’s used to apply light tension while

Did You Know on Instagram: "This lock was designed to defeat force, speed, and impatience, centuries before modern security existed 🔩⏳ Unlike modern locks that open with a single turn, traditional Chinese brass locks used multi-stage internal mechanisms that required a precise sequence of movements to unlock. The key was not a simple tooth pattern. It was a thin rod engineered to push, lift, rotate, and release internal pins and springs in a specific order, often across five separate steps. Eac