Earlier this morning, news broke that there had been a bomb scare at the Pittsburgh Marathon, causing a redirection of the race’s path. What with the car bomb in Times Square just the night prior, one couldn’t help but wonder just what the hell was going on out there. Are our marathons not even sacred?!
Pittsburgh Marathon Redirected After Discovery Of Suspicious Microwave And Pasta
↵Well, but, um, about that. The “explosive device” that police found was inside a microwave oven, which should have been hint number one that something was awry. Take it from here, WTAE:
↵↵A microwave oven containing pasta -- an a [sic] suspected explosive device -- was detonated Sunday morning at the finish line of the 2010 Pittsburgh Marathon , which attracted tens of thousands of people to the city.
The Pittsburgh Bomb Squad secured the area sidewalk where the microwave was found in front of the Greyhound Transportation Center at 11th Street and Liberty Avenue. Police technicians then detonated the microwave oven and removed the device from the scene and reopened the area.
Pittsburgh Police Chief Nate Harper and Public Safety Director Michael Huss are converging at the city’s Emergency Operations Center as an investigation continues. Police are trying to determine what the device was.
↵↵During a press conference afterward, authorities refused to discuss what was in the microwave, preferring only to discuss their protocol and stress that they’d rather “err on the side of caution.” Of course, to err on the side of caution, one must, y’know, err. And if diverting a marathon so your police force can blow up a microwave full of pasta isn’t an error, we’re not sure what would qualify.
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