It's a bomb!The response of the Boston authorities to what were basically supersized Lite Brites was, shall we say, over the top.

The first device was found under Interstate 93, and the state police bomb squad was called and detonated the package in Sullivan Square just before 10 a.m. Officials said it contained an electronic circuit board with some components that were “consistent with an improvised explosive device,” but they said it had no explosives.

Several hours later, Boston police said the department received four calls, all at about 1 p.m., reporting the devices. Officials responded to at least nine locations, including the Boston University Bridge, the Longfellow Bridge, the McGrath O’Brien Highway in Somerville, a comic store on Harvard Avenue in Brighton, a location near the intersection of Stuart and Columbus streets, a location near Washington and Water streets and under the McCarthy Overpass in Somerville, according to Davis.

A device described by officials as a pipe bomb was found in the basement of the Tufts New England Medical Center at 185 Harrison Ave.

The “devices” were marketing props.

Turner Broadcasting plans to take responsibility for the “hoax devices” that were found at several locations in and around Boston Wednesday that forced police bomb units to scramble throughout the area.

The incidents were part of a marketing campaign that involved a character from the cartoon show “Aqua Teen Hunger Force.”

“The ‘packages’ in question are magnetic lights that pose no danger. They are part of an outdoor marketing campaign in 10 cities in support of Adult Swim’s animated television show ‘Aqua Teen Hunger Force,’” Turner Broadcasting, the parent company of Cartoon Network, said in a statement. 

Question for the good people of Boston: do you really feel safer knowing that the officials charged with protecting you can’t tell the difference between a pipe bomb and a friggin’ lit up cartoon character?

Some points to keep in mind:

  • The “devices” had been in place for about two weeks
  • The “devices” were also located in nine other cities
  • The “devices” resembled bombs about as well as John Goodman resembles a track and field star

Although Turner appears to be trying to defuse the situation, I bet the powers that be responsible for marketing this cartoon are grinning from ear to ear.  They just got their goofy show mentioned on nearly every news broadcast.  There is no bad publicity.

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This entry was posted by Brian on Wednesday, January 31st, 2007 at 10:32 pm and is filed under Oddball. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site. Please note the copyright policy.