Last night at Thomas Friedman's Brown University talk about the economic and foreign policy implications of green technology, The New York Times columnist got an unexpected surprise: a pie in the face. As the Brown Daily Herald reports, when Friedman began to speak, a female student jumped up from the front row, ran across the stage and threw a green pie into the writer's face. Simultaneously, a male accomplice threw pamphlets identifying the pair as the "Greenwash Guerillas" and featuring five reasons why "Thomas Friedman deserves a pie in the face."

After the incident, Friedman initially continued his speech before going backstage for a brief period to clean himself off. He eventually returned to the stage and delivered his speech, which detailed the findings in his new book, Hot, Flat and Crowded.

University spokesman Michael Chapman told the Herald that the thrower of the pie was apprehended and that Brown "will review this incident through its non-academic disciplinary system to determine the appropriate response."