Not long after Instagram first launched, they issued a challenge similar to DARPA’s Shredder Challenge... create an algorithm that reconstructs a "shredded" photograph into its original form.
At the time, I was experimenting with Processing. Since challenge was essentially a visual problem, Processing seemed like a good tool for the problem.
I was also a huge Instagram fan and entertained the idea that I could possibly get an interview if I came up with an interesting solution.
Eventually, I finished and posted a solution along with a hundred or so eager hackers. A few days later, I got a call from Kevin Systrom but didn’t get the job.
A week later Facebook bought Instagram.
