Something very funny happened in Boston.
Of course, to some people, it must not have seemed funny at all. Apparently, it seemed like the beginning of the end.
On January 31, 2007, after seeing some strange devices placed inconspicuously around strategic parts of the city of Boston (on bridges, landmarks and areas of high human traffic), an area resident, whom locals have taken to naming, “some idiot,” called in what was perceived to be a bomb.
The city’s response was swift. Bridges were closed and the Coast Guard shut down all traffic on the Charles River. I-93 Northbound was also shut down, however since I-93 hasn’t actually had moving traffic since 1972, no one was able to notice the difference. As for the mysterious devices themselves, police detonated them with explosives, blasted them with water cannons and took many pictures.
Why is that worth mentioning? Well, out of all these photos taken for painstaking analysis by both public and private institutions, no one seemed to notice that the ‘bomb’ was just a Lite-Brite display of an “Aqua Teen Hunger Force” character flipping the bird.
That’s right, Boston’s finest completely lost it over lit up versions of the Ignignokt and Err, perhaps better known as the “Aqua Teen Hunger Force” characters, the Mooninites. Maybe this could all have turned out to be one big funny ha-ha (not to say that it’s not already) if things had stopped there.
The cops could have just gone, “Whoops, our bad,” and that would have been the end of that. This probably would have worked out best for the BPD, as they did mistake an LED for an IED (improvised explosive device). But instead, the Boston 5-O decided to pursue, arrest and charge the two young performance artists who were paid to put the devices up, Peter Berdovsky of Arlington, Mass. and Sean Stevens of Charlestown, Mass.
And this situation just kept on twisting more than a movie made by M. Night Shyamalan, as it turns out that the devices had already been in place for two weeks. Not just in Boston, either; they could be found in just about every other major city in America. In fact, when the Los Angeles Police Department was asked about what it thought about similar contraptions found in LA, they commented that, “No one perceived a threat.”
Lite-Brite alert, Boston: Red. Lite-Brite alert, LA: Green
On a more serious note, the incident did seem to expose a generational gap in Boston. Andrea Zampitella, a student of the Massachusetts College of Art located in Boston, elaborates:
“My mom called to tell me that there were bombs in Boston, and at first I didn’t know what was going on, but then she called me back to tell me that it had to do with Aqua Teen Hunger Force… I knew that it wasn’t a bomb.”
Stevens and Berdovsky are currently on $2,500 bail on the felony charge of placing a hoax device to incite panic. The two could face up to five years in prison, and Berdovsky, a native of Belarus, could be deported.
Following their release from jail, the two chose to hold a press conference, which can be fully viewed on YouTube. Berdovsky and Stevens treated the entire affair like the joke that it is. They only talked about hair, specifically popular haircuts of the 70’s. No, really.
Following legal advice of counsel, the pair was adamant about not having to say anything that was non-hair related, as demonstrated in one exchange between Berdovsky and the press.
Reporter: What was it like to spend the last night in jail?
Berdovsky: That’s not a hair question, I’m sorry.”
Reporter: Would you like to apologize?
Berdovsky: That’s also not a hair question.
Reporter: Did you bring a lawyer to court today because Turner [Broadcasting] didn’t bring anyone?
Berdovsky: That’s also not a hair question.
When Berdovsky, who can easily be identified by his lengthy dreadlocks, was asked if he was afraid that he would be forced to get his hair cut in jail, his response was, “That’s a very good question.”
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