I just got a chrome bag and was wondering if the large metal buckle would prevent me from taking it as a carry-on during my next flight. So, I googled faa passenger carry-on guidelines and the fifth link had as list of the TSA's prohibited items
Of course, I'm looking for general rules, as in: nothing with a cutting edge longer than an inch, no bulk metal wider than half a foot, no liquids in volumes greater than 5 fluid ounces, etc. But no, the list starts off immediately with no Billy Clubs, Black Jacks, or Brass Knuckles,
I'm sure it's possible that some thugs from the 1940's could be teleported into a modern airport with valid tickets, And naturally, every TSA agent would stop them because they all know what a black jack looks like. Or maybe we'd get lucky and the TSA'd bust them for wearing trenchcoats and fedoras.
Notice how they cleverly left tommy guns out, that way they can avoid being sued by the Pro-Prohibition Gangster PAC. Clearly, they know where the political danger zones are. So next, they focus on the other known group of bad guys: ninjas.
No kubatons, Martial Arts Weapons, or nunchakus. Even the TSA knows how sneaky ninjas are, so I understand the catch-all "Martial Arts Weapons". What I don't get is that nunchakus are somehow separate; I guess a crafty ninja could pass them off as decorative dildos.
Maybe the TSA really has thought this through. Because after identifying the two groups of bad guys, they think outside of the box, and ask "what happens if our military goes rogue?" So, they expressly state that carry-ons may not have any dynamite, hand grenades, or plastique.
When the Dirty Dozen shows up at your airport with plastique, hand grenades, and dynamite, I'm sure that the TSA will be able to stop them from taking a plane hostage. Really.
What breaks my little heart is that after going through all that rigmarole to prevent gangsters, ninjas, and paramilitary groups from taking planes hostage, they open up the flood gates by allowing pagers, PDAs, and laptops.
As a technologist, I know that technology changes very quickly. And I think that there's no way they can keep up with all the gadgets. One of these days, someone is going to walk on a plane with a hand grenade because they told some TSA agent that it was their Braille PDA.