Talking lamp declares "I am not a bomb"

Installation artists / DIY'ers Rebecca Stern and Rees Shad came up with an intriguing response to a certain January 2007 Aqua Teen Hunger Force-related bomb scare in Boston you may have heard of -- talking lamps that innocently declare, "I am not a bomb". The lights, based on common solar powered garden lamp shells, contain temperature sensors and sound playback circuitry, and trigger automatically depending on air temperature, repeating the aforementioned phrase in one of twelve languages while flickering with varying intensity. No word yet on whether the city of Boston will implement these in high-paranoia areas. To see the whole process, check the video after the break.

[Via MAKE]

[Argot @ Jul 10th 2007 9:05AM]

Well, what better way to hide a bomb than have the bomb telling everyone that it is NOT a bomb! Just wait until the terrorists get a hold of this idea!

[L. Cyphre @ Jul 10th 2007 9:12AM]

You're just being paranoid.
Sincerely,
The Terrorists.

[Adoniteking @ Jul 10th 2007 9:44AM]

forgot to mention,it is actually a bomb..we just wanted to show off the stealth mode function before we go into mass production.

sincerely,
The Terrorists.

[Blackstar @ Jul 10th 2007 12:23PM]

Should have been designed to say:

"I was made by nerds with waaaaaaaaaaay too much time on their hands."

After watching that video the only word you can really make out with any distinction is in fact the word, "bomb." So in reality they have made a lamp the bomb squad will be called out to verify that the voice was not lying to them.

Brilliant!

[Chuckles McGee @ Jul 10th 2007 10:10PM]

Yes, yes, and throw in the fact that one of the lamps always lies and the other always tells the truth, and you have a serious problem on your hands.

[Big @ Jul 10th 2007 9:17AM]

I think I'd be more worried about a talking light fixture than an actual bomb.

A light fixture that "told me" it wasn't a bomb would scare me shitless.

[Aaron @ Jul 10th 2007 9:20AM]

When can we get bombs that proclaim, "I am not a light fixture?"

[Mike Caesar @ Jul 10th 2007 10:15AM]

LOL

[Wayne @ Jul 10th 2007 9:23AM]

Yuk it up while you can, Engadget. You'll be seeking refuge in Boston if/when other cities are blown off the face of the earth.

[mike @ Jul 10th 2007 11:17AM]

There's nothing wrong in being careful, but we just think boston over-reacted too much.

[jron @ Jul 10th 2007 11:42AM]

boston sucks.

[dan s. @ Jul 10th 2007 1:35PM]

If living in Boston is the last choice, then the living will envy the dead.

[Eric M. @ Jul 10th 2007 4:57PM]

I'm really tired of people making cracks on us Bostonians. Is being overly prepared such a bad thing in this day and time? And last I remember no one was hurt in us being overly prepared. Mmm and yea Go Red Sox!!

~Eric

[Bad Beaver @ Jul 10th 2007 9:30AM]

Very nice.

[PJK @ Jul 10th 2007 9:37AM]

They should have added "......or am I. MUAHAHAhahahahahahaha!"

[Preston @ Jul 10th 2007 10:26AM]

*cue up the video of the dramatic chipmunk*

[supermeerkat @ Jul 10th 2007 11:09AM]

Or more accurately: "......or am I? MUAHAHAhahahahahahaha!"

[fdgdfgdfg @ Jul 10th 2007 9:39AM]

I wonder what is more stupid: The paranoia in Boston or this project.

[p-diddy @ Jul 10th 2007 11:29AM]

Are you from Boston? Did every single person in Boston react the same way? Did you know that in fact most people didn't even know about the incident until after the media reported it on the evening news?

I love how everyone thinks that the whole ATHF thing "shut down" Boston. It didn't. They closed a bridge coming into the city and stopped traffic on it. Most of the people already in the city had no idea it was different than any other day.

I also love how you ascribe the city's government's behavior to everyone in Boston too. Can I assume you, as an american, agree with everything Bush says because he's your president? The mayor overreacted, not the people.

So what's more stupid: This lamp or a poster that *surprise* doesn't know what he's talking about?

[Mile @ Jul 10th 2007 11:40AM]

P-Diddy: A riddle! I love riddles!

Is the answer: The Boston Police?

[p-diddy @ Jul 10th 2007 11:52AM]

Mile, I'm not going to debate the debacle again - I know I have an unpopular opinion. But at least you've narrowed your comment down to one of the actors. There are big differences between Mumbles, the police, and the entire population of Boston.

-p-

[fdgdfgdfg @ Jul 10th 2007 1:23PM]

>I love how everyone thinks that the whole ATHF thing "shut down" Boston.

I never thought that way.

>the people already in the city had no idea it was different than any other day.

I had guessed that much.

>I also love how you ascribe the city's government's behavior to everyone in Boston too

I didn't. I said "in" Boston, without specifying further. That could have been anyone. Please learn about prepositions.

>Can I assume you, as an american,

I am not american.

>So what's more stupid: This lamp or a poster that *surprise* doesn't know what he's talking about?

Surely the lamp, but I can tell you what's EVEN more stupid: A poster who does not know what he is READING about.

[strider_mt2k @ Jul 10th 2007 10:52AM]

Great, now when our jelly says,"I am a jar" someone will think it's open and try to close it.

Stupid contradictory programming!

[strider_mt2k @ Jul 10th 2007 11:00AM]

If it WAS a bomb, it might (ironically) say,

"And in addition to the darkness there was also me. And I moved upon the face of the darkness. And I saw that I was alone. Let there be light. !"

"Dark Star" 1974

[Mile @ Jul 10th 2007 11:12AM]

I am not a poster!

[Grey Acumen @ Jul 10th 2007 11:41AM]

Of course you aren't a poster, you're a person, posters are what we stick up on walls with tape or thumbtacks.

[p-diddy @ Jul 10th 2007 11:57AM]

Grey, assuming you are replying to me because on my end it is attached to someone else's comment, if he didn't mean all of us Bostonians, my apologies.

I get defensive because everyone a) repeatedly harps on the situation (please just let it die already) and b) treats it like everyone in Boston completely lost their $#!+ that day. I see it on engadget here and there but see it on the other major gadget site all the time. I'm just really tired of people including all the sane people here with the clowns.

If I jumped the gun, my bad.

[Grey Acumen @ Jul 10th 2007 11:44AM]

Since when did he ascribe the city's government's behavior to every single person in Boston?

He very specifically said "The paranoia in Boston"
He said nothing about the people in Boston who WEREN'T paranoid, only those that were.

[Chris Derry @ Jul 10th 2007 12:33PM]

err... I am not a pipe?

[Rainier @ Jul 10th 2007 12:45PM]

Someone set us up the lamp!

[Chris @ Jul 10th 2007 1:35PM]

HA!

[siv_art @ Jul 10th 2007 1:05PM]

We are not the bombs. All your Gardens are belong to us.

[murray @ Jul 10th 2007 1:12PM]

That's da bomb.

[adrenaline @ Jul 10th 2007 2:18PM]

now we need a presidential lame to declare "I am not a crook"

[shakeboy2k @ Jul 10th 2007 4:05PM]

At first I laughed, then I wondered if it's merely an artistic/social statement. I can't imagine anyone with half a brain actually thinking this would make people not be afraid of it being a bomb.

[jmoorehead @ Jul 10th 2007 6:01PM]

best product evar

[Steve @ Jul 10th 2007 7:53PM]

This video was 3 minutes too long.

[Alexander @ Jul 11th 2007 2:31PM]

This is SOOOOOO annoying... WTF were they thinking about?