Up in Boston, parts of the city were at a standstill when the police discovered a variety of suspicious packages. Streets were closed and mass transit was suspended as the police investigated... and found out the packages are part of a promotion for Aqua Teen Hunger Force! Seriously, major roads, a bridge, subway stations, and part of the Charles River were shut down for that.
The Beantown police bomb squad blew up packages, finding circuit boards inside them, and the circuit boards have the ATHF mooninite image on them. Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick said, ""It's a hoax -- and it's not funny." Turner Broadcasting, which owns Aqua Teen Hunger Force, had to issue a statement saying that Cartoon Network was behind the stunt and that it was sorry.
Can you imagine if this happened in NYC? Especially in the subways? Not only would the city sue the promotions company, but there would be people upset over screwed up commutes! This makes the possibly illegal Windows Vista outdoor billboard look like child's play!
Update: Turner says the devices were "magnetic lights that pose no danger" and that they had been in Boston, New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Atlanta, Seattle, Portland, Ore., Austin, Texas, San Francisco and Philadelphia from the past two weeks. Did the NYC authorities find them and take them away? Or did we not notice them? Huh, we don't know how to feel.
Update: The same devices were found in Seattle, but without the fuss. We're waiting for the NYPD to chime in. And Boston Mayor Thomas Menino says whoever planted them will get 2-5 years "for each one"!
Photograph of Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority carrying the "suspicious" devices after they were detonated by Seth Hunger/AP - these devices were found near the Sullivan Square subway station
