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He has custody of the banana...errr geocache.


SwineFlew

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http://m.journalstar.com/news/local/911/suspicious-banana-in-tree-not-a-bomb/article_446f922b-c7c9-535b-9cab-bd352927dc5d.html?mobile_touch=true

 

 

Lincoln fire investigators have cracked the case of the suspicious banana found hanging Tuesday from a pine tree in northeast Lincoln.

 

The banana-appearing device, wrapped in yellow tape and attached to a wire, caught the eye of a Lincoln Electric System worker in the area of 84th Street and Leighton Avenue, Lincoln Fire and Rescue Capt. Lloyd Mueller said.

 

So the man called 911 to report the suspicious banana and police and fire crews, along with a bomb technician, responded.

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When Mueller's company arrived, they waited at least 100 feet away and watched the device through binoculars as they waited for the bomb technician to arrive, Lincoln Fire Investigator Chuck Schweitzer said.

 

Schweitzer and the crews -- with an assist from listeners to the police scanner -- determined the banana wasn't a bomb.

 

Instead, it was part of a modern scavenger hunt, called geocaching, where enthusiasts try to find hidden objects using GPS. There are millions of geocaches hidden around the world, according to geocaching.com.

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City bomb technicians have been out on similar calls through the years as geocaching has grown in popularity, Schweitzer said.

 

"They see things that they just think might not be quite right and they do call them in," Schweitzer said, exactly as they're supposed to.

 

Around 2:30 p.m. a voice alerted dispatchers: Schweitzer has custody of the banana.

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Question - probably naive - but once they figure out an object is *not* a bomb, why don't they leave it alone instead of taking it away?

I can think of a couple of possible reasons:

1. A misunderstanding of the game. They may not realize the item is meant to be left there for other people to find.

2. It's already caused a disturbance, so they'd prefer to remove the item that caused the disturbance to prevent a reoccurrence.

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Question - probably naive - but once they figure out an object is *not* a bomb, why don't they leave it alone instead of taking it away?

 

Why don't they leave it there, and mark it on their map, so IF it's called in again they know!

 

That's what I was thinking.

 

Otherwise..... I don't really like the look of this ugly van that keeps parking in my street. If I call it in as supicious, will they come and tow it away? :laughing:

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Question - probably naive - but once they figure out an object is *not* a bomb, why don't they leave it alone instead of taking it away?

I can think of a couple of possible reasons:

1. A misunderstanding of the game. They may not realize the item is meant to be left there for other people to find.

2. It's already caused a disturbance, so they'd prefer to remove the item that caused the disturbance to prevent a reoccurrence.

 

I could see the second.

- Maybe they felt they could be at fault if it fell to the ground and someone slipped on it.

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Question - probably naive - but once they figure out an object is *not* a bomb, why don't they leave it alone instead of taking it away?

 

Why don't they leave it there, and mark it on their map, so IF it's called in again they know!

 

That's what I was thinking.

 

Otherwise..... I don't really like the look of this ugly van that keeps parking in my street. If I call it in as supicious, will they come and tow it away? :laughing:

 

Even if it's called in again, for the same object, they still have to go out. Bombs and other suspicious objects don't qualify for the saturation guidelines, so there nothing stopping someone from putting a bomb in the same place. There's nothing stopping someone from putting a bomb in a cache hoping then pokice think it's a cache, so they leave it alone. The pokice have to respond to every call out, regardless of previous incidents at the location. The advantage of them knowing it may be a cache, is the difference between a full on response costing thousands of dollars and one officer checking it out first.

 

As for that van on the street; well they won't tow the van, as it's their van to begin with. But you're not supposed to know that :ph34r:

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I am wondering what went through the dispatcher head. "A banana in a tree. Why do I always get stuck with the weird people?"

I wonder if that was what was called in, though. The story describes it as "banana-appearing":

The banana-appearing device, wrapped in yellow tape and attached to a wire

We don't know what it really looked like. For all we know it could have looked a lot like a pipe bomb, but then described after-the-fact as banana-like.

 

Maybe ne'er-do-wells are making their bombs bright yellow these days...

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The cache, now archived, had been in place right next to an electrical substation for more than four years. Perhaps a bright-colored container hanging on a wire was not the best choice for that location?

 

I fielded an email request yesterday from a utility company in my review territory, asking for a similarly situated non-banana cache to be removed -- always better to have an email rather than a news article about a bomb squad callout.

 

I'm feeling more and more empowered (pardon the pun) to insist on proof of permission for caches placed near major utility infrastructure.

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I am wondering what went through the dispatcher head. "A banana in a tree. Why do I always get stuck with the weird people?"

Now the pine cone in the oak tree is more subtle. That might go right over the dispatcher's head, just as with the pedestrian who doesn't see it while they're thinking about their root canal.

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The cache, now archived, had been in place right next to an electrical substation for more than four years. Perhaps a bright-colored container hanging on a wire was not the best choice for that location?

 

I fielded an email request yesterday from a utility company in my review territory, asking for a similarly situated non-banana cache to be removed -- always better to have an email rather than a news article about a bomb squad callout.

 

I'm feeling more and more empowered (pardon the pun) to insist on proof of permission for caches placed near major utility infrastructure.

Fortunately businesses are starting to know about the game.

 

That said, there's irrational paranoia about tiny "bombs." Even the strongest explosive the size of a banana has a limited zone of much damage. A truck bomb is another story.

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The cache, now archived, had been in place right next to an electrical substation for more than four years. Perhaps a bright-colored container hanging on a wire was not the best choice for that location?

 

I fielded an email request yesterday from a utility company in my review territory, asking for a similarly situated non-banana cache to be removed -- always better to have an email rather than a news article about a bomb squad callout.

 

I'm feeling more and more empowered (pardon the pun) to insist on proof of permission for caches placed near major utility infrastructure.

Fortunately businesses are starting to know about the game.

 

That said, there's irrational paranoia about tiny "bombs." Even the strongest explosive the size of a banana has a limited zone of much damage. A truck bomb is another story.

Yes or no... Little damage to most things, but might injury a person. For something like a package size that come in your mail, it can kill someone. Think of unabomber, he use packages int he mail to kill people or injury them.

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The cache, now archived, had been in place right next to an electrical substation for more than four years. Perhaps a bright-colored container hanging on a wire was not the best choice for that location?

 

I fielded an email request yesterday from a utility company in my review territory, asking for a similarly situated non-banana cache to be removed -- always better to have an email rather than a news article about a bomb squad callout.

 

I'm feeling more and more empowered (pardon the pun) to insist on proof of permission for caches placed near major utility infrastructure.

Fortunately businesses are starting to know about the game.

 

That said, there's irrational paranoia about tiny "bombs." Even the strongest explosive the size of a banana has a limited zone of much damage. A truck bomb is another story.

 

Set an M80 off in your hand. Tell me what it feels like.

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The cache, now archived, had been in place right next to an electrical substation for more than four years. Perhaps a bright-colored container hanging on a wire was not the best choice for that location?

 

I fielded an email request yesterday from a utility company in my review territory, asking for a similarly situated non-banana cache to be removed -- always better to have an email rather than a news article about a bomb squad callout.

 

I'm feeling more and more empowered (pardon the pun) to insist on proof of permission for caches placed near major utility infrastructure.

Fortunately businesses are starting to know about the game.

 

That said, there's irrational paranoia about tiny "bombs." Even the strongest explosive the size of a banana has a limited zone of much damage. A truck bomb is another story.

 

Set an M80 off in your hand. Tell me what it feels like.

I know someone that lost his hand and arm to a M80.

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...has anybody ever approached emergency services and explained caching to them?

Yes, of course they have. Emergency personnel have also explained to geocachers that there is no way that geocachers can insure that it is not a bomb. How do they know that that the container is in fact a geocache? How do they know that a bomb wasn't placed nearby? The entire hiding from "muggles", acting suspicious and a little antisocial gets old after a while, especially if the container is tube shaped, bright yellow, and obvious to passerby.

Edited by 4wheelin_fool
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