All your base are under arrest

It all started out because of a crappy translation in a Japanese video game.

It all ended up with seven people thrown in jail.

Maybe in your travels through the 'net, you've come across the phrase "All Your Base Are Belong To Us". Maybe not. But ask any geek worth their salt, and they'll tell you. "All Your Base..." (sometimes simply referred to as AYB) was a big, no, BIG phenomenon in early '01. Don't believe me? Check out Google's results for the phrase.

For reasons unexplained, the clumsily translated text from an outdated Japanese video game called Zero Wing drew the fascination of geeks worldwide. In early 2001 it reached some kind of a critical mass and soon there were entire websites devoted to AYB, complete with various bands performing "All Your Base" songs.

Of course, it's all fun and games until somebody loses an eye, as Mom always told us. On Tuesday (April Fools Day, natch) some kids in Sturgis, MI took things a step too far, I guess.

Can't get enough of that bad translation stuff? Check out Engrish.