Cartoon Ads Spook Boston

The Cartoon Network has apologized for causing the biggest security scare in Boston since 9/11.

City police thought several battery-powered advertisements placed on behalf of the cable channel might be bombs, a misunderstanding that crippled Boston’s infrastructure after authorities placed the city on high alert.

Reuters:

Apologizing for Boston’s biggest security alert since the September 11 attacks more than five years ago, Turner Broadcasting said it had placed electronic devices at bridges and other spots to promote an animated cartoon.

Police mistook the small, battery-powered electronic billboards as possible improvised bombs.

The discovery of the first one on a bridge led police to stop morning rush-hour traffic on an interstate highway just north of Boston, halt a busy train line, cordon off the area and deploy a bomb squad, which blew it up.

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The advertisements were placed in odd locations, such as near a bridge, above.  The devices featured a cartoon character and multi-colored flashing lights.