11 ms·

2007 Boston Mooninite Panic

201 points by black6 2y ago

jeffwask 2y ago
I was on an MBTA train on the way home way after my office closed in a panic. We were stopped halfway by the MBTA police and made to stand outside on the platform in the bitter cold while they spent 30-60 minutes running sniffer dogs through the train cars. The whole thing was surreal because I saw the device and knew immediately it was Aqua Teen Hunger Force and not a terrorist threat.
jrochkind1 2y ago
My favorite part of the wikipedia article: > On February 27, 2007, a month after the incident, the Boston police bomb squad detonated another suspected bomb, which turned out to be a city-owned traffic counter [34]
leoh 2y ago
Shockingly, the Aqua Teen Hunger Force “Boston” episode which mocks the whole incident is available on archive.org. https://archive.org/details/Bostonaquateenhungerforce https://archive.org/details/Bostonaquateenhungerforce
alsetmusic 2y ago
I remember this fiasco. We were peak see-something-say-something (or maybe just beyond that) in post-9/11 USA. Absolute paranoia. People who lived in the middle of nowhere were afraid of terrorist attacks, as though high population urban centers wouldn’t be the real targets. See also: Freedumb Fries[0] 0. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freedom_fries https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freedom_fries
- garciansmith 2y ago
  Yep. The Mario question blocks put up by some teenagers in Ravenna, Ohio, in 2006 was a similar situation. https://www.eurogamer.net/news030406marioprank https://www.eurogamer.net/news030406marioprank
  - paulryanrogers 2y ago
    A bunch appeared in our local park's hiking trail. Though I think it was an approved event based on some of the signage around at the time. It is a shame that unapproved ads can litter public spaces with little or no consequence, but not art.
    - dghlsakjg 2y ago
      You should read the article you are talking about. It wasn’t an ad campaign. It was a bunch of teenage fans doing something creative for fun. Ya know, art!
      - paulryanrogers 2y ago
        Why do you think I didn't? I know the article is about art. My point was art like that should be welcomed or at least not prosecuted, as it seems advertising is today.
- alistairSH 2y ago
  Somebody at my office printed and posted a pile of “Wombats are everywhere, if you see something, say something” posters, with an image of a wombat. People lost their shit over it and he got a reprimand. I thought it was hysterical. Wombats don’t live in DC. People are so over-sensitive.
  - bagels 2y ago
    What's there to be upset about? Do they think this person controls the wombats?
    - alistairSH 2y ago
      Beats me. I guess some people have no sense for the absurd.
- astura 2y ago
  This was dumb, but 2007 was many years past peak post-9/11 paranoia. Almost everyone who wasn't Boston PD or the media thought this was a gross overreaction to what was basically a Lite-Brite at the time. Don't forget, they were placed in other major cities across the country without incident.
- vundercind 2y ago
  > We were peak see-something-say-something (or maybe just beyond that) My recollection is we were pretty solidly past that period by the time this happened, and that’s part of why it was so ridiculous. If this had happened in like ‘02 or maybe ‘03 I think folks wouldn’t have thought it quite so silly that the authorities responded the way they did.
tumnus 2y ago
This really was peak marketing idiocy. I knew people who worked at Cartoon Network at the time. Jim Samples' disconnect and subsequent resignation reverberated down the ranks and tanked a lot of careers and projects. Who would think that strapping battery operated devices to bridges with duct tape in any post-9/11 city would be a good idea?
- miah_ 2y ago
  It was a LED moonite. It wasn't scary at all.
- aaron695 2y ago
  [dead]
- bagels 2y ago
  It's outrageous that anyone resigned or was fired over this other than city employees of Boston for lying about a stupid sign.
- almostgotcaught 2y ago
  > battery operated devices I love when people clutch pearls and say exaggerated things to justify it. What does "battery operated" even mean lolol. Is the phrase supposed to conjure images of IEDs or what? They were battery powered LED signs https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/2007_Boston_Mooninite_panic https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/2007_Boston_Mooninite_panic
  - joemi 2y ago
    The very first sentence of the article you linked states that they were mistaken for IEDs.
    - almostgotcaught 2y ago
      I'm aware and what we're debating here is whether it was a rational reaction (not whether it happened).
dmead 2y ago
My steam icon is still errr from this incident. Never forget.
- ganoushoreilly 2y ago
  "Obey the Moon and its mighty wisdom. Ignore it, and be vaporized."
  - dmead 2y ago
    We have vast fields and amber waves of marajuana on the moon.
- selimthegrim 2y ago
  My late freshman roommate and I made Mooninites out of clear plastic blocks as one of the first things to decorate our room at Caltech. We had moved on to different roommates by the time this happened but we had kept the plastic Mooninites so naturally, we thought it was hilarious.
  - dmead 2y ago
    yo watch out. you might get arrested
lazystar 2y ago
hah. the best press conference of all time was held by the marketing guys after they were "caught". they refused to answer questions about anything other than their hair, and i remember some witty reporter asking them what theyd do about their hair if they went to jail. caught them off guard, hah. edit - here it is, beautiful https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=X2fGzmphx4U https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=X2fGzmphx4U
- miah_ 2y ago
  They had amazing hair. I loved all their hair commentary. Best response to a literal media circus.
- KennyBlanken 2y ago
  It was less beautiful if you spent two hours stuffed into a subway car (because at first they kept trains moving toward where the device was, but they were slowed, so we stopped at two packed stations full of people who were going to be late for work.)
  - foobarchu 2y ago
    I'm sure it was, and it's pretty clear BPD is who your frustration should have been directed at.
  - marcusb 2y ago
    Was that the fault of the kids at the press conference, or the absolute morons who mistook small LED signs for bombs?
    - stouset 2y ago
      Yes but those signs had WIRES and BATTERIES, which are clear indicators of sinister intent.
      - marcus0x62 2y ago
        https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ahmed_Mohamed_clock_incident https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ahmed_Mohamed_clock_incident
nirmal 2y ago
I was taking a class around this time that involved programming and Atari 2600. I made a game based around this event. http://nirmalpatel.com/hacks/atari.html http://nirmalpatel.com/hacks/atari.html
ChrisArchitect 2y ago
A previous submission from a year ago has an interesting comment from someone involved: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=37105056 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=37105056
- dang 2y ago
  Definitely one for https://news.ycombinator.com/highlights https://news.ycombinator.com/highlights.
- BonoboIO 2y ago
  Wow … this escalated quickly.
- skeaker 2y ago
  That interview is brilliant. The reporters trying to smear the two made such fools of themselves. My favorite bit is when a reported said "This isn't gathering much sympathy with the public," but here we are looking back on it and laughing at the moronic reporters instead. Love to see it
  - MBCook 2y ago
    Wow. I’ve never seen that video before, I was laughing very hard. I remember when that happened and how incredibly obvious it was that it was a massive overreaction.
  - gonzobonzo 2y ago
    > My favorite bit is when a reported said "This isn't gathering much sympathy with the public," but here we are looking back on it and laughing at the moronic reporters instead. Here. I have relatives who are overly trusting of the mainstream media, and they were convinced that these people were intentionally trying to make the devices look like bombs in order to garner publicity. I tried to explain things to them, but to no avail.
  - ethbr1 2y ago
    >> "That's not a hair question, I'm sorry." >> Reporter: "Are you afraid that if... uh... you go to prison, you'll get your hair cut?" >> "Umm. That's a very good question. I think... I think... the laws in this country are still pretty comfy as to... as to that. I think there will... whatever happens, I feel like my hair is safe at the moment. So, any other hair questions are definitely welcome." This reporter got the assignment. Also, what balls to be charged with trumped up terrorism charges and stand your ground on the "This is ridiculous, so we're going to be ridiculous" front in the face of reporters trying to make it seem like This Is No Laughing Matter.
voidfunc 2y ago
Never forget haha. I remember my parents being mildly outraged about this. 18 year old me thought it was fucking hilarious.
- christophilus 2y ago
  18 year old you was right. I was already a fan of the show before this stunt, but this put it into legendary status.
nlh 2y ago
Heh. My roommate (in NYC) at the time was involved-enough in this that one of the actual "devices" appeared in our apartment a few weeks later and surreptitiously remained for many years, fully working in its Lite-brite/LED glory. It made for an excellent conversation piece for those that knew, and a weird piece of LED art for those that didn't. Edit: I found pictures! Sorry they were shot on a potatocam (2008 era) but here she is: https://imgur.com/2DcutSE https://imgur.com/2DcutSE https://imgur.com/H76RQq6 https://imgur.com/H76RQq6
- dpifke 2y ago
  For anyone who wants their own replica: https://wiki.evilmadscientist.com/Peggy_2 https://wiki.evilmadscientist.com/Peggy_2
DonHopkins 2y ago
In September 2007, several months after the Mooninite Panic, MIT student Star Simpson was arrested at Boston Logan Airport for wearing an electronic LED device and holding Play-Doh. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_Simpson https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_Simpson >Shortly after arriving on the MIT campus, she met a student group called MITERS (the MIT Electronic Research Society).[3] >In September 2007 while a student at MIT, several months after the Boston Mooninite Panic, Simpson created an electronic fashion sweatshirt featuring a colored, glowing name tag.[4][5] While wearing this sweatshirt during a visit to Boston Logan Airport, Simpson was arrested at gunpoint and charged with the possession of a hoax device, a charge that was dropped by prosecutors a year later.[6][7][8] In an echo of MIT's official later treatment of Aaron Swartz, the MIT media office released a statement condemning and disavowing Simpson's actions before she was even released from questioning.[9][10] >Simpson studied at MIT between 2006 and 2010. She returned to MIT in 2015 to speak about her experience at an MIT conference on the Freedom to Innovate.[11] >In 2017, MIT established a "disobedience" award to reward forms of disobedience that benefit society, as demonstrated by Simpson while a student at MIT.[12] MIT Sophomore Arrested at Logan For Wearing LED Device https://thetech.com/2007/11/13/simpson-v127-n40 https://thetech.com/2007/11/13/simpson-v127-n40 >Star A. Simpson ’10, wearing a circuit board that lit up and was connected to a battery, was arrested at gunpoint at Logan International Airport this morning and was charged with disorderly conduct and possession of a hoax device. Simpson was released on $750 bail earlier today; her pre-trial hearing is scheduled for Oct. 29, 2007 at 9 a.m. in East Boston District Court. >Simpson (a former Tech photographer) was wearing the device, which included green light-emitting diodes arranged in the shape of a star, during yesterday’s MIT Career Fair. Her defense attorney said she was at the airport to pick up her boyfriend who arrived at Logan this morning. >Simpson approached an information booth in Logan’s Terminal C wearing the light-up device, Assistant Suffolk District Attorney Wayne Margolis said during Simpson’s arraignment today. Margolis also said that Simpson had been wearing the art for at least a few days. >She “said it was a piece of art,” Margolis said, and “refused to answer any more questions.” Jake Wark, spokesperson for the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office, said that Simpson only described the LED lights after she was “repeatedly questioned by the MassPort employee.” Simpson then “roamed briefly around the terminal,” Wark said. Margolis said this caused several Logan employees to flee the building. As Simpson left the building, she disconnected the battery powering the device, according to a press release provided by Wark. >Simpson had five to six ounces of Play-Doh in her hands, State Police Maj. Scott Pare said in a press conference this morning. The Play-Doh could have been mistaken for plastic explosives. [...] Star Simpson Receives Pretrial Probation https://thetech.com/2008/06/06/simpson-v128-n27 https://thetech.com/2008/06/06/simpson-v128-n27 MIT student Star Simpson gets probation in Logan security scare https://www.bostonherald.com/2008/06/02/mit-student-star-simpson-gets-probation-in-logan-security-scare/ https://www.bostonherald.com/2008/06/02/mit-student-star-sim... Boston Airport Bomb Scare Should Scare Scientists https://www.wired.com/2007/09/boston-airport/ https://www.wired.com/2007/09/boston-airport/ Star Simpson, one year after Boston airport terror-scare: unedited BBtv interview transcript https://boingboing.net/2008/09/22/star-simpson-one-yea.html https://boingboing.net/2008/09/22/star-simpson-one-yea.html She's also the genius behind Taco Copter: https://tacocopter.com/ https://tacocopter.com/
Lammy 2y ago
At least two versions of the lost ATHF episode “Boston” are floating around out there. One of them was here: https://old.reddit.com/r/adultswim/comments/13nibvz/the_lost_boston_athf_episode_from_tonight_way/ https://old.reddit.com/r/adultswim/comments/13nibvz/the_lost...
- mmmlinux 2y ago
  Is there anywhere that these actually are available? or did the copyright monster win.
  - Lammy 2y ago
    This one appears to be identical in content to the older 2015 leak I have but is also upscaled https://archive.org/details/aqua-teen-hunger-force-s-05-e-00-boston-bomb-hoax-parody-leaked-unfinished-lost-episode-prob-4.2 https://archive.org/details/aqua-teen-hunger-force-s-05-e-00... And here's the vertical video audience cam that was baleeted from that reddit thread https://archive.org/details/347815378-136606309415117-7366872626834141885-n https://archive.org/details/347815378-136606309415117-736687... The older version feels more (to me) like what an actual episode might have been like and is more poking fun at the context in which the panic took place. The 2023 one is a little too zany over the top directly referencing the panic itself including appearances from the artists.
Animats 2y ago
A few decades ago, I was involved in the Neidorf hacking case [1] as an expert witness. One minor item in evidence was something marked "Tomobiki High School Torture Research Club". That's an anime reference.[3] It's an allusion to the Japanese tendency to have organized school clubs for everything, and in that anime, this is the bullies' group. The prosecution logged the item as an exhibit, as an indication of something bad, but never actually brought it up in court, so it didn't matter. [1] https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/102868.102869 https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/102868.102869 [2] https://uruseiyatsura.fandom.com/wiki/Tomobiki_High_School https://uruseiyatsura.fandom.com/wiki/Tomobiki_High_School
- perihelions 2y ago
  Reminds me of the Cameron Todd Willingham case—an innocent man Texas wrongfully convicted and executed. The prosecutors brought his Iron Maiden poster into evidence in that trial, to paint a picture to the (very conservative 1990's Texas) jury that his heavy metal music interest was an indication of "satanic" evil. - "At one point, Jackson showed Gregory Exhibit No. 60—a photograph of an Iron Maiden poster that had hung in Willingham’s house—and asked the psychologist to interpret it. “This one is a picture of a skull, with a fist being punched through the skull,” Gregory said; the image displayed “violence” and “death.” Gregory looked at photographs of other music posters owned by Willingham. “There’s a hooded skull, with wings and a hatchet,” Gregory continued. “And all of these are in fire, depicting—it reminds me of something like Hell. And there’s a picture—a Led Zeppelin picture of a falling angel. . . . I see there’s an association many times with cultive-type of activities. A focus on death, dying. Many times individuals that have a lot of this type of art have interest in satanic-type activities.”" https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2009/09/07/trial-by-fire https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2009/09/07/trial-by-fire (2009)
  - arcbyte 2y ago
    It doesn't seem at all clear that Willingham was innocent. While his trial maybe shouldn't have happened because of flawed evidence, there has never been another explanation of what happened to leave his children dead under his care and allow him escape relatively unscathed. In fact, while he, in hindsight, probably shouldn't have been executed for murder, he absolutely belongs in jail if for no other reason than the refrigerator positioning which doomed his children as much as anything else.
sanj 2y ago
At the time I lived next door to the “litebrite” bombers. It was disconcerting to arrive home to that many news vans in front of my house.
renewiltord 2y ago
[flagged]
- fsh 2y ago
  The same devices were put up among others in Los Angeles, New York City, Philadelphia, San Francisco, and Portland with zero incidents. So yes, it is surprising that the Boston police decided to treat them like IEDs.
- schwartzworld 2y ago
  It’s a pretty big stretch to connect any of this to the Boston marathon bombing. Literally the only two connections are the words “Boston” and “bomb”.
  - renewiltord 2y ago
    How about the IED part? I thought that was clever. L
deleted 2y ago
[deleted]
jmclnx 2y ago
I happened to be there for a work activity. That night a bunch of us were out and I saw one of those things. I asked if anyone with me know what it was and no one new. We all though it was interesting but strange and moved on :) Never once did the thought of 'danger' entered any of our minds.
benjaminclauss 2y ago
you and your third dimension... what about it? we have 5... thousand.
dang 2y ago
I thought this was discussed on HN at the time but I can't find it. Anyone? Here's what I did find: The 2007 Boston Mooninite Panic - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=37105056 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=37105056 - Aug 2023 (3 comments) https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4003940 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4003940 (May 2012) https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=true&query=mooninite&sort=byDate&type=comment https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=true&que...
- deleted 2y ago
  [deleted]
- deleted 2y ago
  [deleted]
neilv 2y ago
Wasn't the context that people were concerned about terrorist attacks with bombs in high-impact locations, against concentrations of people and key civil infrastructure? And someone decided to be edgy, and intentionally use this context, by placing something that could be mistaken for a bomb made by a crazy person, exactly in those locations? (Or even do those as decoys, to support a separate attack.) Of course the early emergency responses were life-critical urgent, with no one having complete information. And once they did have information, you can see how a company abusing fresh terrorism concerns like that, with what was arguably a hoax attack, for commercial promotion purposes, would still have a lot of explaining to do. Random kids huffing "Chill out, it's just a prank" doesn't make it all OK. And all the dissing of emergency responders, who reasonably had to act as if this might be another terrorist attack, didn't seem very fair, nor thought-out. It might help to look at another Boston terrorism incident, the Boston Marathon bombing. Bombs went off, no one knew the extent of the attack, and, while the crowd was rightly trying to run away from the danger, emergency responders were running towards the explosions, to help protect people. Why mock that? We need that.
- deleted 2y ago
  [deleted]
- anon84873628 2y ago
  Why do you believe "someone decided to be edgy, and intentionally use this context"? How do you know the specific intent? Why weren't they just innocent hand made light up signs?
- parodysbird 2y ago
  What evidence is there that someone intentionally used the context that the installations would be seen as bombs? And on what planet should the first reaction by police to seeing a bunch of obvious LED street art installations as being a massive bomb threat be seen as reasonable? If police think something stupid, it does not mean that stupid thought must be taken as legitimate and acceptable just because they are police. The police should have apologized and taken responsibility for instigating an unnecessary panic.
black_13 2y ago
[dead]
ryukoposting 2y ago
> the ad devices shared some similarities with improvised explosive devices, with them also discovering an identifiable power source, a circuit board with exposed wiring, and electrical tape. Goodness, I'd better clean up my desk. Someone might think it's a bomb!
int0x29 2y ago
> On January 31, 2007, at 8:05 a.m., a civilian spotted one of the devices This phrasing makes it sound like the army that involved.
- MBCook 2y ago
  No, just people who want to pretend they’re military.
gooseyard 2y ago
The closing on the sale of my house in Quincy was that day. I was moving far away immediately after the closing, had my car packed with most of my worldly goods and all I had left to do was to drive up to Reading to sign the papers. Not long before I needed to leave, I happened to check boston.com and saw that 93 was closed, and figured I was doomed as it had been tough selling the house. As it happened both parties arrived way late, and the deal went down. I'm still a little salty about it after all this time.
lambda 2y ago
The even more frustrating part is that the Boston Police learned nothing from this and a few months later arrested Star Simpson for wearing a breadboard with a few LEDs on it to the airport: https://en.m.wikinews.org/wiki/Student_arrested_over_%22art%22_shirt_with_exposed_wiring_at_Boston_Airport https://en.m.wikinews.org/wiki/Student_arrested_over_%22art%...
- immibis 2y ago
  > she is lucky we did not use deadly force because we had machine guns on scene," said authorities during a press conference
  - deleted 2y ago
    [deleted]
  - Simon_ORourke 2y ago
    An overall truthful statement to be fair to the authorities. Perhaps less fair to those at the other end though.
iseanstevens 2y ago
Post the 9/11 PATRIOT act (etc) led to dilution of America’s ideals in various ways, IMHO. I felt like we were in the middle of it. I wanted to call attention to how ridiculous it was - since the attention ended up on me and my friend. Zebbler was in the USA on political asylum at the time and it was made clear he’d be kicked out if we made any more noise after this.
- iseanstevens 2y ago
  I am at least very proud of our improv dealing with the press at least! Especially as I don’t think either of us slept particularly well the night before in holding cells.
  - Tade0 2y ago
    I wonder if the outcome would have been different if the displays featured the Plutonians? I'm sorry, that's not a hair question.
- mrkeen 2y ago
  When Family Guy s21e11 (2023) parodies Sleepless in Seattle (1993), they make a point of mocking the fact that a kid left his backpack behind at the Empire State building, as if an unattended bag in a public area is an unthinkable idea. The show is usually pretty self-aware when it comes to jokes about terrorism and post-911 hysteria, so it was surprising to see this one played straight. It reminded me of the meme that went around in 2007 - "If it isn't an American flag, it's probably a bomb".
  - nonameiguess 2y ago
    I worked at Disneyland in September 2001 and we received instructions at some point warning us the FBI considered us to be the 4th most likely location in the United States to be targeted and telling us to report unattended bags as possible bombs. Left me wondering do they have any idea how many people every day set down a bag and forget about it at Disneyland? If we really cordoned and reported all of these, the Anaheim PD and local FBI would never again do anything else.
pmarreck 2y ago
I was living in Boston at the time and have zero recollection of this, but I'm also Gen X and most of us missed the Aqua Teen Hunger Force train
nickdothutton 2y ago
I learned a lot about the public mind in the USA when this incident broke. I mean this sincerely. Maybe we have not yet had our "Mooninite Panic" in the UK.

201 points by black6 2y ago

I was on an MBTA train on the way home way after my office closed in a panic. We were stopped halfway by the MBTA police and made to stand outside on the platform in the bitter cold while they spent 30-60 minutes running sniffer dogs through the train cars. The whole thing was surreal because I saw the device and knew immediately it was Aqua Teen Hunger Force and not a terrorist threat.

jrochkind1 2y ago

My favorite part of the wikipedia article: > On February 27, 2007, a month after the incident, the Boston police bomb squad detonated another suspected bomb, which turned out to be a city-owned traffic counter [34]

leoh 2y ago

Shockingly, the Aqua Teen Hunger Force “Boston” episode which mocks the whole incident is available on archive.org. https://archive.org/details/Bostonaquateenhungerforce https://archive.org/details/Bostonaquateenhungerforce

alsetmusic 2y ago

I remember this fiasco. We were peak see-something-say-something (or maybe just beyond that) in post-9/11 USA. Absolute paranoia. People who lived in the middle of nowhere were afraid of terrorist attacks, as though high population urban centers wouldn’t be the real targets. See also: Freedumb Fries[0] 0. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freedom_fries https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freedom_fries

garciansmith 2y ago
Yep. The Mario question blocks put up by some teenagers in Ravenna, Ohio, in 2006 was a similar situation. https://www.eurogamer.net/news030406marioprank https://www.eurogamer.net/news030406marioprank
- paulryanrogers 2y ago
  A bunch appeared in our local park's hiking trail. Though I think it was an approved event based on some of the signage around at the time. It is a shame that unapproved ads can litter public spaces with little or no consequence, but not art.
  - dghlsakjg 2y ago
    You should read the article you are talking about. It wasn’t an ad campaign. It was a bunch of teenage fans doing something creative for fun. Ya know, art!
    - paulryanrogers 2y ago
      Why do you think I didn't? I know the article is about art. My point was art like that should be welcomed or at least not prosecuted, as it seems advertising is today.
alistairSH 2y ago
Somebody at my office printed and posted a pile of “Wombats are everywhere, if you see something, say something” posters, with an image of a wombat. People lost their shit over it and he got a reprimand. I thought it was hysterical. Wombats don’t live in DC. People are so over-sensitive.
- bagels 2y ago
  What's there to be upset about? Do they think this person controls the wombats?
  - alistairSH 2y ago
    Beats me. I guess some people have no sense for the absurd.
astura 2y ago
This was dumb, but 2007 was many years past peak post-9/11 paranoia. Almost everyone who wasn't Boston PD or the media thought this was a gross overreaction to what was basically a Lite-Brite at the time. Don't forget, they were placed in other major cities across the country without incident.
vundercind 2y ago
> We were peak see-something-say-something (or maybe just beyond that) My recollection is we were pretty solidly past that period by the time this happened, and that’s part of why it was so ridiculous. If this had happened in like ‘02 or maybe ‘03 I think folks wouldn’t have thought it quite so silly that the authorities responded the way they did.

tumnus 2y ago

This really was peak marketing idiocy. I knew people who worked at Cartoon Network at the time. Jim Samples' disconnect and subsequent resignation reverberated down the ranks and tanked a lot of careers and projects. Who would think that strapping battery operated devices to bridges with duct tape in any post-9/11 city would be a good idea?

miah_ 2y ago
It was a LED moonite. It wasn't scary at all.
aaron695 2y ago
[dead]
bagels 2y ago
It's outrageous that anyone resigned or was fired over this other than city employees of Boston for lying about a stupid sign.
almostgotcaught 2y ago
> battery operated devices I love when people clutch pearls and say exaggerated things to justify it. What does "battery operated" even mean lolol. Is the phrase supposed to conjure images of IEDs or what? They were battery powered LED signs https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/2007_Boston_Mooninite_panic https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/2007_Boston_Mooninite_panic
- joemi 2y ago
  The very first sentence of the article you linked states that they were mistaken for IEDs.
  - almostgotcaught 2y ago
    I'm aware and what we're debating here is whether it was a rational reaction (not whether it happened).

dmead 2y ago

My steam icon is still errr from this incident. Never forget.

ganoushoreilly 2y ago
"Obey the Moon and its mighty wisdom. Ignore it, and be vaporized."
- dmead 2y ago
  We have vast fields and amber waves of marajuana on the moon.
selimthegrim 2y ago
My late freshman roommate and I made Mooninites out of clear plastic blocks as one of the first things to decorate our room at Caltech. We had moved on to different roommates by the time this happened but we had kept the plastic Mooninites so naturally, we thought it was hilarious.
- dmead 2y ago
  yo watch out. you might get arrested

lazystar 2y ago

hah. the best press conference of all time was held by the marketing guys after they were "caught". they refused to answer questions about anything other than their hair, and i remember some witty reporter asking them what theyd do about their hair if they went to jail. caught them off guard, hah. edit - here it is, beautiful https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=X2fGzmphx4U https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=X2fGzmphx4U

miah_ 2y ago
They had amazing hair. I loved all their hair commentary. Best response to a literal media circus.
KennyBlanken 2y ago
It was less beautiful if you spent two hours stuffed into a subway car (because at first they kept trains moving toward where the device was, but they were slowed, so we stopped at two packed stations full of people who were going to be late for work.)
- foobarchu 2y ago
  I'm sure it was, and it's pretty clear BPD is who your frustration should have been directed at.
- marcusb 2y ago
  Was that the fault of the kids at the press conference, or the absolute morons who mistook small LED signs for bombs?
  - stouset 2y ago
    Yes but those signs had WIRES and BATTERIES, which are clear indicators of sinister intent.
    - marcus0x62 2y ago
      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ahmed_Mohamed_clock_incident https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ahmed_Mohamed_clock_incident

nirmal 2y ago

I was taking a class around this time that involved programming and Atari 2600. I made a game based around this event. http://nirmalpatel.com/hacks/atari.html http://nirmalpatel.com/hacks/atari.html

ChrisArchitect 2y ago

A previous submission from a year ago has an interesting comment from someone involved: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=37105056 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=37105056

dang 2y ago
Definitely one for https://news.ycombinator.com/highlights https://news.ycombinator.com/highlights.
BonoboIO 2y ago
Wow … this escalated quickly.
skeaker 2y ago
That interview is brilliant. The reporters trying to smear the two made such fools of themselves. My favorite bit is when a reported said "This isn't gathering much sympathy with the public," but here we are looking back on it and laughing at the moronic reporters instead. Love to see it
- MBCook 2y ago
  Wow. I’ve never seen that video before, I was laughing very hard. I remember when that happened and how incredibly obvious it was that it was a massive overreaction.
- gonzobonzo 2y ago
  > My favorite bit is when a reported said "This isn't gathering much sympathy with the public," but here we are looking back on it and laughing at the moronic reporters instead. Here. I have relatives who are overly trusting of the mainstream media, and they were convinced that these people were intentionally trying to make the devices look like bombs in order to garner publicity. I tried to explain things to them, but to no avail.
- ethbr1 2y ago
  >> "That's not a hair question, I'm sorry." >> Reporter: "Are you afraid that if... uh... you go to prison, you'll get your hair cut?" >> "Umm. That's a very good question. I think... I think... the laws in this country are still pretty comfy as to... as to that. I think there will... whatever happens, I feel like my hair is safe at the moment. So, any other hair questions are definitely welcome." This reporter got the assignment. Also, what balls to be charged with trumped up terrorism charges and stand your ground on the "This is ridiculous, so we're going to be ridiculous" front in the face of reporters trying to make it seem like This Is No Laughing Matter.

voidfunc 2y ago

Never forget haha. I remember my parents being mildly outraged about this. 18 year old me thought it was fucking hilarious.

christophilus 2y ago
18 year old you was right. I was already a fan of the show before this stunt, but this put it into legendary status.

nlh 2y ago

Heh. My roommate (in NYC) at the time was involved-enough in this that one of the actual "devices" appeared in our apartment a few weeks later and surreptitiously remained for many years, fully working in its Lite-brite/LED glory. It made for an excellent conversation piece for those that knew, and a weird piece of LED art for those that didn't. Edit: I found pictures! Sorry they were shot on a potatocam (2008 era) but here she is: https://imgur.com/2DcutSE https://imgur.com/2DcutSE https://imgur.com/H76RQq6 https://imgur.com/H76RQq6

dpifke 2y ago
For anyone who wants their own replica: https://wiki.evilmadscientist.com/Peggy_2 https://wiki.evilmadscientist.com/Peggy_2

DonHopkins 2y ago

In September 2007, several months after the Mooninite Panic, MIT student Star Simpson was arrested at Boston Logan Airport for wearing an electronic LED device and holding Play-Doh. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_Simpson https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_Simpson >Shortly after arriving on the MIT campus, she met a student group called MITERS (the MIT Electronic Research Society).[3] >In September 2007 while a student at MIT, several months after the Boston Mooninite Panic, Simpson created an electronic fashion sweatshirt featuring a colored, glowing name tag.[4][5] While wearing this sweatshirt during a visit to Boston Logan Airport, Simpson was arrested at gunpoint and charged with the possession of a hoax device, a charge that was dropped by prosecutors a year later.[6][7][8] In an echo of MIT's official later treatment of Aaron Swartz, the MIT media office released a statement condemning and disavowing Simpson's actions before she was even released from questioning.[9][10] >Simpson studied at MIT between 2006 and 2010. She returned to MIT in 2015 to speak about her experience at an MIT conference on the Freedom to Innovate.[11] >In 2017, MIT established a "disobedience" award to reward forms of disobedience that benefit society, as demonstrated by Simpson while a student at MIT.[12] MIT Sophomore Arrested at Logan For Wearing LED Device https://thetech.com/2007/11/13/simpson-v127-n40 https://thetech.com/2007/11/13/simpson-v127-n40 >Star A. Simpson ’10, wearing a circuit board that lit up and was connected to a battery, was arrested at gunpoint at Logan International Airport this morning and was charged with disorderly conduct and possession of a hoax device. Simpson was released on $750 bail earlier today; her pre-trial hearing is scheduled for Oct. 29, 2007 at 9 a.m. in East Boston District Court. >Simpson (a former Tech photographer) was wearing the device, which included green light-emitting diodes arranged in the shape of a star, during yesterday’s MIT Career Fair. Her defense attorney said she was at the airport to pick up her boyfriend who arrived at Logan this morning. >Simpson approached an information booth in Logan’s Terminal C wearing the light-up device, Assistant Suffolk District Attorney Wayne Margolis said during Simpson’s arraignment today. Margolis also said that Simpson had been wearing the art for at least a few days. >She “said it was a piece of art,” Margolis said, and “refused to answer any more questions.” Jake Wark, spokesperson for the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office, said that Simpson only described the LED lights after she was “repeatedly questioned by the MassPort employee.” Simpson then “roamed briefly around the terminal,” Wark said. Margolis said this caused several Logan employees to flee the building. As Simpson left the building, she disconnected the battery powering the device, according to a press release provided by Wark. >Simpson had five to six ounces of Play-Doh in her hands, State Police Maj. Scott Pare said in a press conference this morning. The Play-Doh could have been mistaken for plastic explosives. [...] Star Simpson Receives Pretrial Probation https://thetech.com/2008/06/06/simpson-v128-n27 https://thetech.com/2008/06/06/simpson-v128-n27 MIT student Star Simpson gets probation in Logan security scare https://www.bostonherald.com/2008/06/02/mit-student-star-simpson-gets-probation-in-logan-security-scare/ https://www.bostonherald.com/2008/06/02/mit-student-star-sim... Boston Airport Bomb Scare Should Scare Scientists https://www.wired.com/2007/09/boston-airport/ https://www.wired.com/2007/09/boston-airport/ Star Simpson, one year after Boston airport terror-scare: unedited BBtv interview transcript https://boingboing.net/2008/09/22/star-simpson-one-yea.html https://boingboing.net/2008/09/22/star-simpson-one-yea.html She's also the genius behind Taco Copter: https://tacocopter.com/ https://tacocopter.com/

Lammy 2y ago

At least two versions of the lost ATHF episode “Boston” are floating around out there. One of them was here: https://old.reddit.com/r/adultswim/comments/13nibvz/the_lost_boston_athf_episode_from_tonight_way/ https://old.reddit.com/r/adultswim/comments/13nibvz/the_lost...

mmmlinux 2y ago
Is there anywhere that these actually are available? or did the copyright monster win.
- Lammy 2y ago
  This one appears to be identical in content to the older 2015 leak I have but is also upscaled https://archive.org/details/aqua-teen-hunger-force-s-05-e-00-boston-bomb-hoax-parody-leaked-unfinished-lost-episode-prob-4.2 https://archive.org/details/aqua-teen-hunger-force-s-05-e-00... And here's the vertical video audience cam that was baleeted from that reddit thread https://archive.org/details/347815378-136606309415117-7366872626834141885-n https://archive.org/details/347815378-136606309415117-736687... The older version feels more (to me) like what an actual episode might have been like and is more poking fun at the context in which the panic took place. The 2023 one is a little too zany over the top directly referencing the panic itself including appearances from the artists.

Animats 2y ago

A few decades ago, I was involved in the Neidorf hacking case [1] as an expert witness. One minor item in evidence was something marked "Tomobiki High School Torture Research Club". That's an anime reference.[3] It's an allusion to the Japanese tendency to have organized school clubs for everything, and in that anime, this is the bullies' group. The prosecution logged the item as an exhibit, as an indication of something bad, but never actually brought it up in court, so it didn't matter. [1] https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/102868.102869 https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/102868.102869 [2] https://uruseiyatsura.fandom.com/wiki/Tomobiki_High_School https://uruseiyatsura.fandom.com/wiki/Tomobiki_High_School

perihelions 2y ago
Reminds me of the Cameron Todd Willingham case—an innocent man Texas wrongfully convicted and executed. The prosecutors brought his Iron Maiden poster into evidence in that trial, to paint a picture to the (very conservative 1990's Texas) jury that his heavy metal music interest was an indication of "satanic" evil. - "At one point, Jackson showed Gregory Exhibit No. 60—a photograph of an Iron Maiden poster that had hung in Willingham’s house—and asked the psychologist to interpret it. “This one is a picture of a skull, with a fist being punched through the skull,” Gregory said; the image displayed “violence” and “death.” Gregory looked at photographs of other music posters owned by Willingham. “There’s a hooded skull, with wings and a hatchet,” Gregory continued. “And all of these are in fire, depicting—it reminds me of something like Hell. And there’s a picture—a Led Zeppelin picture of a falling angel. . . . I see there’s an association many times with cultive-type of activities. A focus on death, dying. Many times individuals that have a lot of this type of art have interest in satanic-type activities.”" https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2009/09/07/trial-by-fire https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2009/09/07/trial-by-fire (2009)
- arcbyte 2y ago
  It doesn't seem at all clear that Willingham was innocent. While his trial maybe shouldn't have happened because of flawed evidence, there has never been another explanation of what happened to leave his children dead under his care and allow him escape relatively unscathed. In fact, while he, in hindsight, probably shouldn't have been executed for murder, he absolutely belongs in jail if for no other reason than the refrigerator positioning which doomed his children as much as anything else.

sanj 2y ago

At the time I lived next door to the “litebrite” bombers. It was disconcerting to arrive home to that many news vans in front of my house.

renewiltord 2y ago

[flagged]

fsh 2y ago
The same devices were put up among others in Los Angeles, New York City, Philadelphia, San Francisco, and Portland with zero incidents. So yes, it is surprising that the Boston police decided to treat them like IEDs.
schwartzworld 2y ago
It’s a pretty big stretch to connect any of this to the Boston marathon bombing. Literally the only two connections are the words “Boston” and “bomb”.
- renewiltord 2y ago
  How about the IED part? I thought that was clever. L

deleted 2y ago

[deleted]

jmclnx 2y ago

I happened to be there for a work activity. That night a bunch of us were out and I saw one of those things. I asked if anyone with me know what it was and no one new. We all though it was interesting but strange and moved on :) Never once did the thought of 'danger' entered any of our minds.

benjaminclauss 2y ago

you and your third dimension... what about it? we have 5... thousand.

dang 2y ago

I thought this was discussed on HN at the time but I can't find it. Anyone? Here's what I did find: The 2007 Boston Mooninite Panic - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=37105056 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=37105056 - Aug 2023 (3 comments) https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4003940 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4003940 (May 2012) https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=true&query=mooninite&sort=byDate&type=comment https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=true&que...

deleted 2y ago
[deleted]
deleted 2y ago
[deleted]

neilv 2y ago

Wasn't the context that people were concerned about terrorist attacks with bombs in high-impact locations, against concentrations of people and key civil infrastructure? And someone decided to be edgy, and intentionally use this context, by placing something that could be mistaken for a bomb made by a crazy person, exactly in those locations? (Or even do those as decoys, to support a separate attack.) Of course the early emergency responses were life-critical urgent, with no one having complete information. And once they did have information, you can see how a company abusing fresh terrorism concerns like that, with what was arguably a hoax attack, for commercial promotion purposes, would still have a lot of explaining to do. Random kids huffing "Chill out, it's just a prank" doesn't make it all OK. And all the dissing of emergency responders, who reasonably had to act as if this might be another terrorist attack, didn't seem very fair, nor thought-out. It might help to look at another Boston terrorism incident, the Boston Marathon bombing. Bombs went off, no one knew the extent of the attack, and, while the crowd was rightly trying to run away from the danger, emergency responders were running towards the explosions, to help protect people. Why mock that? We need that.

deleted 2y ago
[deleted]
anon84873628 2y ago
Why do you believe "someone decided to be edgy, and intentionally use this context"? How do you know the specific intent? Why weren't they just innocent hand made light up signs?
parodysbird 2y ago
What evidence is there that someone intentionally used the context that the installations would be seen as bombs? And on what planet should the first reaction by police to seeing a bunch of obvious LED street art installations as being a massive bomb threat be seen as reasonable? If police think something stupid, it does not mean that stupid thought must be taken as legitimate and acceptable just because they are police. The police should have apologized and taken responsibility for instigating an unnecessary panic.

black_13 2y ago

[dead]

ryukoposting 2y ago

> the ad devices shared some similarities with improvised explosive devices, with them also discovering an identifiable power source, a circuit board with exposed wiring, and electrical tape. Goodness, I'd better clean up my desk. Someone might think it's a bomb!

int0x29 2y ago

> On January 31, 2007, at 8:05 a.m., a civilian spotted one of the devices This phrasing makes it sound like the army that involved.

MBCook 2y ago
No, just people who want to pretend they’re military.

gooseyard 2y ago

The closing on the sale of my house in Quincy was that day. I was moving far away immediately after the closing, had my car packed with most of my worldly goods and all I had left to do was to drive up to Reading to sign the papers. Not long before I needed to leave, I happened to check boston.com and saw that 93 was closed, and figured I was doomed as it had been tough selling the house. As it happened both parties arrived way late, and the deal went down. I'm still a little salty about it after all this time.

lambda 2y ago

The even more frustrating part is that the Boston Police learned nothing from this and a few months later arrested Star Simpson for wearing a breadboard with a few LEDs on it to the airport: https://en.m.wikinews.org/wiki/Student_arrested_over_%22art%22_shirt_with_exposed_wiring_at_Boston_Airport https://en.m.wikinews.org/wiki/Student_arrested_over_%22art%...

immibis 2y ago
> she is lucky we did not use deadly force because we had machine guns on scene," said authorities during a press conference
- deleted 2y ago
  [deleted]
- Simon_ORourke 2y ago
  An overall truthful statement to be fair to the authorities. Perhaps less fair to those at the other end though.

iseanstevens 2y ago

Post the 9/11 PATRIOT act (etc) led to dilution of America’s ideals in various ways, IMHO. I felt like we were in the middle of it. I wanted to call attention to how ridiculous it was - since the attention ended up on me and my friend. Zebbler was in the USA on political asylum at the time and it was made clear he’d be kicked out if we made any more noise after this.

iseanstevens 2y ago
I am at least very proud of our improv dealing with the press at least! Especially as I don’t think either of us slept particularly well the night before in holding cells.
- Tade0 2y ago
  I wonder if the outcome would have been different if the displays featured the Plutonians? I'm sorry, that's not a hair question.
mrkeen 2y ago
When Family Guy s21e11 (2023) parodies Sleepless in Seattle (1993), they make a point of mocking the fact that a kid left his backpack behind at the Empire State building, as if an unattended bag in a public area is an unthinkable idea. The show is usually pretty self-aware when it comes to jokes about terrorism and post-911 hysteria, so it was surprising to see this one played straight. It reminded me of the meme that went around in 2007 - "If it isn't an American flag, it's probably a bomb".
- nonameiguess 2y ago
  I worked at Disneyland in September 2001 and we received instructions at some point warning us the FBI considered us to be the 4th most likely location in the United States to be targeted and telling us to report unattended bags as possible bombs. Left me wondering do they have any idea how many people every day set down a bag and forget about it at Disneyland? If we really cordoned and reported all of these, the Anaheim PD and local FBI would never again do anything else.

pmarreck 2y ago

I was living in Boston at the time and have zero recollection of this, but I'm also Gen X and most of us missed the Aqua Teen Hunger Force train

nickdothutton 2y ago

I learned a lot about the public mind in the USA when this incident broke. I mean this sincerely. Maybe we have not yet had our "Mooninite Panic" in the UK.