The 2007 Boston Mooninite Panic

[@tokyochannel2020]

I never imaged the day that THG would be talking about Aqua Teen Hunger Force lol.

[@chrisconway9959]

Just thinking the same fuckin thing Life is about taking material goods when no one is looking

[@blakena4907]

You're not the only one, this is one of the funnier/bizarre THG installments 😂

[@thejudgmentalcat]

Lance saying "Meatwad" is the end of 2021 we all needed 🍝

[@eansba88-]

Is it "team"?! I've been saying "aqua teen" since I first saw it years ago... I feel silly now.

[@thejudgmentalcat]

@@eansba88- no its "Teen"

[@S1apShoes]

ATHF was one of my favorite shows when I was in high school, and when this happened, I busted out laughing in the middle of dinner when it came on the news. My parents just couldn't wrap their minds around it.

[@kevinwebster7868]

And there lies the danger. It trains people to not take this stuff seriously.

[@F_ckAllTrumpVoters]

@@kevinwebster7868 LOL

[@americangunners2352]

Shouldn't you be working on another Mark Martin video...lol. j/k man, love your content.

[@em1osmurf]

i'm 70, and "got" it.

[@HiTechOilCo]

ATHF?

[@jasonwomack4064]

I'd give good money to see History Guy try to awkwardly describe Carl's character on the show.

[@TheHistoryGuyChannel]

A very bad man.

[@OMCbuilt]

Carl is a man who don't need no instructions on how to rock!

[@InfectedChris]

I'd toss in for that as well!

[@Onewheelordeal]

@@TheHistoryGuyChannel lololol I'm dying

[@seththomas9105]

TEARS!!!!!

[@Demonicus_Prime]

As a history nerd, things like this should be remembered forever and I'm incredibly grateful for channels that do deep dives like this for it. As someone who was a 14-year old viewer of ATHF at the time this happened, this is still to this day one of the funniest things that has ever happened, and may ever happen in the future. I have giggly tears in my eyes at the mental picture of BPD detectives holding a toy of an intentionally ridiculous cartoon character giving them the middle finger, while they angrily scream 'WHAT COULD THIS POSSIBLY MEAN?! WHERE'S THE DETONATOR?!'. I can imagine that they weren't happy about it at the time, but this story makes me indescribably happy every time I'm reminded of it.

[@GreenFlash1790]

I remember reactions like this at the time. Threat assessment is not easy and officials can't (and don't) ring the alarm bell in response to every suspicious package call. But this had characteristics (sensitive location & electronic components) that it would have been extremely foolish and dereliction of duty for officials to NOT take it seriously.

[@ElValuador]

“I hope he can see this because I’m doing it as hard as I can” (flips off earth from his spaceship)

[@Beefhaving]

every time THG says "aqua teen hunger force colon movie film for theaters" I giggle like I did back in 07

[@davet.5493]

@@GreenFlash1790 gota admit blowing up their own traffic counter might be a bit too much

[@deanfirnatine7814]

@@GreenFlash1790 But who under 40 at the time did NOT know what those were?

[@greggi47]

Being "banned in Boston" used to be a sure way to ensure that some book, play, movie or just about any product would gain wide public attention and, presumably, success as a money-maker. This event seems to fit in that tradition. Thanks for this.

[@ginnyjollykidd]

This is exactly what I thought. If you got a book banned in Boston, you've got a best seller!

[@CoasterMan13Official]

So, the government in Boston is about as stupid as the people in it?

[@preflex3502]

Sadly, the movie they were promoting sucked. Inconveniencing everyone in Boston would have been great promotion if the movie was good. They landed the same number of gags as they would in a regular 11-minute episode, but dragged it out for 70 minutes, for an astonishingly low punchline density. The best thing about the movie was the King Diamond style Mastodon song at the beginning, "Cut You with a Linoleum Knife." Note: I say this as a lvl 666 ATHF fan. ATHF rules. That movie sucked. ATHF works because they can rapidly ruin their world and reset for the next episode. Trying to drag out an ATHF plot for more than a few minutes is a recipe for failure. The humor depends on a rapid spiral into abject incoherence. Six or seven slightly-higher-budget episodes, billed as "The Theater Season: We Want Lots of Money", might have worked. I'm astonished that it's considered a success. It brought in practically doodley-squat on a non-budget. I guess the numbers look good from a ROI perspective, but there wasn't really much investment to begin with. I suspect any theaters running it in 2007 would have made more money off another showing of "Grindhouse" or "300". (Edited because KZbin won't let me place a period after italics without a space between them, so I switched to quotation marks for movie titles, even though it's inappropriate.)

[@flyswryan]

The ignorance of public officials is always embarrassing to their employers. The egos of public officials are always quick to NOT take ownership of their mistakes and find convenient scapegoats, often accusing the true heroes who exposed their incompetence. Richard Jewell, who noticed the abandoned backpack at the '96 Olympics in Atlanta, is a classic example...

[@JeffWiersma]

The Boston and Massachusetts state police in the aftermath of the Marathon Bombing would beg to differ.

[@meligoth]

The last example of ego and incompetence from law enforcement was when a police chief had a presser about their raids of CBD shops. It took a reporter to educate him the difference between CBD and THC.

[@MegaDudeman21]

@@meligoth tell me more

[@heirofaniu]

@@JeffWiersma The ones who identified the bombers after 4chan did?

[@Paintedfigs]

I friend got a call from someone on the bomb squad that day. The officer identified the Mooninites - because my friend had introduced him to ATH. However, then the officer's supervisor told the man to get off the phone. From the context, it seemed to my friend that people in the bomb squad knew what these were, but higher ups didn't want to hear it because they had already come too far.

[@FakeSchrodingersCat]

To be fair by the time the bomb squad is called in even if they know exactly what the the object is they have to treat it as a potential threat.

[@snarkasticdouche3863]

The bomb squad should have told the higher ups to piss off if they knew better. That's part of their job, not to waste time, and resources blowing up Lite-Brites.

[@SmallSpoonBrigade]

​@@FakeSchrodingersCat That would have justified closing the immediate vicinity and not much more, certainly not shutting down the trains. Even if they had been IEDs, they were just too small to inflict any meaningful damage on most of the objects they were attached to. Worst case scenario would have been some shrapnel and that's about it. Simply keeping people out of the area while they sorted it out would have sufficed. These aren't car bombs that were involved here, they were tiny guerrilla art installs.

[@scojo6377]

Sounds like a lot of things happen that way.

[@ChaoticOrcPaladin]

Never in my life did I ever think I'd see the word "Mooninite" on a History Guy episode. Epic. Love it. Thank you for all the wonderful videos!

[@jameswolf133]

It feels weird to have an event I recall vividly (being a Bostonian) as history worth remembering. The reason they pranksters only talked about hair was because (1) their counsel told them not to directly comment on the case. (2) They we’re promoting another show called ‘Perfect Hair Forever.’

[@PythiaHiereia]

For the record, I know the guys and at the time they told me they weren't actually trying to promote that show. They just knew people were going to go nuts over Peter's hair. Also, they had no intention to prank anyone. Guerilla marketing was pretty hot at the time. After all this, not so much.

[@SarahMaywalt]

Hamburgers should be high.

[@joshentheosparks7492]

Because their lawyer is awesome... and also my lawyer. Rick Pareles is the savior of many a Boston weirdo.

[@mr_godoy2008]

imagine a mbta railfanner discovered that on the platform or the tracks

[@mikerich1732]

@@joshentheosparks7492 Thanks for saying so. But Rick came onto the case later. He was going to be their lawyer for their Today Show appearance in NYC after the event.* I was their lawyer at the arraignment and with them in the Hair Styles of the '70s press gathering. * Which was cancelled just before they got their plane tickets, supposedly by some other "more important" news event. BTW - You should catch Zebbler and Stevens on Fox and Friends in their Fear and Love T-shirts and Zebbler sporting a fake Geraldo Rivera mustache.

[@SmallSpoonBrigade]

As somebody who was working in security around that time with IED identification training, that whole thing was gross incompetence and there's no legitimate claim that it wasn't. Devices that size cannot take down a bridge or destroy a subway. The absolute worst case would be something along the lines of a claymore, which is completely useless against a bridge. And simply keeping people out of the general area while they figured it out would have been both appropriate and sufficient until they figured the first one out. The equipment they used to destroy that first one were more of a threat to the infrastructure than the device they were worried about itself. Sometimes, you just have to leave the past in the past and just resolve to use a bit of common sense in the future. IEDs are nasty bits of work, but a device of that size is simply not much of a threat when it comes to a bridge stantion.

[@Rynewulf]

@@McBehrer They literally said they would close off the area to the public, so no random people get hurt.

[@McBehrer]

@@Rynewulf ah yeah I overlooked that line. my bad.

[@MrTigerprincess]

If someone wished to do harm a devise that size can certainly do plenty of harm. It may not damage a bridge but it can disable cars and people. The bombs used at the Boston merithon were small and did plenty of harm. Explosives on a bridge during rush hour can do even more. Take these exact devices and pack them with C4 explosives and then laugh and when they go off, see who gets the last laugh.

[@SmallSpoonBrigade]

​@@MrTigerprincess The point is that most of the disruption was the result of their incompetent response. In all cases just keeping people out of the area would have been sufficient and no reason to close down mass transit for such tiny devices that were clearly no threat to what they were attached to. Simply closing down the immediate area would have more than sufficed and been far less inconvenient.

[@prairiehawker]

Best Mooninite Quote ever: "Yes, on the moon nerds get their pants pulled down and they are spanked with moon rocks."

[@potatoes4843]

Save our craps

[@_mokaleek_]

I hope you can see this cuz I'm doing it as hard as I can.

[@ShukenFlash]

I was in college for civil engineering when this all happened. Lots of interesting discussions about relabeling traffic counters and if we should start notifying the police every time we placed equipment just so they wouldn't blow it up. Boston isn't the only city to have done that, annoyingly.

[@marsinvader9078]

I just don't understand how, in an era where electronics are everywhere, they didn't have anyone who works in electronics take a look at it and go "this is a led sign."

[@lizardjr.7826]

This is surreal. Never imagined you of all people talking about aqua teen hunger force.

[@gavindy_Sv2]

We live in incredible times :)

[@davidgreen40]

The response by the Boston, Massachusetts, and federal government agencies is what was surreal.

[@jam9297]

Come now, we must leave. This place stinks.

[@SuperRootUser]

The generational division was amazing. Everyone in their twenties wasn't freaked out. Then you see a picture of the Boston PD command station and see everyone watching the news reporting the story and realize it was a vicious cycle of misinformation and panic.

[@mgtowdadYouTubeSucksCoxks]

Number one in the hood, G!

[@AW28]

The most professional explaination of the events and background on ATHF I've ever heard!

[@Carepedoit]

While funny, this tidbit is also insightful and thoughtful. It’s another reason I love this channel.

[@TheLordZoka]

The History Guy and ATHF together? This is the most unexpected crossover of all time.

[@HM2SGT]

Welcome back, we missed you! Glad to know you are recovering. Love & luck, strength and courage!

[@spot138]

Dude, I remember this - we were living in Wouburn (In the Boston metro north) at the time and me and my brother were the ONLY two people to show up at the theater for the premiere. It was weird having the whole place to ourselves. Such a fun memory though.

[@brianedwards7142]

"I went to Boston once. It was closed." W.C. Fields

[@TheVocoderGuy]

Just wanted to mention, the audio quality for the dialogue is fantastic. Loud and clear even on mobile devices with crappy speakers. I can't stress enough how important it is to have loud and clear dialogue, just another reason to love this channel.

[@dwp1970]

Thanks THG for reminding me about this. As and adult who was probably not the main demo for the ATHF it was one of the first things that made me laugh in the weeks following 9/11 and is a bit ironic the scare it placed on the good folks of Boston. Keep up the great videos!

[@yikemoo]

? This happened more than 6 years after the 9/11 attacks

[@dwp1970]

@@yikemoo ATHF Adult Swim episodes first aired in September 2001, that is what I was referring to. I could have been more clear for sure.

[@phoenixliv]

9/11/2001 (9/11) - 1/31/2007 (Mooninite event) That's a long couple weeks.

[@JamesJamersonIsAGod]

@@phoenixliv dwp1970 is simply saying ATHF cheered him up a bit in September 2001. Just his anecdotal story to relate to the Boston incident years later, that’s it.

[@shingshongshamalama]

"A package is a suspicious package, no matter how cute it is." Yeah, that's the thing about terrorism. When you live your life terrified, everything looks menacing.

[@heliveruscalion9124]

to be fair, it's not like a bomber's gonna stop their attack all because they could only get a hello kitty backpack

[@TwoTreesStudio]

This whole story is proof that terrorists won the war on terror. We can't even enjoy our cartoons in peace anymore lmao.

[@TEHSTONEDPUMPKIN]

I love ATHF, and history. Never though this would show up on the channel, unironically never clicked on a video faster before. XD

[@quillmaurer6563]

One other epilogue I ponder - what happened to the remaining devices, those that weren't destroyed and those placed in other cities? Given this story, and the ATHF fandom, I could imagine they might actually now be rather valuable collector items. I could imagine certain sorts of businesses wanting them to hang up on the wall as well, perhaps some restaurants, arcades, college-town bars, and other places that serve a clientele that would be fans of the show. So I could imagine, if they weren't all destroyed in Cartoon Network's humiliation, some might still survive in private collections or even on display.

[@PythiaHiereia]

A few were swiped before the police could get them. At least one ended up on EBay.

[@reganbealer992]

Vagas, Pawn Stars?🤔

[@jR060t]

One of hanging at a hacker space in San Francisco.

[@goshlikkrudbahr5109]

I got 6

[@phoenixliv]

I've always wanted one.

[@MerrimanDevonshire]

When "Viral Ad Campaigns" go wrong...

[@neeleyfolk]

While watching I was thinking, Wait I was working in Boston during that time and I don't remember......then it all came back. What a debacle.

[@jodycwilliams]

Thanks!

[@michaelhawk6847]

One of the greatest shows that ever graced our televisions.

[@dalespringerwilson4233]

One of your most humorous pieces so far. Love you, love your channel.

[@Red_5_Standing_By]

Great stuff as always!! Thanks for your hard work, and have a Happy 2022!

[@AaronLitz]

The kind of ludicrous public panic that happens when the leadership of the country is so out of touch with the public. *Ignignokt flips Boston the bird* - "I hope you can see this, because I am doing it as hard as I can."

[@blackstone777]

Ignignokt: "Yes, this was a glorious day for all Mooninites. For we paralyzed your puny Boston city with fear and confusion...and stupidity." Err: "We totally ruled your asses for a day!" (flips the finger) Ignignokt: (flips the finger) "Indeed Err...And I doing this as hard as I can" (finger flip intensifies)

[@hostilebogeyinbound]

And I'm doing their voices in my head.

[@stump182]

I love the balance that your report brings to this story.

[@DonDueed]

I live in the Boston area (and did so in 2007) but had completely forgotten this episode. So for me it was literally "Forgotten History"!

[@ursanbear]

I was there when it happened. I remember bursting out in uncontrollable laughter when they finally showed the "suspicious device" on air. I knew what it was even though I'd only watched two or three episodes of ATHF.

[@IggyWon]

Omg, I remember this on the news. Like wall-to-wall coverage of "bombs" found over Boston... and it's the damn Mooninites. Like Boston PD didn't have a single officer who watched Adult Swim.

[@SuperRootUser]

I made the mistake of trying to describe this story to my Mom.

[@eldonerc2524]

Don't think the panic was about the cartoon character. I believe the problem was an electronic device strapped onto someplace it didn't belong. You got to look at that side of it too. It can be all cute an fluffy till it blows your face off. 😶

[@Markle2k]

@@eldonerc2524 "Electronic device". You're doing exactly what the cops did. Making something innocuous sound menacing. It was a bunch of gumdrop LEDs wedged into a board, strung together with a bit of wire to a Radio Shack D cell battery holder. It was less substantial than the Lite Brite it was compared to.

[@eldonerc2524]

@@Markle2k an what do you think the control device for an explosive would be made out of. Bubble gum an dental floss?

[@Markle2k]

@@eldonerc2524 There are lots of ways to do that, but one that won't work is a bunch of LEDs wired up in parallel to a battery.

[@williamlydon2554]

The only thing I can compare how strange this is to (Someone like yourself trying to describe ATHF's bizarre...everything) is when as a freshman in high school, our history teacher mentioned during a unit on the Italian Renaissance "I believe those mutant teenage turtles are named after some of the eras famous artists..." And you could hear a pin drop because no one ever expected a sentence so out of place in that setting and so odd to leave his lips.

[@carlcushmanhybels8159]

Your history teacher was of course correct; and trying to be "Relevant to today's youth."

[@williamlydon2554]

@@carlcushmanhybels8159 I'm not belittling him, Mr Regan (pronounce d Re-ghen) was a phenomenal educator, and was my major introduction to several historical periods like the wars Feudal Japan, the ancient and middle age history of sub-Saharan Africa, and the cradle of civilization itself, Mesopotamia and it's impact on modern math and science. However it was just jarring to hear him speak of such a contemporary piece of pop culture.

[@skullketon]

"Believe it or not, the historical Michaelangelo could not do 'sick flips'."

[@sparky9370]

I really enjoyed this episode, something I (a 28 year old) actually remember watching unfold. Would love to see more episodes covering more recent events in history. Keep up the good work!

[@almostfm]

In a situation like this, I'd a lot rather have the police look silly for responding to a potential problem for them to look incompetent because they didn't investigate what turned out to be a real problem.

[@kevinmhadley]

Loved seeing all the video of Boston. And, just saying, Boston has a lot of history that deserves to be remembered

[@missmarymary6506]

Boston..she's my home!! J.P by the pond!

[@dtrYeti]

Molasses flood

[@frankzeppelin]

Great video, as always. I lived in Somerville at the time and I remember thinking that the city overreacted, probably to send a message to curb stunts like this in the future. A coworker got on at Sullivan Square and she said she noticed it several days prior, so what was the fuss? But looking back, I think it would be a tough call for a city official. It's easy to laugh at someone for making the wrong call, but what if it actually was an IED disguised as a Mooninite? The city would catch hell and those same critics would have attacked officials for not doing enough. I think Boston is wound pretty tight and tends to overreact in general, but it's a situation where you can't please everybody so better to prevent a disaster. I'm glad you added the context of the other threats and also the marathon bombing.

[@droc6927]

I remember when this happened. I watched ATHF then and laughed my butt off when they found out it was a box with a Mooninite on the cover

[@ronniedio19422010]

Reminds me of a news story from about 30 years ago... "A suspicious-looking cardboard box was found outside a Territorial Army centre in Bristol, Police magazine reports. The TA called the police, who called an Army bomb disposal unit, which blew the box up - to find it full of leaflets on how to deal with suspicious-looking packages." :)

[@danielwggudan2]

😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

[@Sonikkua]

Watching this unfold on live television was amazing.

[@dillonhunt1720]

This is the content I subscribed for.

[@raydunakin]

Wow. I really surprised that I don't remember this. I'm a news junkie, so I know I must have seen it all over the news, in print and online.

[@iansimmons8826]

Had no idea what a mooninite was until I saw this just now...

[@Theinkedanarchist]

Being a fan of ATHF, and remembering clearly when this happened, this just keeps getting more hilarious.

[@Tadesan]

Remember the news interview about their hair cuts?

[@MartyFox]

Fun seeing THG tackle some modern history. Only 22 years into the century, there are already quite a few historical events being forgotten. I’d love to see a recap of the Smiley Face Bomber of 2002.

[@camg6400]

This is the greatest episode of an absolutely amazing channel. Aqua teen hunger force is amazing also, can not recommend enough.

[@TioDeive]

Thank you for making my life better in 2021 with your wonderful videos and excellent quality content. May you, your family and viewers have a great 2022. Thank you again.

[@arrow1414]

So weird to have The History Guy talking about an event so close to the present!

[@1pcfred]

History is made every day. Just takes a while to fully set.

[@DanielMartinez-lz3ot]

I totally forgot about this, thanks for the memories THG. Happy New Year!

[@BillHicksADH]

Never thought I’d hear the history guy say the phrase aqua teen hunger force

[@frankgulla2335]

A wonderful retelling of a panicky moment in Boston. As a former student from Cambridge, I can sympathize with those stuck on the SE Expressway of I93 that morning. Great job, again, THG!

[@Adiscretefirm]

The thing I remember most about this, besides the marketing campaign being way more successful than anyone could have imagined, was the pompous police chief explaining that it's everyone else's fault if police jump to a wrong conclusion.

[@bigbaddms]

Yeah isn’t that the exact same thing they always do?

[@robertb6889]

A kid at my high school got hauled out of class by armed police because someone saw him under his car in the school parking lot doing something “suspicious.” Someone had tied some 2L bottles to his axle and he was removing them. Police definitely can overreact.

[@seththomas9105]

@@robertb6889 Ok. So somebody played a practical joke on some kids car. Said dude goes out to un-f*&k his car, and some Karen reports this guy for working on his own car, because... car. Then 5-O shows up to haul him Downtown for questioning. Ok. My brain is melting on so many levels. This is what you get when a generation is raised to be Karens/Narcs. "See something-Say something" And the cult like hero worship of anyone in law enforcement post 9/11 has turned the profession into outright full of narcissistic fools and sociopaths. 8 years to retirement and I want to live so far away from the American public; somehere with mean dogs and good horses.

[@oldesertguy9616]

And yet, if the police hadn't responded and it turned out to be a real bomb, they would have been demonized for that. Bombs don't always look like bombs, and it was just stupid to attach electronic devices to load-bearing structures without telling anyone. Look up some of the various items bombs have been disguised as sometime. Drinks, cassette recorders, etc have all been used to disguise bombs. Sometimes it is better to err on the side of caution.

[@David-bf6bz]

@E Van most IEDs don't look like cartoon bombs...

[@davidcox3076]

Absolutely loved this episode! When the news showed the device, I almost spit out my drink. Big ATHF fan.

[@abletonreason]

I feel so lucky to have spent my late teens through early twenties during this time. A few good friends, a passed bowl of nugs, and Adult Swim meant a great evening! Tim and Eric, Moral Orel, The Oblongs, and of course ATHF. Nobody had a smart phone, and everyone laughed together!

[@bloopahVIII]

this is probably something the mooninites would've done in the show to mess with the aqua teens

[@mhartmann1987]

I'm glad ATHF is history that deserves to be remembered.

[@georgeluna7232]

I was in the Boston bus depot waiting to board when police cleared the area because of a half a glass of water left on a window sill.

[@bsmythe3214]

That's Boston for you.

[@gregorymaine9615]

This is epic, I love how you manage to bring such eloquence to what simply was a dumb publicity stunt for one of the most avant garde television shows out there. Well done sir! BTW, I love Aqua Teen Hunger Force, and no, it does not need a plot to be funny. Just go with it.

[@jerrellbevers6071]

Yeah, it could suck with or without a plot...and it did that swimmingly. I tried watching it many times in various states of inebriation and sleep deprivation and couldn't ever get into it. Cartoons were always supposed to be mindless humor but this shit is next level mindless...

[@D-Rock420]

@@jerrellbevers6071 dude, you realize you can just not like something? You don't have to go out of your way to make the people who do like it feel like crap. That kinda makes you a dbag.

[@SuperRootUser]

At least he wasn't captured by Bizzaros. BIZZARO.

[@KevinT3141]

It was heartbreaking when Frylock got cancer.

[@ElValuador]

@@KevinT3141 But he did marry Cheryl Tiegs and her grand daughter. He also bought a small island and the New York Giants so it all worked out.

[@penelopealizarin234]

I’m from Boston and remember this well! Thanks for covering it! Croatoan!

[@kathrynradonich3982]

My day was made listening to the history guy talk about a childhood favourite show, ATHF 😂 never thought I’d see the day

[@robertreisner6119]

I wish you and your family and friends a Happy New Year for 2022. Your podcasts on history is the very best.

[@360Nomad]

Finally a historical event with bearing on my personal life -Sincerely, a lifelong Aqua Teen Hunger Force fan

[@seththomas9105]

"WHO DID THIS TO MY CAR?!?!?!!?!?"

[@worndown8280]

When Adult Swim was good.

[@spallwalker5683]

@@seththomas9105 that ain't your car no more, that's the hotwad

[@michaelplurad8670]

Boston sure didn’t disappoint! Made my day. Was the prelude to the greatest press conference in history.

[@FuzzyMarineVet]

I do not fault the BPD for overreacting. They still kick themselves over the bombing of the marathon.

[@Markle2k]

This was 2007. The Marathon bombing was in 2013. Were they preemptively overreacting to a piece of cardboard with some LEDs stuck into it?

[@FuzzyMarineVet]

@@Markle2k Then I guess the sting of this mistake caused an under reaction in '13 when the suspicious packs were reported to police.

[@Markle2k]

@@FuzzyMarineVet A backpack can credibly carry a bomb. When these were described as Lite Brites, that was being generous as to their size. It's like describing a transistor radio as a demon-haunted thing with voices coming out of it.

[@FuzzyMarineVet]

@@Markle2k LOL, good point. A lot of panic over nothing. I would have been embarrassed too.

[@mpgallogly]

My life won't be complete until this guy breaks down the entire series.

[@RetiredSailor60]

Happy New Year from Ft Worth TX to everyone watching. Be safe, don't drink and drive, nor fire a gun into the air, nor recklessly shoot off fireworks as you bring in the new year. Visited Boston in 2001 over 4th of July weekend while stationed on USS Wasp LHD 1. Everyone I came in contact with were friendly towards every member of the crew.

[@goldgeologist5320]

I did not know about this at the time. But I am getting a good laugh about this event. Thanks History Guy for ending a challenging year with a laugh!

[@Prich319]

I remember being in college around this time, and I remember thinking how stupid it all was. All that panic and outrage over a glorified Lite-Brite. Ironically, I was taking marketing as an elective that semester, and so I was aware of Guerilla advertisement and how it worked. Six years later, we had the Boston Marathon bombing. I sometimes wonder if the FBI failed to take the Tsarnaev's threat seriously in part because of how much of a laughingstock Boston officials looked over this incident.

[@cruisepaige]

I was thinking that they shut down the city for a kid with a pipe bomb.

[@heirofaniu]

When have the feds ever turned down a tragedy that would allow them to increase their own power?

[@4thgradedropout980]

Maybe do a presentation on those space age tube things? Cool video HG. Cheers.

[@InfectedChris]

I live in Boston but this was before I lived here. One of the best TV shows and it doesn't surprise me that people here wouldn't get it. I don't know how people didn't know about Aquateen.

[@inconnu4961]

Because its stupid, and Boston doesnt have time for stupid! Although with our new governor i expect this to change drastically!

[@InfectedChris]

@@inconnu4961 She is really showing her incompetence in record time.

[@mattheweagles5123]

In the UK, with the exception of London, IED work is done by the military. As one of them told me at the time "We know what bombs look like and how to handle them, the police don't unless we train them". London police bomb squads are either ex-military or trained by the military IED teams.

[@k.c1126]

What an exemplar of our modern time! Personally, I think the authorities over-reacted, but I don't blame them. We've had more than enough evidence over the years since 2007 to suggest that overreaction is better than under-reaction.

[@martensjd]

Nothing about these devices looked the least bit like bombs. Boston city govt should have been embarrassed.

[@boobah5643]

Just because the penalties for overreaction are usually less dramatic and more dispersed doesn't mean they don't exist or are, taken in whole, lesser. Not that you can necessarily tell beforehand. Or even definitively afterward.

[@Markle2k]

This actually shows how much harm can be done by overreacting. It cost the BPD a million dollars saving face after they were told what fools they were. That's not counting the lost business that the traffic mess caused.

[@51WCDodge]

@@martensjd Neither did the Boston Finaced IRA bombs in London. Right up till they went Bang and killed and injured innocent people,

[@CraigLYoung]

Thanks for sharing and Happy New Year to you and your family.

[@unknownperson1955]

This is so embarrassing as a Bostonian

[@eqwerewrqwerqre]

Honestly an amazing video. Legendary

[@nicodemus369]

I remember driving through the city at that time and I saw some of them. I thought to myself “who’s putting up these “little” LED displays”? And I wasn’t anywhere near college-aged. The war-on-terror still has people believing the sky is falling.✌️😩

[@JonGZBOS]

This happened a few blocks from my grandmother's house. I never thought I'd hear about it again especially on this channel 😂

[@tylerdurden2644]

What is sad is they were told very early on what is was and they ignored it and kept going. This is what happens when you leave the crazies in charge. Never let a good frenzy go to waste.

[@JamesKirkWilkinson]

This is so fantastic! I would love to see a mini series of this event! There are so many lessons about security, society, & marketing!

[@JonStallings]

I have a cousin who while serving in Vietnam during the war was shipped a tape recorder. Some how it turned on during shipment. The Army blew it up 😁

[@ryanmacs2486]

This episode was a ride I was not prepared for. I am ready for another one!

[@emilymesch7537]

I wrote a college paper in Marketing class on this event shortly after it happened. It is *surreal* to see it on THG. Cartoon Network was literally never the same after this, its entire direction changed with the new executives.

[@MrGodisded]

I love you man!! This made my year! Thanks!!

[@McBehrer]

I feel like the police responded correctly, as illustrated by your example of the Boston Marathon. It was also probably not the brightest move, considering how soon after 9/11 it was. But also, I feel like the backlash against the company was grossly exaggerated.

[@kiwibob223]

It was 6 years.

[@McBehrer]

@@kiwibob223 yeah? and yet we're STILL not over it, 21 years after the fact. So 15 years ago is even closer to it

[@amoryblaine3292]

@@McBehrer You're still not over it because it pays to keep it in the minds of the American people. 6 years after a terror attack and a light-up display gives Americans heart attacks. Sad.

[@DirkDwipple]

The killing of the Moonites. Was a tragic setback in Earth, Moon relations.

[@NandR]

"I hope you can see this, because I am doing it as hard as I can." As someone who grew up watching Adult Swim and their rehashed Hanna Barbara shows, I will defend the style of comedy they used. Teenagers are edgy folks and it was nice to have shows that expressed that. The absurdity of the shows was the main draw. The characters were all very eccentric and flawed. There was a surreal nature about them. But when we think about it, the old cartoons were just as bizarre. A larger than normal roadrunner foiling the plans of a hungry coyote that uses flawed traps and always seems to walk away from death. A rabbit that exists in many different periods of time and is harassed by a trigger happy cowboy, a shotgun wielding hunter with a lisp, a duck that also has a lisp, and also fights a boxer, a group of monsters, etc. Then there is the cat who is in a never ending battle with a mouse and another cat in a game of cat and mouse, and the occasional dog. But since those shows were a bit outdated and pretty normal to us kids, we saw shows like ATHF, Harvey Birdman, Sealab 2021, The Adventure Bros, and of course Family Guy, and we really got a whole new world of quotable characters and memorable scenes that did not need to have any basis in reality, just like their predecessors.

[@ah3641]

Small correction, it's Venture Bros 😉

[@benkrug82]

Excellent episode, sir. I used to watch that show all the time. Awesome video.

[@neeneko]

A more fogotten but rather sad event from the same period was Boston freaking out over an engineering student who had left a light up badge that she had made as part of some outreach event on, and made the mistake of going to an airport to pick someone up. When she described the badge as a piece of artwork (which it was), a bunch of people jumped to the conclusion that she deliberately caused a panic as part of some performance piece. At the time, I ran into a lot of people who believed she should have been shot on site for daring to wear what was essentially a light up bow tie.

[@Cuptow]

Wow, I just searched that up and found the dumbasses who think that in comments, it's half a decade later, like yeah, Americans totally didn't live in suppressed fear, years afterward

[@potatoes4843]

I live a few miles out of Boston and remember this. It was hilarious. My 4 yr old niece knew who it was

[@billioncash]

Wow, what an unexpected episode! I grew up watching ATHF but somehow never heard of this incident! Great presentation and writing, hope to see more like this sprinkled in!

[@browneyedotter1010]

Wonderful narration and script, you are great at these informative newflash-like videos!

[@wermach123]

I was living in Allston at the time, I remember the chaos this caused. At first it was very nerve wracking, then it was just hilarious.

[@johntaylor-lo8qx]

I've missed you. KZbin algorithm threw me off. Im glad to be back, love the show ❤

[@michaelbdoherty]

If they bothered to pay attention in school. Something called a Trojan horse explains the police response. Doing stupid things gets people hurt.

[@hannahbrown2728]

I remember this happening, it was absolutely hilarious to me then and still is now! Whats really got me though is I never expected THG to cover anything Ive lived through, let alone this gem!

[@WillmobilePlus]

I watch a lot of interesting niche history stories and feel such a fascination with the time, but then I see the ones that took place when I was in my 20s, using characters from a cartoon I watched that caused a major panic, and say "I hope people in the future dont remember this too much. They are going to think we were nuts!". I am seriously cringing so hard that THG has to actually try to explain the absurdity of this TV show.

[@googiegress]

We ARE nuts. I hope anyone who survives in the future will look back on us as a horrible cautionary tale.