In this post-9/11 age in America it seems as if anything can be cause for alarm. What was supposed to have been a harmless April Fools' joke turned into far more when five teenage girls in Ravenna, Ohio placed 17 "suspicious" packages, made to look like the question blocks in Super Mario Bros., throughout the town.

According to local Ohio newspapers, the girls were simply playing a game outlined on a website about Mario Question Blocks, which instructed them on how to create the blocks and suggested that they place them in different spots across their area to see what kind of reaction they would get. Well, if it was a reaction they were looking for, they sure got what they wanted and probably more.

The boxes, which were wrapped in gold paper and had question marks spray painted on them, were spotted in front of a church, a library, a pastry store, a high school, local residences and elsewhere. It didn't take long before calls came in to the local authorities and the Portage County Hazardous Materials Unit and Bomb Detection Unit were brought in to investigate the packages in downtown Ravenna on Friday morning. The HAZMAT team checked for radiation and chemical agents, none of which was present.

Not only did the bomb squad and HAZMAT team get called to the scene, but the Portage County Sheriff's Office, two Fire Chiefs and the Portage County Emergency Management Agency also all got involved.

"The potential is always present when dealing with a suspicious package that it could be deadly," Ravenna Police Chief Randall McCoy told the Record Courier. "In today's day and age, you just cannot do this kind of stuff."

As the investigation was still in progress one of the girls came in to the police station with a parent and took responsibility for placing some of the boxes, claiming that it was meant to be a joke. Now she and the other four teenage girls could be facing criminal charges, as the Ravenna Police Department works with the Portage County Prosecutor's Office to determine what actions should be taken next regarding this prank.

Somehow we doubt the next terrorist attack in the U.S. will come via Mario Question Blocks, unless the terrorist is named Bowser, of course. Then again, we don't work for Homeland Security.