# Aqua Teen "hoax" in Boston **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [January 31, 2007, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aqua-teen-hoax-in-boston/390326 "2007-01-31T21:29:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 20
**Author:** ![Sal\_Ammoniac](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8dc957/32.png) [@Sal\_Ammoniac](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sal_Ammoniac)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2007, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aqua-teen-hoax-in-boston/390326/381 "2007-02-02T19:57:22Z")
There’s a good [timeline](http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/gallery/bomb_scare_timeline/) here. You got e-mails? You lucky stiff. I got nothing. ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2007, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aqua-teen-hoax-in-boston/390326/382 "2007-02-02T20:02:03Z")
from the Boston Globe article: > [@](#): > > Cobb said the company supplied a list of 52 intended and 10 actual locations of the signs in Atlanta. But when police canvassed those areas Wednesday night, no signs were recovered, he said. **Cobb said the only one that could have caused concern because of its location was on a bridge overpass, but police received no calls about it**. That’s the one I saw in Atlanta. It is within a block of a large police station, and police cars drive past that location at frequent intervals (every 5 minutes or so). None of them mistook the Lite Brite for a bomb, apparently. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2007, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aqua-teen-hoax-in-boston/390326/383 "2007-02-02T20:04:37Z")
[QUOTE=Sal Ammoniac] **Fear Itself** , I misread your previous post – twice, even. I finally figured out what you are getting at. And my answer is, the situations were different. From the Boston Globe: “In six of the nine other cities where the Turner Broadcasting System guerrilla ads were installed, they were not placed on or near major highways, bridges, or transit hubs, as they were in Boston. Law enforcement officials in other cities and in Boston said yesterday that the difference helps to explain the vastly different responses.” [/QUOTE] As I showed earlier, the situations in Seattle and Chicago (and, on preview, Atlanta) weren’t all that different. ---
**Author:** ![Sal\_Ammoniac](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8dc957/32.png) [@Sal\_Ammoniac](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sal_Ammoniac)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2007, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aqua-teen-hoax-in-boston/390326/384 "2007-02-02T20:05:07Z")
[QUOTE=spoke-] from the Boston Globe article: That’s the one I saw in Atlanta. It is within a block of a large police station, and police cars drive past that location at frequent intervals (every 5 minutes or so). None of them mistook the Lite Brite for a bomb, apparently. [/QUOTE] And are you prepared to say the device was identical, and identically placed, to the one that caused the initial report in Boston’s Sullivan Square? No, of course you aren’t, because you have no idea. ---
**Author:** ![Sal\_Ammoniac](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8dc957/32.png) [@Sal\_Ammoniac](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sal_Ammoniac)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2007, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aqua-teen-hoax-in-boston/390326/385 "2007-02-02T20:07:58Z")
[QUOTE=Lute Skywatcher] As I showed earlier, the situations in Seattle and Chicago (and, on preview, Atlanta) weren’t all that different. [/QUOTE] Between “not all that different” and “identical” is a gulf as wide as the Atlantic. I’m beginning to think it’s bizarre that people keep bringing up these comparisons when they in fact have no idea how meaningful they even are. And the obvious implication of the comparisons is that the police in Boston are simply stupider than those in Atlanta, Chicago, Seattle, wherever. Why on earth should that be? ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2007, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aqua-teen-hoax-in-boston/390326/386 "2007-02-02T20:09:29Z")
[QUOTE=Sal Ammoniac] There’s a good [timeline](http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/gallery/bomb_scare_timeline/) here. You got e-mails? You lucky stiff. I got nothing. [/QUOTE] Thanks for that. It’s a little hard to read, and some items are out of order. But it’s comprehensive. I thought you and I work for the same parent company, but the e-mails I got were addressed only to this institution. Try sending a message via Outlook to tpn, with the header “SDMB test.” I want to see if I get it. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2007, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aqua-teen-hoax-in-boston/390326/387 "2007-02-02T20:12:55Z")
[QUOTE=Sal Ammoniac] And the obvious implication of the comparisons is that the police in Boston are simply stupider than those in Atlanta, Chicago, Seattle, wherever. Why on earth should that be? [/QUOTE] Two words: Bill Buckner. ---
**Author:** ![Kokopilau](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@Kokopilau](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kokopilau)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2007, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aqua-teen-hoax-in-boston/390326/388 "2007-02-02T20:18:19Z")
[QUOTE=Sal Ammoniac] And the obvious implication of the comparisons is that the police in Boston are simply stupider than those in Atlanta, Chicago, Seattle, wherever. Why on earth should that be? [/QUOTE] I don’t know, maybe because out of ten cities where these things were placed, only Boston closed roads, held a press conference, and charged two artists because they thought LiteBrites with a cartoon character flipping the bird were bombs. That might have something to do with it. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2007, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aqua-teen-hoax-in-boston/390326/389 "2007-02-02T20:20:50Z")
[QUOTE=Kokopilau] That might have something to do with it. [/QUOTE] That addresses _because_ they’re stupider. It doesn’t address _why_. ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2007, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aqua-teen-hoax-in-boston/390326/390 "2007-02-02T20:22:37Z")
[QUOTE=Sal Ammoniac] And are you prepared to say the device was identical, and identically placed, to the one that caused the initial report in Boston’s Sullivan Square? No, of course you aren’t, because you have no idea. [/QUOTE] It was the same as the devices in Boston as far as I can see. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2007, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aqua-teen-hoax-in-boston/390326/391 "2007-02-02T20:22:54Z")
[QUOTE=Sal Ammoniac] Between “not all that different” and “identical” is a gulf as wide as the Atlantic. [/quote] The point is that the situation in Boston wasn’t as unique as you are trying to portray. On or near bridges: Seattle, Atlanta, Chicago & Boston; unknown for other cities. On or near public transportation: Chicago & Boston; unknown for other cities. On or near a major highway? Boston; unknown for other cities. > [@](#): > > I’m beginning to think it’s bizarre that people keep bringing up these comparisons when they in fact have no idea how meaningful they even are. I’m beginning to think that the hole you’re digging is going to end up in the South Pacific. > [@](#): > > And the obvious implication of the comparisons is that the police in Boston are simply stupider than those in Atlanta, Chicago, Seattle, wherever. Why on earth should that be? Because you are completely missing the point. ---
**Author:** ![Sal\_Ammoniac](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8dc957/32.png) [@Sal\_Ammoniac](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sal_Ammoniac)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2007, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aqua-teen-hoax-in-boston/390326/392 "2007-02-02T20:33:46Z")
So tell me why I should think that you, who obviously didn’t see the device planted in Sullivan Square, should be trusted as a more reliable guide to what it looked like than the Boston Police bomb squad, who did. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2007, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aqua-teen-hoax-in-boston/390326/393 "2007-02-02T20:37:00Z")
[QUOTE=Lute Skywatcher] Because you are completely missing the point. [/QUOTE] Obviously it’s you who is missing it. He didn’t ask whether the cops here did something stupid. He’s asking WHY they’re stupider. BEFORE the events of 1/31. I’ve asked it several times myself much earlier, and no one has yet answered it. Is it something in the water? Donut ingredients? Inferior training? ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2007, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aqua-teen-hoax-in-boston/390326/394 "2007-02-02T20:41:46Z")
> [@Sal Ammoniac](#): > > So tell me why I should think that you, who obviously didn’t see the device planted in Sullivan Square, should be trusted as a more reliable guide to what it looked like than the Boston Police bomb squad, who did. I’ve seen the pictures of the devices used in Boston. Didn’t seem any different from the one I saw in Atlanta. And I for one am not saying the Boston police are _stupid_. A little too _tightly-wound_ maybe… ---
**Author:** ![Sal\_Ammoniac](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8dc957/32.png) [@Sal\_Ammoniac](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sal_Ammoniac)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2007, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aqua-teen-hoax-in-boston/390326/395 "2007-02-02T20:47:05Z")
Great! Good enough for me. Next time I see something suspicious, I won’t bother calling the local police, I’ll just contact a random person through the Internet who’ll be able to tell me, “Well, it sounds like what you’re describing is similar to something I saw the other day that was perfectly innocuous. I wouldn’t worry about it.” The feeling of comfort that this decision brings to me is indescribable. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2007, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aqua-teen-hoax-in-boston/390326/396 "2007-02-02T20:48:58Z")
[QUOTE=tdn] Obviously it’s you who is missing it. He didn’t ask whether the cops here did something stupid. He’s asking WHY they’re stupider. BEFORE the events of 1/31. I’ve asked it several times myself much earlier, and no one has yet answered it. Is it something in the water? Donut ingredients? Inferior training? [/QUOTE] I blame the baked beans. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2007, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aqua-teen-hoax-in-boston/390326/397 "2007-02-02T20:49:55Z")
[QUOTE=tdn] Obviously it’s you who is missing it. He didn’t ask whether the cops here did something stupid. He’s asking WHY they’re stupider. BEFORE the events of 1/31. I’ve asked it several times myself much earlier, and no one has yet answered it. [/QUOTE] Maybe because it’s the wrong question. There has to be a claim of stupidity on the part of the Boston authorities before anyone can say _why_ they’re stupider. I’ve seen no such claim so I say **Sal** is missing the point. ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2007, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aqua-teen-hoax-in-boston/390326/398 "2007-02-02T20:51:30Z")
**Sal** , it sounds like you have exactly the police you want. Good for you! ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2007, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aqua-teen-hoax-in-boston/390326/399 "2007-02-02T20:53:02Z")
[QUOTE=Lute Skywatcher] I’ve seen no such claim so I say **Sal** is missing the point. [/QUOTE] The claim was implied, but let’s back up for a second. If Boston cops aren’t any stupider, then why did they handle the situation differently? ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2007, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aqua-teen-hoax-in-boston/390326/400 "2007-02-02T20:53:08Z")
[QUOTE=Sal Ammoniac] Great! Good enough for me. Next time I see something suspicious, I won’t bother calling the local police, I’ll just contact a random person through the Internet who’ll be able to tell me, “Well, it sounds like what you’re describing is similar to something I saw the other day that was perfectly innocuous. I wouldn’t worry about it.” [/QUOTE] Depends on what you consider _suspicious_. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aqua-teen-hoax-in-boston/390326.md?page=19) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aqua-teen-hoax-in-boston/390326.md?page=21)