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Boston Scare Caused By Marketing Mistake
WNBC Television ^ | 02/01/07 | Puppage

Posted on 02/01/2007 5:02:47 AM PST by Puppage

BOSTON -- Nine blinking electronic devices planted at bridges and other spots in Boston threw a scare into the city Wednesday in what turned out to be a marketing campaign for a late-night cable cartoon. At least one of the devices depicts a character giving the finger.

Highways, bridges and a section of the Charles River were shut down and bomb squads were sent in before authorities declared the devices were harmless.

"It's a hoax -- and it's not funny," said Gov. Deval Patrick.

Turner Broadcasting, parent company of Cartoon Network, said the devices were part of a promotion for the TV show "Aqua Teen Hunger Force."

"The packages in question are magnetic lights that pose no danger," Turner said in a statement. It said the devices have been in place for two to three weeks in 10 cities: Boston, New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Atlanta, Seattle, Portland, Ore., Austin, Texas, San Francisco and Philadelphia.

"We regret that they were mistakenly thought to pose any danger," the company said.

Police said only that they were investigating where the device came from. The Department of Homeland Security said there are no credible reports of other devices being found elsewhere in the country.

An angry Mayor Thomas Menino said a stiff penalty will be pursued against whoever was responsible for the devices.

"It's about keeping a city on edge. It's about public safety," he said.

Authorities said some of the objects looked like circuit boards or had wires hanging from them.

The first device was found at a subway and bus station underneath Interstate 93, forcing the shutdown of the station and the highway.

Later, police said four calls, all around 1 p.m., reported devices at the Boston University Bridge and the Longfellow Bridge, both of which span the Charles River, at a Boston street corner and at the Tufts-New England Medical Center.

The package near the Boston University bridge was found attached to a structure beneath the span, authorities said.

Subway service across the Longfellow Bridge between Boston and Cambridge was briefly suspended, and Storrow Drive was closed as well.

Wanda Higgins, a 47-year-old Weymouth resident and a nurse at Massachusetts General Hospital, heard about the threat as she watched television news coverage while preparing to leave work at 4 p.m.

"I saw the bomb squad guys carrying a paper bag with their bare hands," Higgins said. "I knew it couldn't be too serious."

Messages seeking additional comment from the Atlanta-based Cartoon Network were left with several publicists.

"Aqua Teen Hunger Force" is a cartoon with a cultish following that airs as part of the Adult Swim late-night block of programs for adults on the Cartoon Network. A feature length film based on the show is slated for release March 23.

The surreal series centers on a talking milkshake (Master Shake), fries (Frylock) and a meatball (Meatwad).

The cartoon also includes two trouble-making, 1980s-graphic-like characters called "mooninites," named Ignignokt and Err -- who were pictured on the suspicious devices. They are known for making the obscene hand gesture depicted on the devices.


TOPICS: Business/Economy; US: Massachusetts
KEYWORDS: advertising; boston; hysteria; ignorethedevice; littering; postnobills
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To: Smokin' Joe

Ok, you are hanging flashing neon signs in high visibility spots. They have a cartoon character on them flipping people off and a couple of Duracell batteries. does this sound like the work of undercover terrorist operatives?
Here's my question: What idiot would call 911 and report a bomb?
C'mon people, you are now officially "terrorized". They won.


21 posted on 02/01/2007 5:30:19 AM PST by FunkyZero
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To: Puppage
Well, although I think that the Cartoon Network and advertising firm involved used really bad judgment in placing these things where they did, I saw a couple of pictures of the devices this morning and they look like the old "Lite-Brite" toys my kid sister used to play with. Consequently, I think that Boston's official completely overreacted and shut down the entire city without first determining the nature of these "devices." Turner Network probably should pay for overtime costs and perhaps a fine, but I don't think jail time is in order for those two saps who were arrested last night, even though they should have notified authorities about what they were doing before they put the ads up.

Just my humble opinion...

22 posted on 02/01/2007 5:32:46 AM PST by Virginia Ridgerunner ("Si vis pacem para bellum")
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To: FunkyZero

"Here's my question: What idiot would call 911 and report a bomb? "

Thanks Funky. When I first saw them, I thought, "Stop Overreacting. Terrorists aren't going to use Lite-Brite!"


23 posted on 02/01/2007 5:33:19 AM PST by BikerJoe
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To: Puppage

Send the bill for the mess to these 'guerrilla marketers' and you will see this kind of nonsense ending quickly.


24 posted on 02/01/2007 5:33:41 AM PST by Aikonaa
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To: Puppage

This stunt was way beyond stupid.


25 posted on 02/01/2007 5:33:56 AM PST by Recovering Hermit (There's another old saying Senator..."Don't piss down my back and tell me it's raining.")
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To: Puppage

It's gotta be illegal. But since this is MA, I guess it doesn't really matter what the law is.


26 posted on 02/01/2007 5:33:57 AM PST by Brilliant
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To: Miss Marple
Watch this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=doD_VpT_yAY

Professionals that are supposed to know better should have been easily able to identify that these "devices" weren't a threat. Everything was out in the open - there wasn't some enclosed case that could have contained a substantial amount of explosives. They're thin and their inner workings are clearly visible. It was obvious they were cheap electronic signs.
27 posted on 02/01/2007 5:36:12 AM PST by DB
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To: Puppage
Had I not left in 1976 for a less hectic lifestyle, I would certainly leave NOW because of the association of Boston with imbicility.

The stupid people looked at a cartoon light as an IED ... and the cops and politicians followed up with the proper outrage.

Savage is SO correct ... Liberalism is a mental disease.

28 posted on 02/01/2007 5:38:23 AM PST by knarf (Islamists kill each other ... News wall-to-wall, 24/7 .. don't touch that dial.)
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To: Virginia Ridgerunner
and the jihadists are taking notes of the entire contratemps and saying to themselves...hmmm.... use a litebrite toy as the basis of your device and no one will report it after this event...

in this post 9-11 world it is ridiculous that this firm would not have thought this through. I was listening to foxnews in my car before the cartoon aspect was known and the factor that they were fixating on was WHERE the objects were placed-- a medical center, bridges, roadways, in other words INFRASTRUCTURE. in a post 9-11 world, is it a good idea to dismiss out of hand, objects that are out of place just because of harmless they look?

29 posted on 02/01/2007 5:38:43 AM PST by xsmommy
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To: Miss Marple

i totally agree with you. think the jihadists aren't taking note now that toys will no longer be considered suspicious?


30 posted on 02/01/2007 5:39:39 AM PST by xsmommy
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To: SlowBoat407

I have no problem with "busting" them for that. In fact they should have been.

But I do have a problem with the morons in charge shutting down a major city being too stupid to see what they obviously were and then blaming the whole over reaction on others.


31 posted on 02/01/2007 5:40:30 AM PST by DB
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To: BikerJoe
Terrorists aren't going to use Lite-Brite

oh you think not? especially after this? ok....

32 posted on 02/01/2007 5:40:41 AM PST by xsmommy
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To: Miss Marple

Look at the dang thing. It's a cartoon!

You don't need to have watched ATHF, to know that.

Also, see this post:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1777244/posts?page=48#48


33 posted on 02/01/2007 5:41:27 AM PST by FreedomPoster (Guns themselves are fairly robust; their chief enemies are rust and politicians) (NRA)
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To: Puppage

I just got a singing birthday card from a friend. I would be very careful about sending one to an official in Boston - I don't think they would take it lightly.


34 posted on 02/01/2007 5:41:41 AM PST by Bernard (Immigration should be rare, safe and legal.)
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To: Virginia Ridgerunner
Pictures of these can be found here. And I agree that they do look like lite brites.
35 posted on 02/01/2007 5:41:58 AM PST by tearlenb
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To: FunkyZero
So this means if it has a flashing light and a sticker of someone flipping you off it doesn't have any C4 in the box?

I guess the terrorist typesa are going to be out buying flashing lights and cartoon sitckers before the next bombing, just to throw people off.

1:People saw something, they did not know what it was, they did know it was different and in places where explosives would do some possibly serious damage. It was prudent to get it checked out

2: Life ain't TV, but most of the bombs on TV have little flashing lights on them, and that is what the uninformed will associate it with.

An unrecognized cartoon character flipping you off? Think about it...a bomb is such an effective way to say "F**K You!".

does this sound like the work of undercover terrorist operatives?

For the terrorist, it is a case of whatever works. Whoulda thunkit? No bang, but all the disruption without the mess.

As for "officially terrorized", that happened back when I could no longer take my knife (or a nail clipper--sheesh!) aboard the plane.

36 posted on 02/01/2007 5:43:55 AM PST by Smokin' Joe (How often God must weep at humans' folly.)
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To: DB

OK, I will concede that these do not look like bombs. However, when they are unlit (during daytime) wouldn't it be a little difficult to see what the figure is to represent, and also anything electronic, even something that doesn't have room for explosives, would cause some suspicion. The explosives could be somewhere else, you know.


37 posted on 02/01/2007 5:44:37 AM PST by Miss Marple (Prayers for Jemian's son,: Lord, please keep him safe and bring him home .)
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To: DB
But I do have a problem with the morons in charge shutting down a major city being too stupid to see what they obviously were

Sure, THIS TIME.

Do you really believe that will be the case always? Would you be YOUR life on that?

38 posted on 02/01/2007 5:45:50 AM PST by Puppage (You may disagree with what I have to say, but I shall defend to your death my right to say it)
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To: xsmommy

These things were light, small and thin. Even if most of the weight had been a bomb that went off they wouldn't have done much more than blacken the paint on those bridges.

It was easy to tell what these things were just by looking at them. Its inner workings were open to see.

Dumb (not you).


39 posted on 02/01/2007 5:46:08 AM PST by DB
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To: DB

batteries, exposed wires and placed on infrastructure. could it be a timing device that would detonate something placed elsewhere? i don't know jack about explosives, but i think that the gimmick was reprehensible and that one cannot be cavalier about stuff randomly placed. i mean for God's sake, you can't leave a piece of luggage unattended at an airport, why would it make sense not to be suspicious of electrical devices placed on infrastructure.


40 posted on 02/01/2007 5:49:09 AM PST by xsmommy
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