In a jaw-dropping anecdote from his new memoir Fahrenheit-182 (April 2025), Blink-182 bassist and co-vocalist Mark Hoppus revealed that he once shared a covert strategy with a Navy admiral for locating Saddam Hussein back in 2003. 

According to NME, Hoppus was aboard an aircraft carrier in the Persian Gulf when he casually confided in a Navy admiral about using drones to triangulate Hussein’s location.

His idea? Play an ultrasonic time-code over a wide grid. When Saddam released one of his videotapes –unthinkingly incorporating that ultrasonic audio – the military could pull the embedded time stamp and locate him. 

Hoppus claimed the admiral responded that he might pitch it to the Joint Chiefs. Four months later, Saddam was captured – and Hoppus quipped, “So, you’re welcome, everyone.

Though it remains unverified whether the military actually implemented Hoppus’ suggestion, multiple outlets – including Fox News and Loudwire – picked up his story, recounting the exact same details: the grid-pattern drone suggestion, the ultrasonic time-code, the admiral’s Pentagon meeting, and the subsequent capture.

So, did it really happen?

Hoppus himself qualifies it lightly – not as “I definitely saved the world,” but as “So it must’ve been me.” It may be military lore, or a remarkable coincidence – but it's such a wild piece of pop-punk mythology that it deserves a place in history.

Bottom line: The next time you think of Mark Hoppus, remember: beyond crafting earworm pop-punk hits, he might’ve also pitched a plan to catch one of the world’s most wanted men. 

Talk about a plot twist!

Read more here.

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