*Note: there are a lot of pictures in this entry. Switch stylesheets using the links at the top of the page to see them
Here is a follow-up to one of my more popular recent posts, regarding the Target cart locks. I was out for a bike ride yesterday morning and decided to stop by and get some more pictures for the curious. (This blog would have a lot fewer pictures if my cell phone did not have a camera).
Here is a close-up of the wheel itself (click for larger image). You can see that there is a metal piece sticking out from the inside which is allowed to rotate when the wheel is unlocked, and stuck when the wheel is locked, causing it to catch on the cart and prevent the wheel from spinning. Unfortunately, it also looks like anyone with a wrench could easily replace the special wheel with a normal one.
Here is a photo of the sign I posted the picture of, along with the corresponding boundary line on the ground.
Here’s where someone apparently tried what we did the other day (or maybe they were just going to their car), the wheel locks when the cart is here, fairly far away from the actual entrance/exit.
Here is where I was finally able to escape with the cart, on the lower exit, running/riding the cart very fast right by the curb. The wheel did not lock, and I was able to ride it back up in the street, and back to the main entrance (above), where it locked when I came back in.