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Feb 1, 2007 9:10 am US/Eastern
Devices Found In Seattle Did Not Cause Concern
BOSTON (WBZ) ―
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One of several light displays found in Boston Wednesday.
WBZ
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The devices resemble the Mooninite characters from the show "Aqua Teen Hunger Force."
CBS
Some of the same blinking electronic devices that caused a scare in Boston have been found and removed from the Seattle-area.
But the reaction to the devices there was far different.
A Seattle police spokesman says the department did not receive any 9-1-1 calls about the devices, one of which was found by a public works crew on a rail trestle over a state highway.
Police only began locating and rounding up the devices after hearing news of the problems they were causing in Boston. They turned out to be a publicity campaign for a late-night cable cartoon.
King County sheriff's Sergeant John Urquhart said to Seattle-area authorities, the devices were (quote) "obviously not suspicious."
The 1-foot tall signs resembled a circuit board, with protruding wires and batteries. Most depicted a boxy, cartoon character giving passersby the finger -- a more obvious sight when darkness fell.
Turner Broadcasting said the devices had been placed for two to three weeks in ten cities: Boston, New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Atlanta, Seattle, Portland, Ore., Austin, Texas, San Francisco and Philadelphia.
Chicago police say they questioned two men who posted 20 electronic advertising devices around the city.
A police official says the two men haven't been charged. They were both released after questioning.
Police in Philadelphia said they believed their city had 56 devices.
In New York, the NYPD removed 41 of the devices -- 38 in Manhattan and three in Brooklyn, according to spokesman Paul Browne. The NYPD had not received any complaints.
(© 2007 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
