Mooninites invade Boston, cause bomb scare

I’m in Boston for a few days for training, and much to my surprise ran across this local news story today:

On Wednesday afternoon five suspicious packages were found in various locations throughout the city of Boston, including a hospital, a subway station, and a bridge support. According to Boston’s mayor, Thomas M. Menino, all appear to be hoaxes. Reports from CNN.com and ABC News (Boston’s WCVB Channel 5) confirm that two of the five packages are found to not contain explosives.

Storrow Drive, Route 93, and the Red Line of the Boston subway system were all shut down for a short time while police investigated. In addition, the Coast Guard closed off part of the Charles River, which runs through the city.

The police bomb squad has busied itself around the city, investigating the packages and potential suspects. Some think terrorist cells in the Boston area were testing the response time to such a terror threat. Others guess it could be an activist group making a statement. Nonetheless, the city is on alert and tensions are high.

Turns out that the suspicious objects were part of a poorly conceived marketing scheme for a show I like very much – Aqua Teen Hunger Force. From WHDH…

More than 10 blinking electronic devices planted at bridges and other spots in Boston threw a scare into the city Wednesday in what turned out to be a publicity campaign for a late-night cable cartoon. The devices depict a character giving the finger.
…
Turner Broadcasting, a division of Time Warner Inc. and parent of Cartoon Network, said the devices were part of a promotion for the TV show “Aqua Teen Hunger Force,” a surreal series about a talking milkshake, a box of fries and a meatball.

The Mooninites are minor characters in the show, but frankly are the funniest ones. This was a really stupid stunt, and I hope Turner Broadcasting gets the bill for having to break out the bomb squad, but that doesn’t diminish the show at all. Here is some YouTube goodness for the uninitiated.

Mayhem of the Mooninites

Revenge of the Mooninites

And the upcoming movie trailer…