Every year a contest called the MocAthalon takes place, in which contestants must come up with the most creative things to build from LEGOs ... and some of them are truly mind-blowing. This year, creator Blake Baer and the Clutch Builders team crafted some sneaky bookends and LEGO books that actually hide a secret compartment.
The little bookends on the end of the contraption are the key to the functionality of the device. They have a mechanism on them that triggers the door whenever a book is removed from the shelf. It will work with one of the LEGO books or with a real book. The right bookend has a touch sensor that sends the signal that a book has been removed. This causes the motor in the left bookend to open the door and reveal the hidden compartment.
Of course, this is a really cool-looking design, but it's not exactly going to replace a standard safe because it's made with very breakable LEGOs. That being said, it's also very well hidden, and provided a thief doesn't accidentally knock it on the floor and send it crashing to pieces, it seems unlikely that he or she would actually even give it a second look.
Since this was just made for a contest, it's unlikely we will see it available for the rest of us – unless, of course, you decide to build something similar yourself.
The video below demonstrates just how the LEGO bookend safe actually works.
Source: MocPages