What would you do if you found a small cooler sitting on a bench outside at a strip mall?

[sinkingfeeling]

First the question and then the story.


Okay. Last Thursday evening I went to the Home Depot and then decided to treat myself by eating dinner out. I decided to go to a Jason's Deli because I had never been there. As I parked my car at one end of the 'L-shaped' building, I noticed a couple of police officers putting yellow crime tape around a triangle flower bed that had a metal bench.

When I came out, there were about a dozen police cars with flashing lights surrounding half the parking lot. The yellow tape was now way out into the lot and my car was the only one anywhere near the buildings. I walked around, got into my car, and started to exit. I then stopped because a huge, armored tank-like truck with flashing blue lights was coming into the lot. It was the bomb squad from a neighboring county.

At 10PM, the local news said the police had been called because a small cooler was found sitting on the bench. It contained a soda and a sandwich, somebody's lunch!

Had I discovered it, I would have opened it up and then taken it to a lost and found in the nearest store. That it had a billion to one chance of being a bomb would never have crossed my mind.

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

1. You mean, a water cooler? Is it plugged in?

[slackmaster]

2. Call the bomb squad

;-)

[valerief]

3. Start screaming for everyone to form a prayer circle to pray it away. nt

[Luminous Animal]

4. Take it in and hand it over to security so they could put in "lost and found."

[hifiguy]

5. Check for beer?

:shrug:

[bottomofthehill]

8. we have a winner

[Starry Messenger]

16. Beat me to it.

[blindpig]

31. Yep

First thing to cross my mind. Healthy, working class thinking.

[Javaman]

35. LOL that was my first thought! LOL

great minds think alike!

Cheers! :beer:

[Obamanaut]

45. That's good, because some of us are due beer and travel expenses. nt

[Control-Z]

56. No you dint. n/t

[Drunken Irishman]

6. Check to see if it had beer in it...and if it did...take the beer.

[bottomofthehill]

12. another winner

[aikoaiko]

7. Look inside.

:shrug:

[hlthe2b]

9. I'd hope there was an iced cold beer in it...

;) And that would be my assumption.... Nonetheless, given the times in which we live, I'd notify mall security and leave it sitting there. (Because even if it did contain a nice cold "Fat Tire," or an icy Corona with lime--it doesn't belong to me and drinking it would be wrong....Right? :evilgrin:

[LiberalAndProud]

10. I probably wouldn't notice it.

And if I did, I probably wouldn't do anything.

[hedgehog]

11. I don't honestly know. The bomb placed in Spokane was in a back pack.

[Lex]

13. Figure it was somebody else's and they'd come back and get it.

Not mine, so I'd leave it alone.

[zorahopkins]

14. Walk On By

I would just ignore it.

It's probably nothing to worry about.

[Myrina]

21. My luck there'd be a severed head in it ...

... so yeah, I'd steer clear of it and let someone else investigate.

[Kaleva]

15. Figure there's a pony in there somewhere and open it up only to be disappointed.

[NeedleCast]

17. Blame Obama

[closeupready]

18. Nothing. It's not mine, so I keep walking. End of story.

What happened?

[ret5hd]

19. check it for ransom money.

[hedgehog]

20. What we learn from this thread is that using a timer is not necessary.

Just set your bomb to go off when someone picks up the cooler.

[Kaleva]

25. Especially if there's a sign on it that says "Free Beer!".

[BeFree]

22. Shoot it. Blow a hole in from 100 feet. 2 holes even.

Not really....

What to really do? Call the cops.

[Liberal_in_LA]

23. I'd have left it, assuming someone would return shortly. Would not have thought it was a bomb

[damntexdem]

24. Move far away from it and call 911.

It's shame, but that's what should be done nowadays.

[Rebubula]

42. Maybe for you...

...looks like you have bought into the boogeyman scare tactics.


As with the others - I would either ignore as it is someone else's stuff - or look to see if there is any beer.

[Newest Reality]

26. Imagining bombs everywhere

proves that social engineering works extremely well!

We must be distracted from the political and financial bombs being left and dropped all around us.

[nadinbrzezinski]

27. That is because you cannot fathom that it could be a bomb

Given that yes... Pipe bombs have been left for real that way... I would have called 911.

Then again I have been this close to an actual car bomb.

Oh and yes I forgot to add... The likelihood of this being an actual device is fairly low

[sinkingfeeling]

29. And that's the point. What I really would like to know is if older folks (like myself)

have less suspicion than younger people, who have become adults since 9/11 and the 'war on terror' fear everything promotion. It would never occur to me to think 'bomb' when I see a backpack or cooler. Nor do I think 'terrorist' when I see a Muslim.

[blindpig]

33. It is likely more related to TV viewing.

When I see a cooler I think 'beer'.

[nadinbrzezinski]

39. TV viewing, think throwdown with bobby flay

[jberryhill]

34. Depends

Being mindful of unattended containers, bags, etc, is something that pre-dates 9/11.

[nadinbrzezinski]

40. +1000 especially in places like England

during the troubles, Spain... especially near vasque country... italy and the red brigades... Germany, ditto... let's not mention Israel...

And for me Mexico...

We are to a point blessed that most Americans have never had to take this as an actual possibility. And if our government wanted to "train" people as to unattended devices, there are more pipe bombs going off than are actually reported.

Of course there is a reason for that... we really do not want to deal with the low level terrorism, let's use the proper word here, going on in the US and not by Muslims or other minorities either.

[nadinbrzezinski]

38. I am way older than you think

and this is not the state training me to be a good drone.... it is actual experience as in real life.

Nor do I see a Muslim and think terrorist either.

For me it is actual life experience...

Now what is the likelihood of a device? An actual device? very low... I have a better opportunity to get myself killed in a car wreck going to saith restaurant.

Let's just say standing besides an actual, honest to goodness car bomb changes your perspective though...

[Abq_Sarah]

53. If it were next to the doors, I'd be suspicious

But sitting away from the entrance on a bench, not so much.

[Gormy Cuss]

28. YOU MAY HAVE BEEN BLOWED UP! STOOPID!

Yeah, I'd open it before calling the bomb squad too.

[meow mix]

30. look inside for marijuana

hey ya never know!

[provis99]

32. what would the Denver Police do?

http://boingboing.net/2010/12/07/denver-bomb-squad-de.html

[HopeHoops]

36. Check for cold beer

[cherokeeprogressive]

37. I'd probably walk past it without giving it a second glance.

Pretty sure.

[Pacifist Patriot]

50. That would be me. The odds of it even registering in my oblivious skull is pretty low.

[Morning Dew]

41. Call in an airstrike.

[GeorgeGist]

43. Unrec'd for lamitude.

[LeftinOH]

44. I would have looked inside it -to make sure it isn't a bomb. Then I'd leave the

the top open so everyone else can see that it isn't a bomb. Then I'd go on my way.

[JonLP24]

46. Ha!

Reminds me when I broke my hand overseas they had me working in a dining facility-mostly headcount, checking temperatures, enforcing rules, etc. One of the rules was no backpacks or bags, things like that. I remember one time a soldier was wearing a backpack, NCOIC told him that he couldn't bring the backpack inside so the soldier went around the building and left his backpack near the exit so when he left he could pick it up. My NCOIC noticed that and called the MPs so they can check for bombs. Nothing was found and he received a warning.

[cbdo2007]

47. I would have left it there and gone about my business. It isn't worth it to get involved.

I would have figured someone forgot it and would come back to get it, so I would have just left it alone and gone on with my day and forgotten about it 5 minutes later.

[Politicalboi]

48. So to keep the cops busy

All one has to do is leave small coolers around town on benches. How pathetic is that. This not due to 9/11, this is due to illegal wars.

[Taverner]

49. See if there are any beers?

[onethatcares]

51. whoops, I thought it said "outside a strip club"

I gotta either start drinking later or earlier.

My bad.

[Travelman]

52. Check to see if there's a kidney inside

Them things are valuable and I can use the money.

[Pithlet]

54. I would have ignored it.

I don't think bomb would have occured to me, either. I'm almost 39 FWIW.

[Prometheus Bound]

55. 1. Scream like a madman. 2. Faint.

I don't know what I'd do after that.