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The things that the TSA forbids can, in many cases, be picked up after the security check in various shops/restaurants in the airport. I used to make it a point

The things that the TSA forbids can, in many cases, be picked up after the security check in various shops/restaurants in the airport. I used to make it a point to walk around, identifying things lying around in the open (like silverware in restaurants) that was forbidden just a few feet earlier. But it just became too frustrating.

gerbilly 10y ago
It's not even about whether the rules make sense. The security procedures aren't' about logic they are more like a set of rituals that we have developed: kind of a collective superstition. Ask most people on the street if we could just scale security procedures back to 1970s levels and they will feel uncomfortable and probably tell you that the security is needed today.[1] Ironically, because the ritual is a difficult trial, it may increase our belief in its protective power. [1] Similar to how they may feel uncomfortable letting kids play on the street even though stranger child abduction has been declining for decades.
- antisthenes 10y ago
  Sort of like the monkey experiment where they get hosed with cold water if they try to reach for the banana.
Tenhundfeld 10y ago
Do you remember more examples? I'm curious, because I did something similar years ago and didn't really find much that would have been stopped – other than liquids, which don't count for obvious reasons. I don't eat in airport restaurants that often, and when I do, it's just a public one, not an exclusive lounge. But I haven't seen a sharp metal knife in the airport for since 2001. I've seen plastic knives and rounded metal butter knives, but those should also be allowed through security.
- pavel_lishin 10y ago
  Order a steak at TGI Friday's. They don't give you a plastic knife or a butter spreader.
  - Tenhundfeld 10y ago
    Yeah, I guess I'll have to try it. I remember ordering a steak in 2005ish (though not at TGIF's), and I did in fact get a plastic knife. The memory sticks with me, because I got so frustrated that I ended up just biting off hunks with my teeth, much to the dismay of my traveling companion.
- 1024core 10y ago
  Many restaurants had steel silverware sitting in the open. Anyone walking by could just grab-n-go. Many of the little kiosks had tools sitting around (I've seen screwdrivers, for instance); behind the counter, but a little distraction, and it's yours. Hairspray? Use it with a lighter, and you have a nice flamethrower. And then, there's this: http://terminalcornucopia.com/ http://terminalcornucopia.com/
  - Tenhundfeld 10y ago
    OK, I hear ya. Small screwdrivers are allowed through security though, same for non-torch lighters and small quantities of hairspray. I'm not defending the arbitrary rules. I'm just saying that I went through a similar exercise with different results.
    - 1024core 10y ago
      You can get much bigger quantities of such stuff inside the airport (past security). I'd love to document this, but I'm afraid of ending up on some list.
      - Tenhundfeld 10y ago
        Yeah, and it doesn't really matter. Nobody's going to stop you from buying multiples of the smaller quantity hairspray, in different stores or with friends, etc.
- zo1 10y ago
  Glass bottles? Heck, you could probably make some sort of explosive from the items you could buy in the shopping area post-security. In my part of the world, their idea of "security" for the glass bottles you can buy at the airport shops is to seal them in a "security" bag made of...clear plastic. The only thing that clear-plastic (zip-locked even) bag would stop is spillage.
  - Tenhundfeld 10y ago
    I'm pretty sure you can bring empty glass bottles through security in the US. Anyway, like I said in a sibling comment, I'm not defending the asinine rules, just saying I actually found very few items that would/should have been stopped by TSA when I went through a similar exercise.
  - chillacy 10y ago
    There was an article awhile back about this: http://terminalcornucopia.com/ http://terminalcornucopia.com/
alltakendamned 10y ago
For those interested in this, watch this talk from 2013: https://youtu.be/PiGK2rk5524?t=30s https://youtu.be/PiGK2rk5524?t=30s
- awqrre 10y ago
  there is so many guides about making weapons with stuff that you can find after passing security that you would think someone would have used one in real life..

gerbilly 10y ago

It's not even about whether the rules make sense. The security procedures aren't' about logic they are more like a set of rituals that we have developed: kind of a collective superstition. Ask most people on the street if we could just scale security procedures back to 1970s levels and they will feel uncomfortable and probably tell you that the security is needed today.[1] Ironically, because the ritual is a difficult trial, it may increase our belief in its protective power. [1] Similar to how they may feel uncomfortable letting kids play on the street even though stranger child abduction has been declining for decades.

antisthenes 10y ago
Sort of like the monkey experiment where they get hosed with cold water if they try to reach for the banana.

Tenhundfeld 10y ago

Do you remember more examples? I'm curious, because I did something similar years ago and didn't really find much that would have been stopped – other than liquids, which don't count for obvious reasons. I don't eat in airport restaurants that often, and when I do, it's just a public one, not an exclusive lounge. But I haven't seen a sharp metal knife in the airport for since 2001. I've seen plastic knives and rounded metal butter knives, but those should also be allowed through security.

pavel_lishin 10y ago
Order a steak at TGI Friday's. They don't give you a plastic knife or a butter spreader.
- Tenhundfeld 10y ago
  Yeah, I guess I'll have to try it. I remember ordering a steak in 2005ish (though not at TGIF's), and I did in fact get a plastic knife. The memory sticks with me, because I got so frustrated that I ended up just biting off hunks with my teeth, much to the dismay of my traveling companion.
1024core 10y ago
Many restaurants had steel silverware sitting in the open. Anyone walking by could just grab-n-go. Many of the little kiosks had tools sitting around (I've seen screwdrivers, for instance); behind the counter, but a little distraction, and it's yours. Hairspray? Use it with a lighter, and you have a nice flamethrower. And then, there's this: http://terminalcornucopia.com/ http://terminalcornucopia.com/
- Tenhundfeld 10y ago
  OK, I hear ya. Small screwdrivers are allowed through security though, same for non-torch lighters and small quantities of hairspray. I'm not defending the arbitrary rules. I'm just saying that I went through a similar exercise with different results.
  - 1024core 10y ago
    You can get much bigger quantities of such stuff inside the airport (past security). I'd love to document this, but I'm afraid of ending up on some list.
    - Tenhundfeld 10y ago
      Yeah, and it doesn't really matter. Nobody's going to stop you from buying multiples of the smaller quantity hairspray, in different stores or with friends, etc.
zo1 10y ago
Glass bottles? Heck, you could probably make some sort of explosive from the items you could buy in the shopping area post-security. In my part of the world, their idea of "security" for the glass bottles you can buy at the airport shops is to seal them in a "security" bag made of...clear plastic. The only thing that clear-plastic (zip-locked even) bag would stop is spillage.
- Tenhundfeld 10y ago
  I'm pretty sure you can bring empty glass bottles through security in the US. Anyway, like I said in a sibling comment, I'm not defending the asinine rules, just saying I actually found very few items that would/should have been stopped by TSA when I went through a similar exercise.
- chillacy 10y ago
  There was an article awhile back about this: http://terminalcornucopia.com/ http://terminalcornucopia.com/

alltakendamned 10y ago

For those interested in this, watch this talk from 2013: https://youtu.be/PiGK2rk5524?t=30s https://youtu.be/PiGK2rk5524?t=30s

awqrre 10y ago
there is so many guides about making weapons with stuff that you can find after passing security that you would think someone would have used one in real life..