# L.A. Pipe Bomb Hysteria **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [April 7, 2011, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/l-a-pipe-bomb-hysteria/577546 "2011-04-07T17:43:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![MikeF](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@MikeF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MikeF)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2011, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/l-a-pipe-bomb-hysteria/577546/1 "2011-04-07T17:43:29Z")
O.K. It seems a pipe bomb or something exploded at a Jewish temple in LA. Fox news would have you believe this is a huge news story. Helicopters are flying over the scene! A piece of the device landed on the roof of a neighboring building! OMG! The sky is falling! No one was hurt. Apparently, very little damage. What’s the big deal, Fox? ---
**Author:** ![PlainJain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/5daacb/32.png) [@PlainJain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PlainJain)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2011, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/l-a-pipe-bomb-hysteria/577546/2 "2011-04-07T17:46:29Z")
> [@MikeF](#): > > What’s the big deal, Fox? Ummm, it’s Fox. ---
**Author:** ![Sicks\_Ate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/258eb7/32.png) [@Sicks\_Ate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sicks_Ate)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2011, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/l-a-pipe-bomb-hysteria/577546/3 "2011-04-07T17:48:04Z")
Would it be a big deal if the same thing had happened at a mosque? ---
**Author:** ![Electric\_Warrior](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee7513/32.png) [@Electric\_Warrior](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Electric_Warrior)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2011, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/l-a-pipe-bomb-hysteria/577546/4 "2011-04-07T19:22:56Z")
Um, this _is_ kind of a big deal in my opinion. And yes it would be a big deal at a mosque. A pipe bomb pretty well implies intent to harm a lot of people, and dropping it on a place of worship suggests ideological motivations. I think that’s terrorism defined, and we should pay attention to where and why our attempts at stopping terrorism fail. ---
**Author:** ![Oakminster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/77aa72/32.png) [@Oakminster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oakminster)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2011, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/l-a-pipe-bomb-hysteria/577546/5 "2011-04-07T19:38:24Z")
Nothing about it on the CNN website ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2011, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/l-a-pipe-bomb-hysteria/577546/6 "2011-04-07T19:40:39Z")
Any kind of bomb is uncommon in L.A. What do you think it is, Baghdad? ---
**Author:** ![B.Serum](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/b.serum/32/14266_2.png) [@B.Serum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/B.Serum)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2011, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/l-a-pipe-bomb-hysteria/577546/7 "2011-04-07T20:19:35Z")
[Wasn’t a bomb.](http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2011/04/blast-near-chabad-house-in-santa-monica-was-not-caused-by-bomb.html) ---
**Author:** ![Electric\_Warrior](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee7513/32.png) [@Electric\_Warrior](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Electric_Warrior)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2011, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/l-a-pipe-bomb-hysteria/577546/8 "2011-04-07T21:16:26Z")
Ah, in that case yeah, Fox was being ridiculous for preemptively declaring it a bomb. ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2011, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/l-a-pipe-bomb-hysteria/577546/9 "2011-04-07T23:41:27Z")
> [@Electric\_Warrior](#): > > Ah, in that case yeah, Fox was being ridiculous for preemptively declaring it a bomb. Actually, in spite of my previous post, bombs are pretty common around Hollywood, but they usually sink without a trace. They are also frequently confused with turkeys. ---
**Author:** ![guizot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guizot/32/3636_2.png) [@guizot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/guizot)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2011, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/l-a-pipe-bomb-hysteria/577546/10 "2011-04-07T23:59:01Z")
> [@Musicat](#): > > Actually, in spite of my previous post, bombs are pretty common around Hollywood, but they usually sink without a trace… You can (try to ) be funny, but it happens. When I lived around the corner from Franklin and Western, they found a bomb in the trunk of a car at the gas station there. So they locked down the neighborhood, and towed in this huge metal canister-like thing which they threw the device into. They the exploded it inside, and everyone went home. ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2011, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/l-a-pipe-bomb-hysteria/577546/11 "2011-04-08T00:44:18Z")
> [@guizot](#): > > You can (try to ) be funny, but it happens. When I lived around the corner from Franklin and Western, they found a bomb in the trunk of a car at the gas station there. So they locked down the neighborhood, and towed in this huge metal canister-like thing which they threw the device into. They the exploded it inside, and everyone went home. Maybe things have changed, but I lived in L.A. for 30 years, and I can’t recall any terrorist bomb going off. There was a bomb scare once at Shakey’s on Laurel Canyon, but it turned out to be a hoax. ---
**Author:** ![B.Serum](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/b.serum/32/14266_2.png) [@B.Serum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/B.Serum)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2011, 5:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/l-a-pipe-bomb-hysteria/577546/12 "2011-04-09T05:20:46Z")
> [@B.Serum](#): > > [Wasn’t a bomb.](http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2011/04/blast-near-chabad-house-in-santa-monica-was-not-caused-by-bomb.html) [Was too.](http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2011/04/santa-monica-synagogue-explosion.html) ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2011, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/l-a-pipe-bomb-hysteria/577546/13 "2011-04-12T17:14:19Z")
> [@B.Serum](#): > > [Was too.](http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2011/04/santa-monica-synagogue-explosion.html) I thought it looked like pipe encased in concrete. Where did someone get the idea it was space junk? ---
**Author:** ![Rhythmdvl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/85f322/32.png) [@Rhythmdvl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhythmdvl)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2011, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/l-a-pipe-bomb-hysteria/577546/14 "2011-04-13T02:59:44Z")
> [@Magiver](#): > > I thought it looked like pipe encased in concrete. Where did someone get the idea it was space junk? It was Sally. (And now I’m mad.)