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I really do wonder how many terrorist plots have actually been foiled by TSA/ security staff. They seem to just be following guidelines with ZERO common sense.

I really do wonder how many terrorist plots have actually been foiled by TSA/ security staff. They seem to just be following guidelines with ZERO common sense. E.g. most screw drivers ok, but not safety scissors. My biggest pet-hate is the ban on liquids over 100ml, anybody with a basic knowledge of chemistry knows that explosives (by their very definition) are volatile and you really do not want to start drinking any.

grkvlt 10y ago
I don't think the prospective terrorists would be chugging away at their bottles of Exploditall (tm) liquid though. The fear is that the smarter terrorists (i.e. the ones that didn't start the day with a celebratory shot of Exploditall) will put their volatile dangerous liquid explosives in harmless looking bottles of Irn-Bru or Vimto or something.
- astrodust 10y ago
  The good news is that "smarter terrorist" tends to be an oxymoron.
astrodust 10y ago
You're completely wrong about explosives. They're not necessarily volatile, and in fact the best ones aren't. Dynamite will burn slowly and without any explosion. Other materials like C-4 are ridiculously stable under most circumstances to the point where there are stories of troops using it to light fires. Without a proper initiator most explosives are basically safe. An initiator usually introduces a lot of heat, a large amount of shock, or both, which kicks off the explosion. Likewise, many liquid explosives are totally harmless until the two components are mixed together, at which point it becomes extremely dangerous. I'm not sure what would happen if you drank either component, but my guess is you might become ill a few hours later. If your goal is more short-term in nature that is probably irrelevant. My biggest gripe about the liquid limit is that dangerous explosives come in many forms, liquid is just one. You could probably smuggle a kilogram of thermite on the plane and nobody would notice, yet if ignited that would be extremely dangerous.
- velox_io 10y ago
  C4 isn't a liquid so it isn't on their radar (luckily dogs & machines can detect it). When travelling back to the UK from France, they wouldn't let me take a bike bottle with 80ml of water in it (for my medication), the bottle had measurements on the side for adding supplements. But, it was ok to carry some cheese for my mother. The explosive element of C4 is RDX, RDX causes seizures when ingested in small doses. Plus, a key ingredient is Nitric acid - I don't fancy trying any. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RDX#Toxicity https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RDX#Toxicity Interesting fact: The US produced 15,000 tons of RDX per month during World War 2, gives you some idea of the level of destruction during that period.

grkvlt 10y ago

I don't think the prospective terrorists would be chugging away at their bottles of Exploditall (tm) liquid though. The fear is that the smarter terrorists (i.e. the ones that didn't start the day with a celebratory shot of Exploditall) will put their volatile dangerous liquid explosives in harmless looking bottles of Irn-Bru or Vimto or something.

astrodust 10y ago
The good news is that "smarter terrorist" tends to be an oxymoron.

astrodust 10y ago

You're completely wrong about explosives. They're not necessarily volatile, and in fact the best ones aren't. Dynamite will burn slowly and without any explosion. Other materials like C-4 are ridiculously stable under most circumstances to the point where there are stories of troops using it to light fires. Without a proper initiator most explosives are basically safe. An initiator usually introduces a lot of heat, a large amount of shock, or both, which kicks off the explosion. Likewise, many liquid explosives are totally harmless until the two components are mixed together, at which point it becomes extremely dangerous. I'm not sure what would happen if you drank either component, but my guess is you might become ill a few hours later. If your goal is more short-term in nature that is probably irrelevant. My biggest gripe about the liquid limit is that dangerous explosives come in many forms, liquid is just one. You could probably smuggle a kilogram of thermite on the plane and nobody would notice, yet if ignited that would be extremely dangerous.

velox_io 10y ago
C4 isn't a liquid so it isn't on their radar (luckily dogs & machines can detect it). When travelling back to the UK from France, they wouldn't let me take a bike bottle with 80ml of water in it (for my medication), the bottle had measurements on the side for adding supplements. But, it was ok to carry some cheese for my mother. The explosive element of C4 is RDX, RDX causes seizures when ingested in small doses. Plus, a key ingredient is Nitric acid - I don't fancy trying any. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RDX#Toxicity https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RDX#Toxicity Interesting fact: The US produced 15,000 tons of RDX per month during World War 2, gives you some idea of the level of destruction during that period.