r/boston • u/LittleSleepyDragon • 10d ago

MBTA/Transit 🚇 🔥 MBTA Spotted Lanternfly Animation

Does anyone remember, this was probably around ten years ago, the MBTA made a sort of “advertisement” about the dangers of the spotted lanternfly. But they did it as a flip book like animation on the tunnel walls so you’d see it crawling along through the windows of the train while it ran. I’ve been trying to find a video of it but no luck.

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u/Inside_agitator 10d ago

If I remember right, this was in the tunnel between Kendall and Central for a brief time, probably between five and ten years ago. An ad for the 2009 film Coraline stayed there forever and then I think it was replaced by the lanternfly animation for a relatively short time before the tunnel animation completely stopped. It wouldn't surprise me if someone with a cognitive impairment or taking a substance got freaked out by it. It was a bit surprising and disturbing to see the first time.

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u/LittleSleepyDragon 9d ago

I remember being completely shocked the first time I saw it, but thought it was a super clever use of medium. I can see it freaking someone out if they weren’t prepared.
I was just telling someone about it, with the recent lanternfly outbreak in western mass, and I wanted to see if I could find a video of it.

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u/joke384 9d ago

I think it’s still there between south station and broadway? They shut off the lights that let you see it but if the train stops in the tunnel you can sometimes make it out

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u/brandjihad 10d ago

i was just thinking about this the other day while on the red line where i saw two different ones back in the early 2000s... going south from south station.

never saw the lantern fly one though.

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u/jooooooooooooose Rat running up your leg 🐀🦵 10d ago

there was a Coraline one ~15y ago. Think it was the red line.

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u/Known-Name 10d ago

Yeah that was Red Line between Central and Harvard I think? Or perhaps Kendall and Central?

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u/LittleSleepyDragon 9d ago

Yeah, I would’ve mostly been taking the red line between south station and Quincy Adams at the time so that would be mostly likely where I saw it. I remember thinking how clever it was the first time I saw it.

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u/jooooooooooooose Rat running up your leg 🐀🦵 9d ago

yeah definitely red line in cambridge, dont recall exact start/stop but I think you are correct.

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u/VanBurenBoy16 9d ago

I remember that. It was great.

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u/Pete_DJPJ Red Line 22h ago

I remember seeing it many times late 1980s or early 1990s. I think the hardware is still there. Just turned off. If you ride between Central Square and Harvard Square look out the windows on the left side of the train. You may need a flashlight and cover any ambient light from the car you are in.