On January 31st 2007 Boston residents started noticing strange looking devices on their local train stations and near some bridges. By 9am on that morning the Boston Police Department’s bomb squad received a phone call from the MBTA requesting their assistance in identifying a device. By 10am the device was destroyed in a controlled explosion.

Before the day was over more devices would be identified throughout Boston and city officials and residents alike were trying to figure out what was going on.

But some younger residents knew what was going on from the start. Fans of the Adult Swim show Aqua Teen Hunger Force recognized the figures depicted in the devices as the Mooninites, a recurring character in the late-night cartoon.

This is the story of Boston Mooninite Panic, and how Adult Swim’s guerilla ad campaign caused a bomb scare throughout the city of Boston.

Written and produced by Ben Silverstein

Music provided by BenSound.com, Filmstro.com, and FilmMusic.io

License: CC BY (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

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