An unscrupulous band of thugs has attacked Springfi eld with a most cruel and barbarous weapon: yarn. Their fi rst vicious attack can be witnessed where the 600 block of Myrtle Street meets South Sixth Street, just south of Laurel Avenue. There, a utility pole has been ensnared in a brightly colored web of crocheted destruction. It’s called “yarn bombing” or “guerrilla knitting,” and it’s believed to have started in Houston, Texas, sometime in 2005. This whimsical form of public art has become something of an underground phenomenon, spurring the formation of guerrilla knitting groups across the globe. Guerilla knitters in other cities have covered statues, trees, mailboxes, bridge supports, cars and even a military tank with yarn. Although possibly illegal in some jurisdictions, yarn bombing doesn’t appear to be covered under Springfi eld’s vandalism ordinance, which outlaws “the willful or malicious destruction, injury, disfi gurement or defacement of any public or private property.” Categorizing yarn bombing as “disfi gurement or defacement” is probably a stretch because the yarn is easily removed.