Before the famous Stanford Prison Experiment, this crime experiment was crazy! Philip Zimbardo became famous worldwide for the controversial 1971 Stanford Prison Experiment, only one part of his work in psychology. His research also explored shyness, military environments, time perception, and factors that can lead ordinary people toward harmful behavior. The prison study had students act as guards and prisoners in a simulated jail planned to last two weeks. It deteriorated rapidly as some student guards grew authoritarian and abusive. In 1969 Zimbardo placed an apparently abandoned car in a crime-ridden New York City area and a wealthy California neighborhood. The difference was immediate. In New York, people began taking parts almost at once; within about ten minutes the car was heavily damaged and stripped. In California nobody seemed interested, and it remained untouched for a week. Zimbardo then damaged the California car himself so it looked vandalized. Once residents saw it in that state, others began attacking and stealing from it. The findings later became associated with “broken windows” theory: obvious signs of disorder can make further crime seem acceptable or even encourage it. The idea later influenced controversial policing based on the belief that leaving small signs of neglect or vandalism visible can contribute to more serious offenses.