Apparently a marketing campaign for Aqua Teen Hunger Force went horribly awry when some concerned citizens in Boston mistook a circuit board with lights in the shape of Ignignokt (a minor but popular character from the show) for a bomb.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2007-01-31-boston_x.htm

The city mobilized their bomb squad and anti-terrorism units, shut down major roads, subways, and a river, and spent between half a million and a million dollars battling this “threat”. And now the mayor is trying to lay suit to Turner Broadcasting, threatening to sue to have their broadcasting license revoked or suspended. And two employees of the marketing firm that were hired to place the advertising units have been arrested and are being charged with crimes that could include jail time.

Could Turner have handled this better? Yes, all they had to do was notify the cities in advance. Is the Boston mayor overreacting to garner publicity for himself? Yes, because he is embarrassed that his city spent close to a million dollars to clean up a few dozen Lite-Brites.

I wish I found one of them here in Chicago – it would hanging in my office right now lighting up my room.