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The TSA is something that shouldn’t exist in its current form. They very often fail their audit checks and normalize invading your privacy to an extreme degree like body scanners and pat downs. If water bottles are considered potentially explosive then why dump them on a bin next to a line of people where they can go off? This is low grade security theater that inconveniences passengers at best.
According to the story I heard as to the origin of the “no liquids over X amount” rule, years ago there was a terrorist that tried to smuggle hydrogen peroxide and acetone - which can be used to rather easily synthesize triacetone triperoxide (TATP, a highly sensitive explosive) - onto a plane in plastic toiletry bottles. They got caught and foiled somehow, and then the TSA started restricting liquids on planes. This was in the immediate aftermath of 9/11, if I recall correctly.
And I happen to know, from a reliable source, of someone who accidentally made TATP in a rotary evaporator in an academic lab. So it seems plausible.
Not that the rule is actually effective prevention against similar attacks, nor that the TSA even knows what the reason is behind what they do at this point, haha. I just thought it was an interesting story.
At least they haven’t taken away our shoes. And is there a limit to the number of 3 Oz bottles you can carry?
You can bring as many as you can fit in a single (quart size I believe) ziplock back.
Honey would you grab my water for me please?
hydrogen peroxide and acetone
So there are worse cleaning chemicals to mix than bleach and vinegar
I believe you’re mixing up acetone with acetic acid
No, acetone and peroxide, and generally a small amount of HCl as a catalyst. Makes triacetone triperoxide (TATP). It’s a primary explosive, but far too sensitive for real legitimate work. It’s primarily used by terrorist organizations because it’s easy to acquire the material and easy to make. The infamous shoe bomber had TATP in the soles of his shoes, fortunately the TATP wasn’t completely dry and that’s why he had trouble getting it to go off.
Dry ? How is anyone going to dry this much liquid to make an actually dangerous amount of explosive while on a plane and not getting detected ?
Sounds highly implausible
Requires an acid catalyst for the reaction to actually proceed, but yeah, could definitely ruin your day - although a lungful of chlorine gas is nothing to sneeze at either.
It’s because all the shops inside want you to buy their shit.
The main reason why it exists is to provide jobs. The number of people who work at the TSA at every airport in every state…no representative wants to cut those jobs.
I mean if a state removed the TSA and spent the money on something else, surely they could use the money to create as many jobs as they removed but in an actual useful field.
But would the TSA workers vote for them?
Probably not, but the people who just got a job maybe would.
I don’t mean to be ungrateful, but I wouldn’t vote for a republican who got me a job, and I probably wouldn’t vote for anyone who got rid of my job (unless they were otherwise really great). So at least for me, getting rid of the job means you lose my vote and replacing it doesn’t necessarily gain my vote.
And people watching this exchange from the outside might vote against because they don’t like the idea of “minus a job for Bob, plus a job for Carl” as even-steven.
If it’s just for the jobs we can put them to work doing something useful like carrying bags for old people in the airport. Literally anything would be more useful.
We could pay them to do nothing* that would be just as effective.
*not nothing but do whatever they want
They treat people like cattle because they are protecting the airplanes and the airline’s liability, not the people onboard or in line to board.
If people think it’s unsafe people won’t pay up to fly.
It’s security theater through and through.
Apart from the obvious failings of these checks, think about what kind of damage a single backpack of explosives can do to a packed airport during holiday season. You can literally put a ton of explosives on one of those trolleys, roll it into the waiting area and kill 200 people easily. No security whatsoever involved.
Reality is, most security measures are designed to keep the illusion of control. Nothing more. Penetration testers show again and again that you can easily circumvent practically all barriers or measures.
The goal is not to stop the people in the queue being attacked, its to stop someone boarding a plane with the means to hijack it
Yeah, and you don’t need the TSA for that. Just do as they already do: lock the cockpit.
Little known fact: many of the pilots behind those locked doors are armed as well.
The Flight Deck Officer program allows pilots to volunteer to become deputized Air Marshals. They receive training and are issued a badge and a gun.
Good guy with a gun, we’re not mentally ill at all !
So police officers are mentally ill? Interesting take.
Yes, they think they’re the good guys.
Police officers are mentally ill? Interesting take.
Also, we’re talking about pilots that you are already trusting with you’re life and the lives of hundreds of people with you. If they were mentally ill they could just crash the plane and kill you.
These guys are genuinely invested in maintaining the safety of human lives.
They should continue focusing on that instead of gun politics and their farcical contrived scenarios to have guns on a civil plane.
The main reason that rule still exists is to sell overpriced water. Otherwise they could just ask you to drink some of it to prove it’s water.
you are allowed to take empty bottles with you, just saying
Some airports have no place to refill and have only hot water in the toilet sinks. It’s inhumane.
Which airport? I have never ever experienced this.
I can’t remember which one it was. Maybe Munich?
Munich has refilling stations after security
It’s basically the only type of jobs program that both sides of our broken government can agree on: petty nonsense that looks like it might do something useful, but really doesn’t, and only inconveniences the poors.
Ouch, owie, my democracy
It’s actually stated on the TSA website that frozen liquids are permitted. https://www.tsa.gov/travel/security-screening/whatcanibring/items/ice
Notice the footnote on every TSA webpage that their officers can always change the rules on the spot if they feel like it. So it’s always a gamble.
This is why they created different flying classifications with pre stuff… so now only the poor have to gamble.
Big caveat
The final decision rests with the TSA officer on whether an item is allowed through the checkpoint.
Ah yes, the “rules only apply when I say they do” rule. Much legitimate.
Inconsistent enforcement of “the rules” is the most common form of systematic marginalization.
It’s also easy of centrists to excuse, since it could happen to anyone, even when the statistic show to it is overwhelmingly correlated with some protected trait.
Technically it’s the only kind of correct. Technically.
That’s odd…I’ve had TSA agents recommend this to get liquids through security.
I guess he got that one employee that everyone hates for literally following every single tiny or forgotten rule no matter how stupid.
… doing so because they believe their boss would make a problem if they don’t.
I brought frozen fish with ice packs through TSA. The TSA guy was a fisherman and wanted to talk about fishing.
you could freeze H2O2 and blow up something later.
You’re not going to blow up anything with 30 % hydrogen peroxide. It also freezes at -30 C, not gonna freeze easily or stay that way for too long.
But where would someone get the H2O2?
Dear TSA,
The human body is mostly water. And it’s way more than 3 oz.
Recently, I’m flying quite a lot, so I must try it, just to see if it works.
On my last trip I had a full water bottle with me and the lady said I had to throw it away, so I looked her dead in the eye while I chugged the entire bottle and stuffed the bottle in my bag.
Fuckin tell me I can’t bring the water through again.
I’ve done it before, it does. Though you could get an employee who doesn’t know this, or won’t accept it anyway.
Last two times I flew I brought a metal water bottle (Hydroflask knockoff) filled with ice cubes. Went through fine. Then I added water at a fountain after security and during the flight I got to have that ice-cold water experience I crave.
Btw, why not water?
Security theater. Supposedly there’s a clear liquid explosive that someone tried to get through once. Of course, it’s bullshit, like everything else the TSA says.
Also shoes, because shoe bomb. As Burress says… they better not make a snickers bomb.
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It throws up a false positive in the old scanners. There are new ones available that don’t have a problem but they aren’t widely available yet.
Because it’s frozen (i.e. ice)
Lol
because muslims can’t drink alcohol, they drink water. The TSA is trying to stop everyone from being terrorrists by only allowing them to buy and drink alcoholic products available after the security controls at the duty free shop.
Sah-wing and a miss
The stories and information posted here are artistic works of fiction and falsehood. Only a fool would take anything posted here as fact
Omg… Behold the Arctopus. Damn. That’s something I’ve not thought about in a long time. Rock on, dude.
Nah, I get you were just joking it just didn’t land haha.
https://youtube.com/watch/rD0RDTjqTA4
Came across this video where they were able to take ice through TSA. Your mileage may vary, follow at your own risk.
TSA vs Karen, quite a match
A friend has been challenged when trying to bring a nordic cheese (from Norway to France). The TSA equivalent said that it could be liquid if hot enough. Yeah… glasses too.
Security agent was just planning a meal for their date later in the night.
Does sunscreen freeze solid at regular freezer temperatures?
Lemme Google the freezing temp of whatever explodey juice they think we all have.
