I had a small piece of broken mystery metal tucked in my wallet on my way to a trade show. I knew a supplier who had X-ray fluorescence equipment on hand was going to be at the conference and I wanted them to ID the metal piece (there were like 50 sheets of it in the warehouse, and I figured it might be worth something).
Unfortunately this random piece of metal broken off a corner sheet happened to be shaped like a box cutter blade, lol. Sure, it was like 4mm thick and as dull as a Republican voter, but still shaped like a knife on the scanner, so away it went.
A very small closed (with the plastic still around it and intact) water bottle. Did not blame the security people though, they are just doing their jobs. But kind of useless to take it away, it was unopened and bought at a store within the airport (even had the receipt).
Not airport security, but at a venue in NY they confiscated a small silicone plunger I use to take out my contact lenses. It’s literally a medical device, and I can’t take them out without it (glass sclerals)
I had a plastic card that fit in a wallet: it had various conversion numbers and measurements and a ruler on the side. Decently handy pre-mobile internet days.
They took it because it was thin enough to be “dangerous”, I guess?
It was weird and I didn’t care enough to say anything about it.
They couldn’t take the chance if you were Nicholai Hel.
$11.8 billion dollars a year in tax money and airfare fees.
Since they were formed in November 2001, they’ve never stopped a terrorist plot, never prevented an airport attack, and never prevented an attacker from getting on an airplane. So literally everything they’ve ever taken in their two decades, including their budget, has been useless.
Would we know if they stopped a plot? Would it not at leady be an imperfect deterrent for those considering but deciding against it?
Probably not. Before 2001, airport security screening was performed by privately-contracted security firms at each airport. The no-fly list (then called “no transport”) already existed and was maintained by the FAA in association with the FBI. There were still metal detectors and other elements of basic security screening which handled almost every reasonable threat, with one notable exception of course.
But the security vulnerabilities that were identified on 9/11–the hijackers’ ability to get small blades and pepper spray onto the plane, and the unlocked cockpit doors–were already patched by those private security agencies and by the FAA when air travel resumed on September 13. While better communication between those agencies, the airlines, the airports, the FAA, and the FBI was something that was sorely needed, establishing the TSA was far from the only way to do that; and putting them directly in charge of security at every airport was absolutely unnecessary.
But overall the threat of force is not an effective deterrent, especially for terrorism. When you think about it, those terrorists were planning to die on the plane; what do they care that the TSA threatened force against them? Any threat that they’d be stopped would only have changed their plans, not eliminated them.
If the TSA had ever prevented a terrorist plot you can be sure they’d be screaming about it at every opportunity.
You can never know.
There is actually an entire industry focused on testing security measures to ensure they work. It is called penetration testing. For something like the TSA, they’ll do audits where test passengers are sent through with contraband. Sort of like secret shoppers who evaluate a retail store by pretending to shop there. In one particular audit, they only successfully caught 3 out of 70. Some audits estimate a 95% failure rate.
The audits have consistently found that TSA’s catch rates are lower than random searches, by a wide margin. As in, they’d be better off not searching everyone, and just doing randomized searches on ~10-15% of passengers. That random “10-15% of passengers get a full search” system would catch more than the current “search everyone but miss 95% of contraband” system.
They could literally just roll a d8 die for each passenger in the line, and on a 1 they initiate a full search. And that would be more effective than their current methods.
Sorry, but that doesn’t sound even remotely realistic. Source?
Here is a write-up about one of the old 2015 audits. And here is one from 2017. And it’s worth noting that new audit results aren’t readily available, because the TSA started classifying their results around 2017 instead of releasing the numbers, when David Pekoske was installed as administrator. Because that definitely screams “our numbers are improving!”
Basically, a thorough search of 10-15% of passengers would more accurately catch threats, when compared to searching everyone with a ~95% miss rate.
Fine
Actually, all of the meaningful parts of the TSA (the security checkpoints with basic metal detectors, the no-fly list, and the in-flight security) were already in place before the TSA was established; they were just performed by independent security firms (contracted by each airport), by the FAA, and by the FBI.
Further, security and screening of almost every kind has a bias toward the attack vector of the most recent attack; it sucks across the board at coming up with new possible vectors. That means that, if the TSA had been in operation two months earlier, they likely wouldn’t have caught the terrorists’ weapons either (small blades and pepper spray), because they didn’t know to look for them then either.
The only reason that the TSA might’ve caught the September 11 hijackers is that the FBI and CIA individually had intelligence that, if put together, could’ve identified the hijackers early and added them to the FAA’s no-fly list; and the TSA might have facilitated better communication between those agencies.
Which means that the only arguable benefit that the TSA has brought to transportation security in America is coordination and standardization between entities and across airports throughout the US–which isn’t explicitly a part of the TSA’s mandate and could’ve been accomplished by a computer network.
Presumably airport security cost something (whether funded by fares or taxes) before the TSA - do we know how it compares?
It was mostly paid for by airlines and airports directly, and being decentralized it’s tough to tell, but estimates put it in the hundreds of millions range. Adjusted for inflation, it probably didn’t crack a single billion; so a 1-digit percentage of what it costs travelers and taxpayers today.
yeah but 11.8 billion dollars is useful. We’re talking about the useless act they put on wherein they steal our useless stuff for 11.8 Billion dollars.
Hmm, I interpreted “most useless” as applying to “confiscated” (as in, what is the thing that airport security most uselessly confiscated), but you’re right that it could modify “thing” (as in, what is the thing that was most useless which airport security confiscated). I think your way might be more grammatically correct, but I have heard both intended meanings in conversation.
Interesting ambiguity.
There was a soda machine a few feet from the TSA line. I bought one and noticed the agent looking my way. I walked up to them within a minute (small airport) and they took my unopened Coke, that they watched me purchase, and threw it in the trash. It was a dollar more at the machine on the other side.
This was a while back when the TSA was a new concept. I had no idea you couldn’t carry a closed bottle of soda through the checkpoint and was very irritated at the lack of common sense.
Another item I didn’t have confiscated but did create a big stir with was a bullet on a keychain. It contains some of my dad’s ashes. I put my keys with the keychain in the basket and several agents were shaking it saying “there is something inside there” they took me aside and I explained it was my Dad and they dropped it like a hot rock and apologized. I was surprised by that reaction given my soda experience.
When moving internationally I had my cat’s ashes in its urn in my carry on because I didn’t trust it not being lost. They of course flag it and thr guy roughly opens my bag and pulls the box out, sees the cast pawprint on top, which now has a crack in it, and very gingerly swabs down the urn and carefully repacks the bag for me looking guilty as fuck.
Didn’t notice the crack until I got home.
That’s awful. I’d be really pissed off.
In the army fully kitted out with gear. This means we have full plate and a M4 strapped to our chests, all mags were empty though. My friend had to give them his nail clippers out of his shit kit.
That is insane
Should have attached it to the M4 rail and claimed it’s a standard issue anti-drone optical wire clipper.
Edit: The larger ones are effective against TOW missiles. That’s why they call them TOW clippers.
This one time I was in Berlin with my girlfriend and the guy is taking a long time looking at the xray of my bag. Finally, he asks me, “do you have a flashlight in your bag?” and I told him no. He looked puzzled and he asks me “what is the device in your bag that is shaped like a flashlight?” and I told him I really had no idea but I was sure I don’t have a flashlight in my bag. Then he tells me he needs to search the bag. Of course I agree.
He opens the bag, chuckles, and closes it back up and says “its ok have a nice flight!” and I’m so confused. Right then my gf comes from the line and grabs my hand and drags me to the gate.
We get a little bit away and she starts laughing her ass off “it’s my vibrator!” because of course she stuck it in my bag without telling me but no he did not confiscate it.
Love that “my girlfriend’s vibrator” is your answer to “what is something useless”
yahahaha!
It’s ok, the vibrator says the same thing about them.
“Have a VERY nice flight”
Toothpaste
I had a full sized tube of toothpaste that had maybe one squirt left in it, and the TSA agent made me throw it away because the labeled size was bigger than 3oz.
I once bought a small tube of toothpaste for travel. I didn’t really check what was allowed by the airport, I just bought what looked small enough. I arrived at the airport, went through security, traveled to my destination and used the toothpaste during the week I was away.
When I was set to return my toothpaste was flagged at the airport. It was “too big”. I of course argued with the TSA agent that I had flown into this exact airport a week before with MORE toothpaste in the container than it had in it now. Of course there is no logic. Into the bin my mostly new toothpaste went.
A salt-shaker sized container of MSG
Never confiscated, but apparently sleeved Magic the Gathering cards look like explosives to the TSA. I kept getting “randomly” searched and being late for flights until I finally asked the dude why I kept getting “randomly” flagged for additional screening and he told me. It was also frequently cold when I was traveling and my suitcase was often left in the trunk of a cold car all day while I was at work and that also makes them suspicious of my belongings.
I got an opposite kinda thing. I picked up one of those credit card sized folding knives. Forgot it was in my wallet, and wasn’t even stopped at TSA. Didn’t even realize it until a couple days after I landed at my destination.
It’s ALL theatre.
not really theatre, it’s impossible to scan everything after all…
And yet they do scan everything.
The other day I went to a block party/rave type event and security confiscated my new and unopened pack of gum but didn’t check or confiscate my full sized pack of alcohol wet wipes… anything could have been in that package, they didn’t even look, but my sealed gum was a possible threat??
I had a flight safe multitool, one that specifically had no blade, nor anything sharp. It only had tools for my camera. I also had a fisher space pen which they said looked too much like a bullet.
Both were confiscated, but they couldn’t figure out how to open the front flipper knife I had with me, so they let it through.
The TSA bullshit isn’t about keeping us safe.
Dude, I took a domestic flight recently and don’t have realid bullshit cause it’s not mandatory in my state and I renewed online during covid. Anyway, had to pay the $45 “security check” (only good for 10 days) to TSA to board. Husband got through with a box cutter, I got held up because I had money they wanted.
3 days later I’m verifying a Costco membership, their questions asked where I lived in 1988. It was harder to verify my identity at Costco than get a box cutter through TSA. It’s a fucking money grab joke. It didn’t even verify anything except my card had $45 they could charge me.
I took my bike, but they confiscated my entire tyre patch / repair kit because it had an allen key in it. Apparently I might try to disassemble the plane from the inside or something. Then I learnt it’s surprisingly hard to find a tyre repair kit in my destination. Hooray
Not confiscated, but i had a bag full of trail mix in my carryon once and security said it looked scary on the xray scanner.
