3/15/2003: Airport security's taken items
 

http://cellar.org/2003/takenitems.jpg

This is a shot of items that were confiscated at Baltimore-Washington International Airport by security. And a PSA: if you're flying, you can't take scissors with you. Or garden tools. Or corkscrews or specialty tweezers or wrenches or utility knives or toenail clippers or swiss army knives or medical clamps.

Says here that airport screeners have seized more than 4.8 million items in the last 13 months, including a circular saw.

Not sure why the wrench is prohibited, but maybe an industrious terrorist could unbolt pieces of the plane during flight.

I am certainly amused at the number of people who were all ready to open a bottle of wine ... but why the heck did someone expect to do a little gardening on the plane?

I think they should have a little post-office at the security screening area ... overcharge you for a puffy envelope to mail stuff like this to yourself.

(I have a some OVERPRICED pairs of scissors I use for craftwork that I would be very unhappy about if I had to surrender them to a screener.)

I remember seeing another box o' stuff that had supposedly been recovered from an airport security checkpoint that was supposedly for sale at a Salvation Army store near one of the major city airports ... was that posted here?

I remember a Fark link not too long ago about a California airport selling some of the nicer confiscated items on ebay.

When I see stories like this, all I can think about is how ppl in prison still manage to kill each other w/o scissors. This is such a minor setback for somebody who's really out for blood.

Don't worry.

Soon enough, you won't be able to take fists or even hands on an airplane, because terrorists might strangle people with them.

Doesn't anybody think of the children? One of the future leaders of America could be on that plane!!

You don't understand why you can't take a wrench on the plane? BECAUSE WE SAID SO!!! We are Deutch...I mean Homeland Security. You will obey!

20 years ago I was boarding a flight in Kansas City, Kansas for Philadelphia carrying a fiberglass toolcase. It contained a hammer, chisels, screwdrivers, wrenches, wire cutters, soldering iron, utility knife, hacksaw, etc, etc. They demanded I remove the hacksaw blade and surrender it or put in a checked bag. I told them that was bullshit. They told me it was a policy based on the hardness of the metal. I insisted letting me on with all the other tools but not that blade was stupid. After 15 minutes they relented and I boarded with everything. I would have had no objection to having to put everything in checked baggage, but
just couldn't stand the idiocy.

They won't let us carry our razors, so we grow beards. With beards we look like Taliban.

The vicious cycle continues...

So why would a person take a garden trowel on an airplane? Perhaps he was a Shrubber, as in Roger the Shrubber.

About a month after the Sept. 11 incident I had to fly on business and forgot that I had a little Swiss Army knife on my key chain. I stood around not far from the security check point trying to figure out what to do with my knife and decided to take it off my key ring and stick it in the plastic plant mulch in the lobby.

3 days later when I got back I went to the fake tree and dug into the mulch and got back my knife.

Which brings up a good point. How about a storage business at the airports that secures your item until you return.

When I was 17 or 18 I worked a maintenance job at a hotel that had a polo theme for one of the bars. They were remodeling and I asked for the 4 polo mallets on the wall.

I had a cousin I was visiting for the summer in Minnesota who lived on a farm and had some horses so I thought that it would be funny to give her the polo mallets.

So when I checked my luggage at the Northwest Airlines counter they told me to take the clubs on the plane. But the security folks had other ideas. "Take them back" I was told as they could be used as a weapon to take over the plane. As I recall the clubs were about 5 feet long. I don't know if you could actually swing one on a plane let alone hit what you were aiming for.

I gotta know...where in Kansas City Kansas were you boarding a plane?

Yes, I know, I'm one of those Kansas vs. Missouri jerkoffs. There is no airport in Kansas City Kansas, not since the early 60's, I think. It is now a GM plant, and they used to make landing craft here during WWII.

Signing off being a dick, now. :3eye:

The focus of all this airport security crap is in the wrong direction. Do we trust our citizens with firearms or not. I am always amazed at the gov't ability to twist reality into fantasy. Allow CCW holders to carry *on the fucking plane* and they will be your airport security willingly *for free*!!

This is such a fucking no brainer, it makes my head hurt even talking about it.

Responsible , law abiding people carry weapons every day without incident. If you are in Pa, look around you sometime and realize that statewide, 1 in 12 that you see may have a loaded firearm on them*! Are they causing trouble? No. This is the cost effective solution to all this security non-sense.

* I originally meant legally with a permit but the same applies to some parts of the city by the criminals.

slang, are you Archie-fucking-Bunker?

Did you ever see Goldfinger?

I even had to warn Pussy about firing a weapon inside a pressurized cabin.

Especially when the passengers are as numerous and packed in as tight as on a commercial flight.

It's the OK Corral in the sky folks!

Fucking brilliant!

WTF are you thinking? The fantasy of it all is fun, but the reality sucks.

When the armed pilot debate started up there were quite a few mentions of explosive decompression (and mentions of that scene in Goldfinger.) Actually it was the first thing I thought of ...

But apparently it doesn't work that way in real life. I had hoped that my answer would be found here but unfortunately the good people at Intuitor have not looked at explosive decompression in film recently.

The nice people at packing.org have discussed the topic at length.

Aw schnap! NBN, WTF were YOU thinking?

Dunno what you're all worked up about, Juju ... the fantasy of seeing large people sucked through tiny holes is still fun, even if it's only a fantasy ...