Police swooped on a Swedish student’s flat this week after mistaking balloons celebrating her 21st birthday party as propaganda for the Islamic State of Iraq and Greater Syria (ISIS), otherwise known simply as the Islamic State. (Read backwards, the rounded numerals resembled the initials “IS.”)
Sarah Ericsson and her boyfriend Fabian Akesson adorned windows with celebratory balloons for her birthday bash in the southern city Karlskrona. Akesson said police cars arrived Monday after a passer-by had reported a window display featuring ISIS propaganda, reports UPI.
“We understand why someone would report it if they thought it looked like IS-propaganda, although everyone else just thought it looked like the number ’12’ from outside,” Ericsson told Swedish media.
The couple removed the balloons, with the birthday girl saying that “extremism should always be taken seriously.”
“I laughed about it and they showed me a photo that they had taken where from their perspective, it did almost look like the letters IS,” Akesson said.
“I’m so surprised at all the attention,” Ericsson added. “I will never forget my 21st birthday.”
[UPI]
More Must-Reads From TIME
- Jane Fonda Champions Climate Action for Every Generation
- Biden’s Campaign Is In Trouble. Will the Turnaround Plan Work?
- Why We're Spending So Much Money Now
- The Financial Influencers Women Actually Want to Listen To
- Breaker Sunny Choi Is Heading to Paris
- Why TV Can’t Stop Making Silly Shows About Lady Journalists
- The Case for Wearing Shoes in the House
- Want Weekly Recs on What to Watch, Read, and More? Sign Up for Worth Your Time
Contact us at letters@time.com