This is a doozy, folks. According to Gizmodo, a S.H.I.E.L.D. briefcase (really a press kit from Acura/Thor) was mistaken for a bomb when it was discarded in an Ann Arbor, Michigan bus station. It brings back bad memories of the Boston/Aqua Teen bomb scare back in 2007. While the stories are similar, you can’t really ridicule the Michigan State Police bomb squad for evacuating the bus terminal. Just look at some images of the package (all images courtesy of Gizmodo)…
"I'm just an unassuming box, no bomb materials here!"
Acura and Thor, a bombastic combination!
"OK guys, here is our press kit. Perfectly innocuous!"
"Well, this could be seen as odd, but we're still OK."
"What? The mushroom cloud and the word 'atomize' brings the whole package together!"
"What!? There is no way anyone could confuse this with a bomb!"
So yeah, with a close inspection, the package is obviously not a bomb, but the circumstances behind it’s discovery in the bus station make it a “better safe than sorry” situation. The press kit was discarded by a writer from Automobile magazine. He left it to be recycled, but since it is not recyclable material, it was left after the rest of the refuse was collected. At a distance, having a nondescript black box just sitting in a place where people congregate is definitely cause for concern. We may poo poo it for obviously not being a bomb, but the second bomb officials start ignoring suspicious items because they seem innocuous, that’s when we have to start worrying.
Now, I’m not saying that things were handled as well as they could have been, but given the circumstances, I have to commend the MSP bomb squad for *ahem* diffusing the situation without causing mass panic. Let us know what you think in the comments!