The video features a man named Alan, who is attempting to recreate "Operation Soda Steel," a 13-year-old internet legend about a device designed by a user named Epitaph Philip to steal large quantities of soda from a Taco Bell. The device consisted of a modified cup with a tube leading to a concealed container. Alan redesigns the device using modern technology but faces setbacks due to the carbonation of the soda.
After rebuilding the device to work with gravity, Alan takes it to Universal Studios Hollywood to test it on their soda dispensers, which have RFID technology that tracks and limits refills. Despite initial failures, Alan perseveres and eventually collects four liters of soda.
The video also features Alan participating in a YouTube Maker Secret Santa, where he receives a custom-made tarot card reader from a fellow creator. The tarot card reader is a clever device that provides automated readings.
The video ends with a sponsorship message from Wren, a company that helps individuals offset their carbon footprint by funding environmental projects.
Here are the key facts extracted from the text:
1. A YouTube channel shared a story about a person named Epitaph Phillip who came up with an idea called "Operation Soda Steel" 13 years ago.
2. The idea involved stealing soda from a Taco Bell by using a trick cup with a tube leading to a concealed container.
3. The container was designed to hold at least four liters of soda.
4. Baja Blast was an exclusive flavor of Mountain Dew that was only sold at Taco Bell in 2008.
5. Epitaph Phillip was called a "modern-day Robin Hood" by some users in a forum thread.
6. The original design of Operation Soda Steel used a funnel and a tube to siphon soda into a container, relying on gravity to work.
7. RFID technology is used in some theme parks to control beverage dispensing and prevent the use of unauthorized cups.
8. At Universal Studios Hollywood, soda dispensers only work with their 17 souvenir cups, and it costs $10 to reactivate a cup if it's taken out of the park.
9. The narrator, Alan, attempted to recreate Operation Soda Steel using a pump design, but it didn't work due to the carbonation of the soda.
10. The narrator spent two hours finding every soda dispenser in the park and waiting 10 minutes between refills to collect four liters of Coke Zero Cherry Vanilla.
11. The narrator spent $427 on annual passes and a cup to accomplish this.
12. The narrator received a custom-made tarot card reader from a YouTube channel called Kids Invent Stuff as part of a Maker Secret Santa gift exchange.
13. The tarot card reader was created by a person named Stephanie.
14. The narrator is participating in a YouTube Maker Secret Santa gift exchange for the third year.
15. The sponsor of the video is a website called Wren, which helps users offset their carbon footprint by funding projects that plant trees or save the rainforest.