January 31, 2007
NEW: Aqua Teen Hunger Force Wreaks Havoc in Boston?
UPDATE: In their streaming newscast, WBZ has been showing the image of the "mooninite" from Aqua Teen Hunger Force. And, boy, is it funny to hear a straightlaced, gravitas-filled newscaster utter the words "Aqua Teen Hunger Force."
But we don't envy who is behind this promotion. Governor Deval Patrick is pissed.
Don't worry - everything is fine. But it seemed as if these circuit boards were popping up all over town. WCVB lists all the hot spots for the circuit boards that either a) scared the crap out of people or b) seriously disrupted your commute:
The additional packages were found at the Boston University Bridge, the Longfellow Bridge and near the intersection of Stuart and Columbus streets. 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.
Said "packages" made a mess of things:
Storrow Drive eastbound was shut down for a brief time, and the MBTA suspended service on the Red Line and planned to bus afternoon commuters between Kendall and Park Street stations.
Things were enough of a mess that companies were e-mailing their employees to let them know the "packages" were hoaxes, but they just found another one in Somerville.
Someone with an eagle-eye recognized a pattern that showed up in an image from WBZ, which Bostonist is reproducing. Universal Hub is reporting that the pattern on the device is that of a mooninite, which has something to do Aqua Teen Hunger Force, but it's too early to tell. If this was done as part of a stupid marketing campaign, someone deserves an ass-kicking. That's what mySpace is for!
It's also possible someone was testing the city's emergency response. If so, you proved your point. The appropriate authorities moved swiftly to find out that your packages were fakes. Now don't ever do it again!
Update: For those of you browsing in on Feb. 1 - check out a little wrap up post here, or hit up the front page of this site for more ATHF tidbits.
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This is going to be a major feature film.
They must have had some kind of permits?
I concur with the governor, its "not funny" how inept our counterterrorism department is that a marketing descision for a cartoon movie was swelled up by the press and that the inept bomb squad covering the destrubances werent able to set it straight and instead blew them up. Its not funny how such a blunder is being poorly rationalized, like its the marketing team's fault a bomb squad doesnt know what a bomb looks like. But its great publicity I suppose, this film was certain to bomb(well, as much as a film with a cost budget of around 50,000 dollars can bomb) but now people will boycott it, and boycotting always brings a crowd in.
oh. my. god. this is so overblown its hilarious. And why are they realted like 3 other wierd things they found to the 2 light up signs?
Besides, using the term "Hoax" is grossly irresponsible as it implies maliciousness. They weren't making fake bombs. They were making light up signs. If the marketing execs at Cartoon Network are guilty of anything, it's overestimating the intellegence of the Boston PD.
"They weren't making fake bombs." Huh? But these ads were hanging from the T wires for a reason--to attract precisely the kind of response that they did. I mean, why weren't they placarded on the walls of buildings instead? They call the p.r. company involved "guerilla marketers" for a reason.
According to Boston.com, Turner Broadcasting has already issued the mea culpa.
this was one of the worst articles written on this subject. aqua teen is funny, this article isn't (no matter how hard it tries).
"It's also possible someone was testing the city's emergency response. If so, you proved your point. "
>> Yeah, it took just 4 to 6 weeks to respond to these. Go, team!
test
BYAAAAAAAAH, Aqua Teen RuleZoRz..Pure Geniouse! No I d0nt bElIve thEy waNeD pllto think they were bombs...Thats DumBzOrZZZ Were TaLkIng aBouT AniMatoRzZzZ AnD WritOrZ noT SaDDDamM.
ugh, americans are way too scared of bombs and terrorists, come on, it doesnt like a freaking bomb AT ALL
God people are so stupid. Its clearly a advertisment not a bomb. If terrorists were going to blow something up they certantly wouldnt draw attention to it by putting bright flashing lights on it. The people who should be called to the carpet here are the officials of the city of Boston. Not the people at Cartoon Network.
Give me a break.
Citizens of 9 other cities didn't run around like headless chooks, freaking about that these highly visible, largely flat devices covered with blinking lights might be part of some sort of new "Extremely Obvious" bomb plot.
"Not Funny"... ph, get a life!
Boston freaked out at nothing, caused itself traffic chaos, and is now trying to blame everyone else but itself... THAT'S what's funny.
If terrorists WERE going to attack Boston, surely they'd pick something less obvious than a flashing board - perhaps something bigger, which could carry more explosives.
Hang on... I can see the headlines now...
Traffic snarls around Boston as thousands of Bostonites flood 911 with calls to report a U-haul boxtruck (a-la Oklahoma City bombing) which "might possibly be laiden with explosives".
Or perhaps...
Bus lines shut down because passengers carrying backpacks and briefcases might be terrorists.
WATCH OUT! that cat could have a stick of dynamyte up its arse! or maybe that dog is actually a midget terrorist in a dog costume gonna get out at any second and shoot a helpless baby robin...or MAYBE the midgets gonna throw cats with dynamyte up there arses at baby robins.AHHHHHHHHHH why didnt we see the clues!! WHY!!!??? Boston Sucks.
everyone is laughing at us over this. it is emberassing. im gonna pretend im Canadian from now on.
In all honesty... Boston getting all bent out of shape over this is exactly what terrorist want. They do the things they do so that everyone walks around afraid of everything around them. So good job Boston you helped the terrorist win.
"If this was done as part of a stupid marketing campaign, someone deserves an ass-kicking. That's what mySpace is for!"
This just proves you are a horrible journalist and no one should listen to you.
"If this was done as part of a stupid marketing campaign, someone deserves an ass-kicking. That's what mySpace is for!"
This just proves you are a horrible journalist and no one should listen to you.
"If this was done as part of a stupid marketing campaign, someone deserves an ass-kicking. That's what mySpace is for!"
This just proves you're a horrible journalist and no one should listen to you.
"They have been in place for two to three weeks in Boston, New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Atlanta, Seattle, Portland, Austin, San Francisco, and Philadelphia. Parent company Turner Broadcasting is in contact with local and federal law enforcement on the exact locations of the billboards. We regret that they were mistakenly thought to pose any danger."
At least the residents of New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Atlanta, Seattle, Portland, Austin, San Francisco, and Philadelphia realize that LiteBrights with a picture of a cartoon character poses no threat to anybody.
What a joke. I could tell by watching cnn last night that that loser of a mayor (Who BTW can't have a goddamn tunnel built right!) is now in it to sue Turner because the city of Bahstan thought that people are forgetting about them (that being the whole "not NYC syndrome AKA penis envy") so they made this a HUGE event. Also they should first make a slight effort to mend the ongoing racial problems that have plagued that city for years.
Well the morons in this state keep voting for retards in their cities and state government. Our newly elected governor is a great example. I say Boston got its just deserts.
Wow how about 9 other cities didn't freak or flip out. Meaning what . . . ding ding ding thats right boston has thier panties in a bunch. Granted yes Cartoon Network should told city officials but really you mean to tell me that out of the some odd thousands of people in boston NOONE at all realized this was a promo. FUNNY STUFF FUNNY STUFF!
I am seriously opposed to dumb people. Send them to the moon where Err can have his way with them.
On a serious note, how do I get in contact with the ignorant authorities out there in Boston? They profoundly over-reacted, to what is essentially an updated(LED) neon sign. Are they serious? They acted that stupidly and now they want to blame the advertisors? I have a light brite(an real one, so it's big and clunky, not keyboard sized) mounted on the side of my building. No one has freaked out for the 2 years I've had it up there... because we aren't idiots. So... If any one out there can tell me some mayor's / governor's phonenumbers/addresses I would love them at rb0014@yahoo.com
I live in central Mass and I couldn't stop laughing at the brainwashed masses in this and other states. When most simple-minded people (Which is 51% of the U.S. Population) are up in arms that two men might be able to marry.. WATCH OUT!! HERE COMES THE MOONINITES!! Menino is as much a POS as Romney and Bush is. It really says something strong about the frame of mind most people have when a lite brite scares them into calling the bomb squad...Come to think of it.. the cops and bomb squad, if they were competent, would have known these were not bombs if they actually used that gray organ that is between their ears
I don't wonder that people who don't live here don't get it. the planes on 911 flew out of logan. from the moment we heard "planes in the air: missing" this city has been freaked out. remember the "no fly" orders that went out? Boston was exepmt. we had every manner of military helicopter buzzing over the lock-down. this place was turned inside out. massport was re-organized. there was a lot of scrutiny and sometimes blame aimed here. what you have now is mass ptsd-like sensitivity. which is not unreasonable considering the uniquely dense lay-out of the (old) city, coupled with the local industries being bio-tech, medical, and military research over by mit. there are buildings here that you really do not want to see blown up. it's not like we are on an open plan with a lot of service industry. and it's not like the ads were hung on telephone poles or in commercial or corporate aptmospheres: they were under major transit bridges and at big hospitals. after choosing terror targets for ad spaces, there was a sequence 4 of anonymous phone calls tipping police where to look for the next suspicious device: which is text-book IRA protocal. the city did not "over-react" so much as the aptmosphere here was exploited.
...and to all the people bashing this site and this article: this article on this site essentialy "broke" the story of the marketing campaign and calmed people down. it was timely and accurate amidst the chaos yesterday. I say "thanks".
I know all too well what it's like in Boston... lived there for years.
PTSD? What a joke. If any city should have 9-11 PTSD it's NYC. And guess what? No one freaked out here.
new yorkah, you also didn't have two fake pipe bombs thrown into the mix.
Sad, I tell you when the equivalent of the 'etch-a-sketch' toy they tried to get us to cry for as kids has come back with fury.
Personally, I think whomever's old ass was allarmed by a dag on 'neon' sign with plastic light bulbs should be forced into retirement. Oddly these have been posted in like what 9-10 other major cities without the fanfair of the bombsquad and homeland security.
So now it's a terrorist hoax instead of a marketing ploy, so the old ass politicians that woke up in middle of 10pm all freaked out and thinking the sky was falling....won't feel like their stupid or out of touch with those they are supposed to represent
freakin Sad--they'll only use this to put a nannycam in your house and watch you.....1 step up from the phone tap and at will kidnapping......what country and year is this again?
remind me to NEVER go to Boston. You guys suck as a city, i mean seriously how, no, WHY would you mistake that as a bomb? seems that someone was just bitter over the advertising campaign. I mean look at the other cities, NY and Seatle didnt freak out. God damn....
Seriously. You need to chill out. New York had a mysterious natural gas odor across Midtown the other day. You know what we did? We went to work.
It's amazing how many bomb and terrorists "experts" there are responding on these sites. Do they really know what kind of device a terrorist would make if they were going to strike? Isn't that how terrorists can still be terrorists? Good news - nothing happened this time. Bad news - it will happen again at some time. And where will those "experts" be when they "don't" know that something was a terrorist device before it is detonated? It would appear from their comments that maybe we should have them working at Homeland Security since the are so very sure of how much they know ?Overreacting, know it all ###holes. Leave this stuff to the professionals and just hope you are not the one standing there when it happens.
i wish they would put one of those signs on high st. pottstown pa. of total recarl , carl readind the newspaper on the crapper
Boston sucks! Not only is it the most deeply segregated and racist city in the entire US, its residents are all such squares they don't know what a damn Mooninite is.
"Liberals" my ass....
Pathetic.....
Another example of the ignorance of our government. Cartoon Network you rule!!!
Bostacks! - another expert. I don't think you can qualify your statement that Boston is the "most deeply segregated and racist city in the entire US". What is your real agenda here? And why would anyone want to know what a Mooninite is anyway? Stick with the subject.
AQUA TEEN YOU KNOW ME!!!!NUMBER ONE IN THE HOOD G!
SHAKZILLA! MEATWAD MAKE THE MONEY SEE??
MOONITES RULE And bOStonians and newyorkians and chicagoians are morononites.
hahaha.. it's sort of funny how people reacted; cautiously is a good word to describe it.
But now, if more show up, people will just assume it's more of the marketing campaign. ... But what about terrorists? I can't think of a safer time or way for terrorist factions to plant obvious bombs, under the guise that it's just more ATHF... so if you see the 4-bit pixel man, run!
I KNEW the mooninites were part of Al Qaeda!
Seriously now...how low does one's IQ have to be to mistake a Light Brite giving the finger for a city leveling bomb? After 4-6 weeks?
I believe the correct term for Boston PD is "mentally challenged."
I wish that every stupid person in the world would die... seriosly. Although, they do pose for excellent entertainment. Mabey I'll go to Boston with a towel wrapped around my head. Boy, would that put them in a frenzy?
Seriously get over yourselves. Being so stressed out that you freak out over a lite-brite sign is going to seriously affect your health and it's more likely that you will die of that than of any terrorist attack. Amazing that Seattle investigated and then quietly removed an LED lite-brite sign that had been sitting around for some time. Its a pretty good statement of how well you are terrorizing yourselves when someone could shut down a whole city just by setting some harmless objects around.
We raise our middle fingers to Boston... and we like to smoke cigarettes while we are doing it...
How do u a bostonite jump??
THROW AN LED LIGHT AT THEM!
hahaha Boston u suck.
New York is where the buildings were blown up and they didn't even react to it this way. It was a freaking lite brite!
once again, people have over reacted to something as small is a night light show. Caroline Roberts article is narrow minded. I personally find the add for "Aqua Teen Hunger Force" to be creative and original. Also, the glowing mooninite signs were there hanging up for almost a week before there was any call in about that. People need to stop putting down artist and stop freaking out over the fear of a terrorist around every corner.
What a bunch of Tards.
Yet another reason why Boston blows and New York rocks.
Eat it Boston!
All I have to say is...people of Boston, you're all morons! Boston sucks!!
Way to show the world just how afraid Americans really are, Boston.
If this had been Doctor Who, and they had pictures of the TARDIS all around New York -- would it have the same effect?
People overreact, there was no reason for the city to shut down, the government needs to take responsibility for their mistakes. Stop placing the blame on the people that didn't realize they were doing anything wrong. How were tehy to know that everyone would think a cartoon character was a bomb???? You see my finger....I am doing it as hard as I can, BOSTON is LAME!
You don't have to be an expert to tell the difference. Apparantly experts were the only ones who couldn't other than a few psychos.. I youtubed some of the news on this and it's funny how people are mad at the company.
"This is no laughing matter!" I'm laughing.
I actually heard someone call the company "sick individuals." Just the thought of that sickens me. Go UUR!
I think what's lost inthis discussion hinges on the intent of the crafter of the messages.
For instance. If they places battery powered signs that said nothing but NOT A BOMB, would they be justified in reacting? Sure, that's a message crafted to have many interpretations and most of them not nice.
An electronic figure flipping you off - what could that mean? in their confusion, they chose caution. 19 other cities didn't react. Aren't you at least concerned that no one in those cities wondered at an electronic figure with such a hostile message possible?
So if tyou placed 1 NOT A BOMB sign, that's a prank. 20? That's a disturbance, at least. 200? That's an intent to disrupt, clearly. So now we know the odds - it looks like 1/20 will react like its a threat after 10 days of exposure to this message. Do we blame that one?
OK try this; the "dorky" kid's in school and one of the "cool" people sets a fire cracker off next to him in the lunch room. He jumps through the roof and wets himself. All the cool people sit there and laugh at him like he should've known there was a fire cracker next to him. If you watched this happen, would you laugh at the dorky kid, or blame the prankster?
You see right now, this whole board is blaming the victim.
I see these "marketing" guys doing time.
Let's have more lectures from the city which shuts itself down over "a mystery smell".
Welcome to the war on terror folks. This is what it means to be terrorized.