Ten years ago, Boston is facing a crisis.
About 8: 05. m.
On January 31, 2007, a passenger of Sullivan Square bus found a suspicious object on a steel beam under Interstate 93 and reported it to the MBTA authorities.
Two hours later, officials detonated the bomb.
I-northbound traffic on
The 93 and Orange Line trains were delayed for more than an hour during peak hours.
Although investigators determined that the object was not a bomb, they were not entirely sure what it was, calling it "some sort of prank device ".
"This" prank device "proved to be an LED logo, part of a larger guerrilla advertising campaign based on the Cartoon Network show Aqua Teen Hunger Force for an upcoming film.
Marketing company interfering company
Send 40 logos to local artist Zebbler, also known as Peter Berdovsky, which features "Moon Man", an alien character in the show.
Zebler and his friend Sean Stevens hung slogans near Boston, Cambridge and Somerville a few weeks ago, but it wasn't until January 31 that an alarm was issued.
Could be-
The story of the day turned into a week
Longsaga stirred the fear of the residents, the anger of the local authorities, the embarrassment and regret of the companies involved in the stunt, and the entertainment and ridicule of the artists and the people of the country, who thought Boston was funny driving the car full?
Explosion crisis mode on "suspicious object", most similar to Lite-
Brite toys and a cartoon alien middle finger.
To commemorate 10-
This is the anniversary of this shameful event in Boston's history, and we decided to review some of the forgotten aspects of the "Boston moon panic.
In an internal memo from the Boston Police Department, Commissioner Ed Davis praised the officers for their "quick, efficient and skilled response" and gave details of the version of the BPD day event.
His memo notes that the department has been tracking several suspicious reports from cities, countries and around the world throughout the day.
Once the news spread from the asuspicious object Sullivan station, the police received reports from all over the city, resulting in responses from the intersections of Stewart and Charles Street, Longfellow Bridge and BU Bridge, etc.
According to Davis, as a result of the BPD's attempt to understand the situation, there are also reports that the UK has arrested several terrorist suspects, a suspicious package in Washington, D. C. C.
Metro, about 1. m.
A phone call from Boston Medical Center said there was a pipe bomb, allegedly left by a man before leaving the scene, who declared "God warns you that today will be a sad day ".
"It's almost like we 've had a perfect environmental storm," said David steldt of the Boston Herald . ".
Although the story of "panic of the Moon Night" has spread all over the country, the most ridiculous moments in the whole story are Zebbler and Stevens attending the press conference.
When media members tried to ask how they felt about causing panic, the couple refused to answer any questions that had nothing to do with "a haircut in their 70 s.
Strange Q & A clips circulating on YouTube, CollegeHumor, Digg and other videos --sharing sites.
"Now we know what it takes to get Boston to give in," the Los Angeles Times hyped . ".
"The belly of Lite --
Brites, some batteries and citizens noticed them for a few weeks.
"Even some people in Boston, especially those who are more familiar with the show, are affected.
"Authorities, repeat it with me," wrote a Malden blogger . ". “L-E-D. Not I-E-D. Get it?
A street artist posted stickers on random objects such as ATMs, traffic cones and parking meter that said, "Don't panic ! "!
This is not a bomb!
"I have interviewed a homeland security consultant who claims that ordinary citizens carry wi-
Fi laptops, smartphones, and more will be more effective than any government organization in dealing with terrorist attacks, "Joshua Glenn wrote on the Boston Globe's" Brainiac "blog.
"I saw evidence of this argument tonight.
In an article for Phoenix Boston, Adam Riley questioned the reaction of the BPD to a bomb.
"I was told that the explanation is this: when the moonlit Stone enters the darkness and is illuminated, the law --
Law enforcement officers finally realized what the wires and batteries on the back were for, "Reilly wrote. “If so —
If that's the case-
If a real bomb is found in this city, God will help us.
Criticism from elected officials in Massachusetts is almost universal.
"Intimidating the whole area, blocking the T Road and the main roads, forcing the first responders to spend 12 hours hunting down trinkets, not terrorists, is a marketing mistake," the representative. Edward J.
The Boston Globe at the time.
"It's hard to come up with a more scary publicity stunt.
Former Mayor Tom Menino described the stunt as "outrageous" and BPD spokesman Elaine Driscoll described the incident as "a huge waste of money ".
But the biggest resistance came from the late Sen.
Edward Kennedy introduced the terrorist scam Improvement Act of 2007 to the Senate.
It seeks to impose more severe penalties on certain forms of pranks to expand the scope of pranks, include federal terrorist crimes, and make it easier for cities to move from individuals or companies associated with pranks
It never votes, but the message is clear: be prepared to pay for the consequences if you are going to complete the marketing stunt. By 4:50 p. m.
On January 31, Turner Broadcasting, the parent company of animation network, publicly accepted the responsibility of the stunt.
By February 5, Turner and the interference Company
It was agreed to pay a total of $2 million to institutions involved in the response, half of which were for homeland security and other related projects.
ATF, FBI, Federal Protection Agency, US Secret Service, Massachusetts state police, federal park police and transit police all redeployed resources to help local police during the event, according to Davis
After the agreement was reached, Turner issued a statement saying "In today'sSept.
11 It is reasonable and appropriate for the environment, citizens and law enforcement officials to take very seriously any apparent threat posed by our light board and respond as they do.
Five days later, the head of the Cartoon Network resigned.
After Turner and the interference company took responsibility for the show
As a result, in the initial panic, interference required Zebbler to remain silent on these signs --
Zebbler and Stevens received community services for 80 hours and 60 hours, respectively.
Six years later, Zebbler was hired on the first night in Boston to host a light show at Copley Square as the heart of the New Year's Eve celebration.
"We are a tolerant city," Mayor Menino told the Boston Herald . ". “That’s 2007. This is 2013.
Ten years after the panic broke out, Zebbler still created art in the Boston area.
Although he has not published 10-
On his first anniversary, he hinted in a Facebook post on Monday that the stunt might be affected today.