Fun_People Archive
21 Dec
WhiteBoardness 12/20/95

Date: Thu, 21 Dec 95 11:54:40 -0800
From: Peter Langston <psl>
To: Fun_People
Subject: WhiteBoardness 12/20/95

Excerpted-from: WhiteBoard News for December 20, 1995

This item comes by way of Percy Tierney:

Toronto, Ontario, Canada:

The Eaton Centre was thrown into udder chaos recently when what should have
been a moo-ving experience bombed out.

A talking milk carton containing two wires was mistaken for an explosive
device.  That forced thousands of people to evacuate the giant downtown mall
for three hours until Metro police bomb squad officers blew up the bomb --
er, milk carton.

Cause of the fuss was a contest in which consumers can win prizes such as
cars, holidays and snowboards if the milk carton "moos."

Winning cartons contain a device to make the sound.

"I think the milk marketing board should know what kind of manpower and
aggravation they've caused," said a police spokesman.

Hours later, Detective John Tinkler examined the remains of the milk carton
inside a soggy plastic evidence bag and joked: "I don't know if it said
anything, but since I got it, it hasn't talked at all."

The moo-mentous incident began when an employee of Cultures, a third-floor
restaurant, went to check the condiments counter and spotted something
suspicious about a 1-litre carton of milk.

"The employee noticed two wires going down into a plastic bag inside and
called Eaton's security," Tinkler said.

Bomb squad officers called to the scene confirmed it was a suspicious device
and ordered the complete evacuation of the south end of the mall.

An X-ray showed a sophisticated device complete with tiny battery, circuits
and a microchip.

© 1995 Peter Langston