People in Marquette got quite the scare earlier this week when evacuations were ordered due to a potential bomb threat.

Police were responding to reports of a potential pipe bomb sitting on top of a FedEx drop-box, as reported by TV6. Nearby businesses, including a federal courthouse, were evacuated as police and cooperating nearby agencies investigated the object.

Thankfully, it was not a pipe bomb but a document holder said to be used on semi-trucks. Marquette Police Captain Mike Laurila told TV6 that,

It is a document, cargo holder that is typically affixed to the back of semi-tractor trailers that holds, for example, registration, work and things like that. It’s a tubular device with caps on both ends, so that was our concern at that particular time, that it wasn’t some type of explosive device.

 

Now, in the past, I've seen people assume that something was a bomb when it looked absolutely nothing like an actual bomb. However, this document holder, to me, 1000% looks like a pipe bomb. Check it out:

I would have, without hesitation, assumed the worst if I spotted that on the side of the road. And with the close proximity to a courthouse...again, I completely understand why this was reported as a potential bomb.

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Marquette police say they don't know where it came from but they assume it must have fallen off a truck as it passed through town. Someone must have seen it in the road and moved it to the FedEx drop-box to get it out of the way of traffic. Clearly, that was a person who did not assume the worst.

While I've never seen one of these in my 33 years of existence, a few people in Marquette have judging by their comments on the Marquette Police Facebook page:

J.D B. commented: No one really knew what this was the moment they seen it? Rubber cap document tube probably off a tanker trailer?

Amber U. wrote: How do you not know what that is???  I have no hope for this world.

John H. said: What a joke.

Losing hope in the world because people haven't seen a part specific to semi-trucks feels harsh. Personally, I live by the motto of "better safe than sorry".

The chances of finding a potential pipe bomb on the street may be low (at least I hope), but what about other random events? Here's 50 random things and the odds of them happening to you:

LOOK: What are the odds that these 50 totally random events will happen to you?

Stacker took the guesswork out of 50 random events to determine just how likely they are to actually happen. They sourced their information from government statistics, scientific articles, and other primary documents. Keep reading to find out why expectant parents shouldn't count on due dates -- and why you should be more worried about dying on your birthday than living to 100 years old.

 

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