Thank you, TSA, for saving us from those dangerous snow globes, gel inserts and printer cartridges

True to form, the TSA has overreacted yet again to a minor security threat by banning printer cartridges. Printer cartridges!

But we knew that would happen, didn’t we? At least they aren’t forcing us through those strip-search machines — yet.

The government also banned cargo aircraft from Somalia and Yemen — which would have been a prudent move, if there were any cargo aircraft from Somalia and Yemen.

Have you taken a look at the list of banned items lately? It sure is getting long.

Some items definitely belong on it, like dynamite, flares and grenades. No one is arguing with those.

But others are so preposterous, so laughable, you can hardly believe they’re there.

Like shoe inserts. Yes, kids, gel inserts. Better leave those Dr. Scholl’s at home or check them in.

Snow globes, too. When is the last time you heard of a snow globe blowing up a plane?

Non-flammable paint? Ooh, sounds dangerous.

What does the TSA have to say for itself? Nothing, really. A search of its site shows only vague explanations for the dangers of gels and snow globes. (Apparently, its well-trained officers can’t tell the difference between a globe and a grenade. And gels? Don’t even get me started.)

Will the latest ban on printer cartridges affect anyone? Unless you sell printer cartridges, probably not.

But still, parts of this list makes the agency look so reactionary and silly, especially when it fails to explain exactly why the bans are in place.

TSA could easily fix this by annotating its list. Adding a link to each item, along with a clear explanation for why it is banned, would go a long way to restoring its lost credibility.

I know. I’m not holding my breath.

  • cjr

    Wait, gel shoe inserts? When did those go on the list?

    Regardless, it’s disturbing how much of the Obviously Should Be On the List (like big knives and so on) is still brought to airports, much less all the less obvious things that people are not entirely aware of (like gel inserts).

  • http://www.twitter.com/claystorm Kevin Murray

    Wait, wait, wait, hold the freaking train. So, now I have to remove the inserts in my shoes if I want to fly? This is getting crazy stupid. Who in the heck is thinking this crap up anyway? I am guessing they do not fly commercial.

    What if I forget I have them in my shoes (I did until I read this article & I remembered). What about those people who need them and have prescription inserts? Does this type of thing even show up on x-ray or does it just look like another part of the shoe?

    And if we are really going to get gel crazy, what about people like me who travel with an air-cast cus we have done our ankles in too many times over the years (man, that makes me sound old)? My air-cast has gel pads on it.

    At what point are we going to stand up and say enough is enough? I have no problem with the naked full body scanners, but gel shoe inserts? Really?

  • atlmom

    Seriously. They need to do what El Al does. Question every passenger. And not the silly idiotic way they did it after that pan am plane blew up (I know – I was on an el al flight, and then on a flight to europe after the pan am flight blew up – they had the same questionnaire as the el al people – but they certainly weren’t trained to understand why they were asking the questions, or to listen to the answers. Since no one would say: why, yes, I have some banned substances in my luggage, care to see them?).

  • Wrona

    The gel shoe inserts have been on there for at least a few years, either since the shoe bomber or the liquid restrictions. Yep, a real important restriction that one.

  • West Coaster

    At some point, even I will question TSA’s relevance!! While I am not one to carry a copier/printer when I travel, I have seen people who feel they must for work purposes. So why ban the cartridges?? Shoe inserts, again I do not use, but know people who do and question why they should not be allowed even in checked baggage. Both fit into the same category as Peanut Butter. Not a single good reason given, other than someone with power wanting to use (abuse) their authority!!!!!

  • Tony

    For all these TSA rules, who hasn’t forgotten to comply with one and only realized it later because it wasn’t “caught” (like forgetting to take your plastic bag of 3oz. hygiene products out of your carry-on when going through security)?

  • Sarah Di

    I was really careful to put all of my liquids into a bag when I traveled a couple of weeks ago. It was only when I got to my destination that I realized I left a container of cream make up in my purse. And it was even too large for the liquid restrictions if I’d had to fit it into my bag with other liquids. I don’t know how serious they are about the liquid stuff anymore. Before, I got yelled at because my bag wasn’t in a bin by itself. This last time, I had shoes, jackets and who knows what piled into a bin with my bag and I don’t even think they looked at it.

  • Cassivella

    So, snowglobes have been banned for a while. Most contain over the 100mL of liquid anyway. Shoe inserts have been banned for years.

    Here’s a thought – why don’t we all just stop insisting on bringing our snow globe collection through security?

    Yes, we have the technology to determine that a snowglobe is not a grenade, and we now have the technology to test the snowglobe liquid to make sure it is not an explosive component.

    But, the real question is, should everyone else traveling through that security line that day have to wait while TSA does this?

    Most companies offer free shipping or nearly free shipping for holiday presents – use it. Put your gel inserts into your checked baggage for the whole 2 hours it is going to take to get to your destination.

    I am tired of people complaining about the TSA banned list (and note, that most of the banned items people are complaining about are just banned from being carried on the plane, not banned from checked luggage). And most of the people complaining fly less than 4 times a year – I fly more than that in one week.

    Do you really need to pack paint? Or are you complaining because you just don’t understand why you can’t carry it on?

    Sometimes the answer is simply because it is faster for everyone, TSA and passengers alike, to ban items that need to be screened separately. If we ban paint, we don’t need to worry about all those passengers that need their paint hand screened at the checkpoint, which affects how quickly everyone goes through the line.

    At a certain point, especially since the inability to bring paint through the security line certainly does not infringe upon anyone’s civil rights, you are complaining just to complain.

    And what this turns into in real life is a bunch of people approaching the security line with items they know are banned and then yelling and screaming about it to TSA. Which, causes the lines to slow (or, causes the entire security point to go into lockdown where no one can go through or leave, which I’ve been in at least twice over the last year). And messing with the speed of the TSA line severely messes with my day because I have to stand there, possibly missing my plane, but definitely spending time doing something other than what I planned, because you want to argue about how the constitution guarantees you the right to bring a jumbo value size bottle of shampoo in your carry-on.

    So, sometimes things are stupid and sometimes things just seem stupid. There is a logic to it, however flawed. Unfortunately, the banned list is what it is. People should just accept it. After all, when Canada has issues with carry-on baggage, they just ban all carry-on baggage totally. And believe me, not having a single tiny bag is a major problem. If people actually read the list and cooperated with it, then we would all get to our destinations with significantly less trouble.

    And, you forgot to mention, don’t bring pie through the security line. Pies contain gel. They have been banned in all holidays past since 9/11.

  • David Emery

    My wife once had her mascara confiscated, giving her a case of the giggles.

  • sweepergrl

    I hate to even bring this up, but what about those bras that have gel in them? I can’t remember exactly what they are called but I think most people know what I’m talking about. Does that mean you can’t wear that bra?
    Seriously, I’m not even surprised at new TSA restrictions. At this point, their knee jerk reactions are laughable. I’m waiting for the day that we can’t wear elastic because it may be used to strangle someone. Or when we aren’t allowed anything electronic at all because we may be using it to communicate with Martian invaders.

  • EricR

    We lose tens of thousands of American lives each year to traffic accidents, influenza, pneumonia, etc., let alone to run-of-the-mill domestic crimes such as rape, murder, carjacking, and home invasions.

    But we lose barely hundreds (if that) to terrorism each year, and that’s only if you count our military deaths in Iraq and Afghanistan.

    Even if the U.S. dismantled the TSA and gave terrorists carte blanche to blow up all the planes they can with minimal security procedures in place, there just aren’t enough terrorists in the world to kill a significant number of people or destroy enough planes to affect the infrastructure.

    While dying at 10,000 feet due to an explosion is a horrific thing to contemplate, I consider it equally horrific to die slowly over the course of a year while a disease slowly rots me from the inside, or to die in a traffic accident because some moron decided to drive drunk or felt he had to get home faster than everyone else. And yet, almost no one is going to die in an airplane explosion…so why is everyone so disproportionately afraid of such an unlikely occurrence?

    Imagine if the $725 billion spent on the Iraq war had instead been spent on cancer, diabetes, heart disease, spinal cord injuries, and other such research. Instead of causing the death of 4,400+ soldiers (and the injury of 32,000+, not to mention the countless Iraqi civilian deaths), we could have potentially saved millions of lives worldwide.

    So when the TSA tells me I need to let them fondle my balls and forfeit my bottle of water because both are serious threats to national security, I want to become a serious threat to the TSA.

    And that is why I never fly anymore unless it’s absolutely critical. We’re giving up some serious 4th Amendment rights with no empirical benefit, all because most Americans have no concept of risk-benefit.

    As I stated in the cruise ship article, if you get in your car five days a week and drive to work, you are significantly more likely to die than from almost anything else, especially terrorism.

  • j

    first-prize winner for prohibited carry-on is……

    Tools (greater than seven inches in length)

  • Roger

    Minor security threat? You think a bomb on an airplane hidden in the perfect disguise is a minor threat?

    It’s pure genius is what it is. Evil, but genius. I suspect it would be very difficult to pick out the bomb if you were looking at side-by-side x-ray images of a modern printer cartridge and one of the “special” printer cartridges found on those cargo planes. The construction and contents of a printer cartridge is the perfect camouflage.

    So, should we just assume nobody is ever going to try that again and just allow printer cartridges to fly unrestricted? Or perhaps we’ll just all wait in line while extensive tests are conducted on every printer cartridge that goes through.

    Imagine the outcry if those bombs had found their way onto a U.S. Passenger jet. The TSA would be accused of failing to stop the attack. And yet, you prefer to take away from the TSA the best tool for eliminating this tactic – prohibiting printer cartridges from flying.

    You can’t have secure air travel without security folks.

    - Roger

  • GeekChic

    Cassivella – My father has gel inserts in his shoes and is extremely uncomfortable without them. Why should he be in pain just because TSA is incompetent and you are an impatient a$$?

  • Mo

    Do not fly! limit flying to minimum!

  • Jesse

    @Tony: If it’s getting through security (like forgetting to take your plastic bag of 3oz. hygiene products out of your carry-on when going through security), can we really call it security? And if we happen to have missed it, does that make it OK to have the rules??

    I am confused about this Gel Shoe insert deal. what if the shoes were sold with gel inserts? Are shoes NOT EVER sold with Gel Inserts? In that case are shoe manufacturers’ lobbyists working towards making Dr. Scholl’s go bankrupt?

    Give me a break!

  • Brian\PVD

    I’m sorry, but who needs to carry a toner cartridge on their person to travel? I realize things in First Class are nicer than coach, but I have yet to see someone set up an office I their seat.

  • EricR

    I should mention that, on at least three separate occasions since 9-11, I forgot about a large bottle of water in my carry-on, and the TSA never noticed. Their methods do not secure airplanes; they only inconvenience passengers. It’s an illusion of security, not real mitigation. If someone truly wanted to get on a plane with something dangerous, they could do it. It’s not difficult being smarter than the minimum-wage rent-a-cops the government hires for their charade.

  • http://jetiquette.org Margery

    I fly out of Boston, and they use the “strip search machines” routinely. I don’t have the nerve to suffer the consequences of saying no, so I try not to think of the TSA screener who might be making snorting noises as I stand in the machine, arms over my head — exactly the same pose as bandits make victims take in movies. Honestly, the list of prohibited items gets longer and longer. It is to the point where I’m ready to accept stripping naked, putting on a paper flight robe (like your doctor’s office has in stock), and putting snow globes (the ones I routinely travel with, who doesn’t?) in my checked bags. (Do you think TSA will be marketing approved gel inserts?)

  • Cornhusker

    First, I must say that I fix all kinds of printers for a living, especially laser printers. There are very few toner cartridges that weigh less than 16 oz. since most also include the OPC drum/charge rollers/etc. as well as a pound or so of black powdered toner. That being said, I have only a couple of times traveled with a toner in my bag since I get them at a steep discount from work and bring them to friends/relatives when I travel, at least up until now. Inkjet cartridges are another story..I have NEVER seen one that is more than 16oz. In fact most are well under 1 oz.! So, most inkjet cartridges are probably still OK to travel with. I totally agree with others who point out that it was indeed evil genius to try to disguise explosive in what would normally be an innocuous device. And, if shipped inside a printer would be even harder to detect. Toner cartridges often have wires in them to connect the toner amount sensor or at the very least, metal ribs that also connect the toner to the high voltage connections in the printer that activate the drum, etc. Toner itself density-wise is also very close to other more volatile powdered substances. Toner itself is NOT explosive. Actually common household flour and powdered coffee creamers are very explosive and are another hazard yet to be discovered by TSA. I have watched a small bucket of coffee creamer detonated as part of a professional fireworks display and it is amazing! Even a small packet of it is as powerful as a small firecracker. So, when they ban coffee creamer, remember you read it here first…

  • Logan
  • http://www.flyingwithfish.com Steven Frischling

    Interestingly, when I first wrote about the new Security Directive that prohibited printer cartridges on Friday ( http://bit.ly/9zhzqB) the TSA initially denied the existence of the new Security Directive … like it wasn’t going to made public a few days later … then again my post I said it’d be made public around 12:noon on Monday :0)

    The TSA really makes my job of writing about them easy some days …

    Happy Flying … just leave your industrial laser printer home!

    -Fish

  • Jess

    At some point in the near future, I fear we’ll all be anesthetized & flown, nude, to our destinations.

  • Shari

    Here’s an idea: put to use to chemical puffers that have been developed – and are in use in many airports already – into greater use. No need for the backscatter x-ray, as the chemical detectors do the same job, with faster speed, with no personal intrusion. Plus, then we could get over the ridiculous prohibition on things such as gel inserts.

    In the same vein, we could start using the chemical sensors that the have over in Japan. Place your drink or other small liquid in the machine – still closed and everything! – and withing 5 seconds it tells you if the contents are safe. You’re then free to go, Pepsi happily with you, no delay to the impatient, I’m-more-important-than-you people.

    @ Cassivella – What’s with the attitude? How about the application of some compassion, or perhaps logic? Not all travel is domestic, nor are most souvenirs bought at stores that offer free shipping. Should we only buy things that are TSA-approved? Would that please you?

    The more time goes on, the more I have to agree with the head of British Airways – the TSA needs to stop being reactionary, and needs to streamline and reduce unnecessary redundancy.

  • Lianne

    Gotta love the TSA, not just for the restrictions, but for how often they may be willing to let them slide.

    To preface this, my sister has the most angelic face in the world. Seriously, you look at her and can’t believe she’d do anything wrong. She also is very forgetful. She has never been stopped or forced to throw away anything that has forgot to pack in a checked bag instead of a carryon. The list of things that the TSA has seen in her bag, she got ready to throw them out, BUT THEY WAVED HER THROUGH SECURITY AND TOLD HER NOT TO WORRY:

    A full bottle of shampoo.
    2 wands of lip gloss
    A lighter.
    3 gel candles (the agent even said “I should make you throw these out” but let her through)

    And my favorite, she packed everything correctly, made she had nothing banned, but everything in her plastic baggie. She’s taking off her shoes as the person in front of her IS GETTING YELLED AT by an agent for not taking their plastic baggie out of their bag. As her bag goes through she realizes she forgot to take out her baggie and says something to the same agent who was just yelling. The agent looks at her and goes “It’s OK” Wouldn’t believe it if I hadn’t seen it.

    Mind=boggled. It can’t be a racial profiling thing, lady in front was white and my sister and I are of mixed raced so we’re “unidentifiably brown” Maybe she’s secretly a Jedi.

  • Jake

    The TSA itself is a threat to national security, as well as the morons who work there. The more they put on their list of “banned items”, the more people will do to try to get around it. A flight attendant in uniform can take any liquids or gels they want (and once past security give them back to me). My buddy takes my sodas through for me all the time, and once we are through, I get to enjoy my non-explosive, non-threatening soda. So many loopholes, I laugh at the TSA. If they are going to ban crap, BE CONSISTENT, YOU MORONS!

  • Cassivella

    @cornhusker – when we consolidated offices, we had a bunch of powdered coffee creamer left over that no one wanted to take home. I took home about a case of it. People were confused, as they knew I didn’t drink creamer in coffee. But, we had a very nice 4th of July show courtesy of the free coffee creamer. LOL

    @shari

    Your argument is counter-productive to your view. There are rules in place. Aren’t the people who are flaunting and breaking the rules the ones that feel they are the “I’m-more-important-than-you people”?

    I follow the rules, and I get through security without any hassles. If I get selected for a random bag or person check, no big deal – if someone wants to shuffle through my magazines and pens, I really don’t care.

    The vast majority of TSA agents that I encounter on a daily basis are very professional (really – a young 20ish man does need to be a professional to riffle through purses containing tampons, birth control devices, and “personal massage units” that people bring without snickering). And the very few that have not been – well, everyone has a bad day, and if I had to deal with the kinds of people I see go through security day in and day out for 8-12 hours a day, I would probably have gone crazy by now.

    When I get stuck in a locked down security area, or when I have the pleasure of witnessing some idiot physically threatening a TSA agent over a bottle of shampoo, I do have compassion – for the TSA agent and the other people who follow the rules. And you will find me calmly and quietly waiting for the situation to resolve itself. Unfortunately, it’s part of travel, so bring a book.

    It’s quite narcissistic to believe that the rules should not apply to you. By choosing to not follow the rules, you not only cause yourself a headache, but you are inconveniencing all the rest of the travelers in that security checkpoint.

    Again, I mentioned before, yes we have the technology to find out if a liquid contains an explosive. But, those tests generally take at least a minute or two for results. People complain enough about how long it takes to get through security. If we allow gels and liquids through, then every passenger bringing a bottle of Pepsi through security will need to have additional screening. And while that may not actually add the 2 minutes of the testing time aggregated to each passenger behind you, it certainly will slow down security. Doesn’t buying a Pepsi on the other side of security seem like a better idea?

    Here’s a thought. Why don’t we actually enforce the expert traveler line? Let’s bring back a pre-cleared program where you pledge to follow the security rules and you are given a card that allows entrance to the expert traveler line. If you are caught with something that should not go through, your card is confiscated.

    That way, the people who choose to follow the rules won’t be inconvenienced by the people who choose to not follow the rules. And those who feel they should not have to follow the rules will be waiting with a bunch of like-minded people. In a really long line. For a really long time.

  • http://www.facebook.com/pages/Boycott-Flying/126801010710392 Mark

    Please check out my Facebook page, Boycott Flying! http://www.facebook.com/pages/Boycott-Flying/126801010710392

  • Lisa S

    Thank you, EricR, for your very reasonable conclusions. I was just at a lecture with a former NSA employee who talked about how taking one’s shoes off (huge inconvenience) did not make you safer. What TSA is allowed to do is a crime–legal, but still criminal in my book.

  • Mike Z

    Just one more example of a knee jerk reaction by the TSA or Homeland security in the name of keeping us all safe.

    I’m really surprised that they haven’t banned clothing from flights yet. you know, because I would easily strangle the pilot and take over the plane by using the sleeve of my sweatshirt.

    When are we going to demand that our lawmakers stand up and put a stop to this nonsense?

  • Kevin

    As the flying public we face many challenges…rising airfare prices, rising fees, more limitations for carry-on items, other stressed out passengers, cranky employees, and anything & everything in between.

    I completely respect that we need to have secure skies…but this is absolutely ridiculous. I think the gov’t is more paranoid than the flying public? Why do I say this? Because if the flying public was really terrified of gel insoles…they wouldnt be flying. They’d be taking a train or driving.

    With as much as I fly, going through airport to airport…I find so many inconsistencies with TSA screening security procedures.

    Fly through one airport…nothing over 3oz gets confiscated ….and I can leave everything including the laptop in my carry-on case.

    Fly through another…and everything is taken.

    It’s not that I’m challenging the system, but I try to make things as efficient for me as possible. I’m always ready – shoes off, belt off, jacket off, etc. etc…but I find the more I comply the more I’m scrutinized.

    My poor 86yo grandmother flew recently and had her favorite Lancome eyeliner taken from her. It was was less than 2oz of fluid. Clearly labelled. And they swiped it from her. I wish I was there to defend her. It infuriates me that the system is so overreactive and puts everyone in asinine mode. This brittle woman with every aliment under the sun had it taken from her.

    My mother also thinks shes selected for random pat downs and screenings because she doesnt argue or put up a fight.

    I totally respect and get the fact that TSA agents have a tough job, people don’t like them, they have to enforce rules, and have to confiscate items. But I’ll be damned if they take anymore things from me. I’ve stood there for 10 minutes arguing with the agents and supervisors over items that were clearly labelled and permitted on carry-on, that they were trying to take.

    Many letters have been written.

    EVERYONE WRITE LETTERS. TAKE DOWN NAMES/EMPLOYEE ID #s….ASK FOR SUPERVISORS…AND DO NOT TAKE POOR, UNJUSTIFIED TREATMENT.

  • Steve

    I’m particularly frustrated by the ban on gel insoles. When I travel for work (which isn’t too often, thankfully), I’m on my feet in dress shoes for 10-12 hours a day. I would love to be able to buy comfortable insoles so my feet and legs don’t ache so much at the end of the day…but I don’t, since I’d have to check them and I’m not going to risk checking a bag and having my stuff lost or stolen (not to mention the hassle of waiting for it at baggage claim) on a 3-day trip.

    Unlike some people, I don’t have a problem with the very existence of the TSA, and I also have had good experiences with the individual employees I’ve encountered (maybe I’m just lucky…I certainly believe the stories others have told about rudeness and mistreatment). But so much of TSA policy is just security theater, at best a waste of time and at worst a serious distraction from real threats. I read the Ask the Pilot column over at Salon, and the author has written numerous times about being hassled over very minor issues at TSA checkpoints – having a small pocketknife confiscated, being forced to take off his shoes despite being in full uniform and having identification to prove he’s a pilot. Folks, this guy is about to get behind the controls of the airplane – you think that if he wanted to harm someone, he’d use a pocketknife or try to sneak a bomb onboard? It’s ludicrous.

  • Ed

    I think that the TSA is relying on security through obfuscation! It they make it complicated enough, they can basically say anything is not allowed…Essentially negating any arguing by the passenger!
    But, I can see where there is a conflict. What if I have a doctor prescribed Gel orthotic insole? According to this TSA announcement, inserts are not allowed, but according to another, doctor prescribed items are allowed…
    Well, I guess this is another reason I won’t be Gelling while on a flight!

  • Allison

    I travel a lot and several of my travel shoes have gel inserts. Never had a problem…Not once.

  • Heather

    They only seem to react to threats after they have been made, hence the latest ban of printer cartridges. Not enough imagination to see that anything can be turned into a weapon. Screening doesn’t work at the moment anyway because banned items still make it through. They need to fix it and add common sense into the mix as well.

    I will not call them all unprofessional, but there are some bad apples in the mix and I think they all could use some more training if they are going to interact with the public. Seen some yelling etc here and there, but none directed at me as of yet. I will continue to treat the people on the “front line” respectfully as long as they continue to treat me respectfully, but I disagree with procedures put in place.

    I think part of the main reason people distrust is they do not have a good system in which to air grievances like being put on the no fly list. It’s always “we can neither confirm or deny…” or maybe you’ll get a “sorry, but officer z was doing his job, we regret your discomfort.” They need accountability and I don’t think they are any closer to that from overseeing investigations of their own issues. I think Juneval said it best: “Who watches the watchers?”

  • http://thevacationstop.com Steve M.

    Who wants to help me start “Naked Air”? No clothes, no carry-ons, no security problem (at least in the cabin). Might be some hygiene concerns though….

  • Jack Bauer

    Cassivela is a TSA mole, always ready to defend its ludicrous policy!

  • cjr

    “Your argument is counter-productive to your view.”

    Your attitude is counter-productive to the discussion.

    I fly several times a year. I consider myself a knowledgeable traveler. I did NOT know that gel inserts were banned.

    But apparently that makes me just another ignorant tourist to you, She Who Knows All. That’s garbage.

    The TSA ‘banned’ list is a joke, as is anybody who defends it.

  • Shari

    @ Cassivella –
    Actually, my argument, as short as it was, is quite consistent. Where you get narcissism and the impression that I don’t follow the rules from, I don’t know. Your own personal bias, it would seem.

    Your original argument was that there shouldn’t be exceptions for “conveniences” and that people should ship their snow globes for free using the free shipping they’re going to get from the place where they bought it. Mine was that not everywhere offered free shipping, nor was every traveler who goes through the airport capable of traveling without their inserts. There are already exceptions to rules right now, for example, medicines can be brought on in quantities greater than 3 oz. Your insistence that everyone should be treated the same is great, except that there are people who do warrant an exclusion to the rules.

    Beyond that, your argument about things taking too long as it is is and that people wouldn’t want chemical sensors is faulty. For starters, the lines that do have the sensors – and I’m talking about the small ones for bottled liquids – run more smoothly, thus more quickly, because there’s less fumbling, less running around on the part of the passengers and the security agents. Additionally, in the day and age where we’re now going to have backscatter machines, the idea that we’re supposed to have rules such as “no gel insoles” makes no sense, not in the light of machines that make such rules obsolete.

    I follow the rules, and do agree with you about the expert travel line. I disagree with you about the TSA agents; I travel quite a bit, and the number that I’ve met that are truly professional I could count on one hand. As for the snowglobes… Personally, I’d be checking them in, well wrapped. But I can sympathize with and understand the people who don’t trust the TSA and airline baggage handlers, and don’t have the chance (or the language ability) to get to a post office and ship the snow globe home.

  • Shari

    And speaking from experience, the bottle-sized chemical sensors take all of 30 sec. Not the “minute or two.” The personal, full-body chemical puffers take about 45 sec. That’s it.

  • Sara

    I don’t understand why they can’t just inspect snow globes like any other liquids. You’re allowed to bring more than the allowed amount if it’s medicine or baby formula or something, you just have to declare it for inspection. I think a terrorist is alot more likely to try to sneak some dangerous liquid onto a plane inside a big medicine bottle than a snow globe.

  • dh reader

    Why pick only the printer cartridge? Just because someone once used it to hide explosive? Well, what prevents any other container in any shape or form being used to hide the explosives?