Placed throughout Boston, Massachusetts, and the surrounding cities of Cambridge and Somerville by Peter "Zebbler" Berdovsky and Sean Stevens, these devices were part of a nationwide guerrilla marketing advertising campaign for Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon Movie Film for Theaters.

[7] Berdovsky, Stevens, and Dana Seaver put up 20 magnetic lights in mid January, dubbing the activity "Boston Mission 1".

[8] The devices used were promotional electronic placards for the forthcoming Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon Movie Film for Theaters.

[13] On January 31, 2007, at 8:05 a.m., a civilian spotted one of the devices on a stanchion that supports an elevated section of Interstate 93 (I-93), above Sullivan Station and told a policeman from the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) of its presence.

[14] At 9 a.m., the Boston Police Department bomb squad received a phone call from the MBTA requesting assistance in identifying the device.

MBTA Transit police Lieutenant Salvatore Venturelli told the media at the scene, "This is a perfect example of our passengers taking part in homeland security."

They further clarified that they were part of an outdoor marketing campaign in 10 cities to promote Adult Swim's animated television show Aqua Teen Hunger Force.

They also said that they had been in place for two to three weeks in Boston, New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, Atlanta, Seattle, Portland, Austin, San Francisco, and Philadelphia.

[20] Berdovsky and Stevens were arrested by Boston police during the evening of January 31, and charged with violating Chapter 266: Section 102A1⁄2 of the General Laws of Massachusetts, which states that it is illegal to display a "hoax device" with the motive to cause citizens to feel threatened, unsafe, and concerned.

The Boston Globe stated that the "marketing gambit exposes a wide generation gap", quoting one 29-year-old blogger, writing, "Repeat after me, authorities.

"[22] The Brainiac blog earned praise from other media outlets for its timely coverage of events, even as the paper continued to report on simply "suspicious objects".

[23] Los Angeles Times editorials derided the reaction of Boston's officials, remarking, "Emergency personnel and anti-terrorism squads shut down more than a dozen highways, transit stations, and other locations across the city Wednesday after receiving reports about multiple suspicious devices."

They also went on to describe the devices, stating that they "had dozens of colored lights, exposed wires, and circuitry, and were powered by a row of D batteries wrapped in black tape."

[26] The advertising magazine Brandweek said that the incident, which they labeled a fiasco, would cause marketers to "steer clear of guerrilla tactics until the controversy around the Aqua Teen Hunger Force stunt-turned-bomb-scare in Boston dies down".

[27] According to Fox News, fans of Aqua Teen Hunger Force mocked Boston officials during the press conference of Berdovsky and Stevens, calling the arrests an overreaction, while holding signs supporting the actions of the two.

[28] Newspapers quoted local residents, including "We all thought it was pretty funny", "The majority of us recognize the difference between a bomb and a Lite-Brite",[29] and that the police's response was "silly and insane ... we're the laughingstock".

[31] Karl Carter of Atlanta-based Guerrilla Tactics Media said only fans of Aqua Teen Hunger Force would recognize the characters or think it was funny.

State Treasurer Timothy P. Cahill held up a picture of a Mooninite with Mitt Romney's face on it, saying "We had to blur out his real feelings about Massachusetts.

This was in addition to the companies' apologies, which local authorities deemed too little as announced by Dan Conley, district attorney for Suffolk County, Massachusetts, in a speech on NECN, saying the people who are responsible for this "reckless stunt" are liable for the havoc it caused to both the city and the region.

[2] On February 9, 2007, the week after the panic, Cartoon Network's general manager and executive vice president, Jim Samples, resigned "in recognition of the gravity of the situation that occurred under my watch", and with the "hope that my decision allows us to put this chapter behind us and get back to our mission of delivering unrivaled original animated entertainment for consumers of all ages".

Police Superintendent Philip Cline admonished those responsible for the campaign, stating, "one of the devices could have easily been mistaken for a bomb and set off enough panic to alarm the entire city".

[40] The King County Sheriff's spokesman John Urquhart stated, "In this day and age, whenever anything remotely suspicious shows up, people get concerned—and that's good.

Police Sergeant Brian Schmautz stated that officers in Portland had not been dispatched to remove the devices, and did not plan to unless they were found on municipal property.

San Francisco Police Sergeant Neville Gittens said that Interference, Inc., was removing them, except for one found by art gallery owner Jamie Alexander, who reportedly "thought it was cool" and had it taken down after it ceased to function.

[46] Michael Rich, the lawyer representing both men, disputed Grossman's claim, asserting that even a VCR could be found to fit the description of a bomb-like device.

Attorney General Martha Coakley cited the difficulty in proving intent to incite panic on the part of the two men and called the deal "an appropriate and fair resolution".

[51] An Aqua Teen Hunger Force episode from season five titled "Boston" was produced as the series creators' response to the bomb scare, but Adult Swim canceled it to avoid further controversy.

"[1] The article quoted a student who pointed out the vast proportion of individuals were successfully able to determine the difference between a Lite-Brite children's toy and a bomb.

[1] WGBH requested a reflective comment in 2013 from Zebbler, and he stated that he thought the government's overreaction was a greater symptom of the American culture during that time period.

"[54] On January 31, 2022, fifteen years after the incident, the official Adult Swim account on Twitter poked fun at the event and included an image of Ignignokt giving the middle finger with text that reads "1-31-2007 NEVER FORGET".