👉 Boston.com article

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On the morning of January 31, 2007, the Boston Police Department and the Boston Fire Department mistakenly identified battery-powered LED placards depicting the Mooninites, characters from the Adult Swim animated television series Aqua Teen Hunger Force, as improvised explosive devices (IEDs), leading to a massive panic.

  • Flying Squid@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    I remember that. I never watched that show so I had no idea what the reference was, but if I had seen it in person, I would have just thought it was viral marketing. What’s so scary about it?

    • Biff@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      I did see it and knew what it referenced. There was nothing scary at all about it, it was clearly an LED sign. I couldn’t believe how massive an over reaction there was to it by the police. Terrorists tend not to put bright LEDs on their weapons as an advertisement.

      • SCB@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        People were still pretty 9/11 crazy in those days and I remember thinking the reaction was way more entertaining than even the marketing.

        As a huge ATHF fan (I have a Master Shake tattoo on my ass), it just really spoke to me. Felt like an alignment in the cosmos.

      • pelrun@kbin.social
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        1 year ago

        Boston PD were(are) out of their minds. They also blew up an ordinary traffic counting device deployed by the city.