"explosives" in my luggage

In article ,
Hatunen wrote:

toy gun caps is not in the "things that explode" category either
except by some weird stretch of the definition of "explode".

But they do burn rather quickly and hot. I am not sure any more,
but I think they were banned from air freight and were on the list of
prohibited substances way before 9-11. More as a fire hazard.

--
Searching is half the fun: life is much more manageable when thought
of as a scavenger hunt as opposed to a surprise party.
Jimmy Buffett

On Wed, 8 Jul 2009 06:31:14 -0700 (PDT), -hh
wrote:
SNIP
Its more likely that the baggage inspection was simply an X-Ray and it
saw the outline of the toy handgun. Further investigation found the
caps.


Hi

Some years ago, my wife and I were going camping in the USA Southwest
from here in the UK, taking our tent with us. From previous bitter
experience, we were aware how hard the ground is in the desert, so
took 6inch nails for tent pegs and a hammer to knock them in.

Arriving at check-in here in England we were asked if there was
anything in our check-in luggage that may be mistaken for a weapon or
a bomb on the X-Ray.

There was no point in ignoring the question, so I replied that there
probably was and then explained that, apart from the rest of the
camping equipment (metal poles) etc., the hammer may possibly look
vaguely like a gun and the bundle of 40 6" nails would probably appear
to be a solid metal cylinder on the X-Ray.

There was no problem; they didn't even make us open our luggage,
merely stuck a label on the outside explaining that the bag contained
camping gear.

Regards
KGB

Hatunen wrote:
I hear tell that if I put one of the pills on something like an
anvil and strike it hard with a hammer it will give a rather loud
report.

Yes, you will hear a sound that very closely resembles
that of a hammer striking an anvil. Beyond that, not so much.


Bob M.

DevilsPGD wrote:
In message Hatunen
was claimed to have wrote:

toy gun caps is not in the "things that explode" category either
except by some weird stretch of the definition of "explode".

A roll of caps is more then sufficient to start a small fire.

But then, so are any number of things that are perfectly OK to
take about an airliner.


As a former boy scout, I can tell you that this was considered
"cheating" but it was nonetheless effective under the right
conditions.

If you had to use a roll of caps to get your fire started, you
were doing it the hard way.

Bob M.

On Wed, 08 Jul 2009 02:40:48 -0700, DevilsPGD
wrote:

In message Hatunen
was claimed to have wrote:

toy gun caps is not in the "things that explode" category either
except by some weird stretch of the definition of "explode".

A roll of caps is more then sufficient to start a small fire.

So will some greasy rags stowed in your luggage. and they will
start fire sopntaneously, while some caps won't.



--
************* DAVE HATUNEN ) *************
* Tucson Arizona, out where the cacti grow *
* My typos & mispellings are intentional copyright traps *

On Wed, 08 Jul 2009 11:37:59 +0100, William Black
wrote:

Hatunen wrote:



toy gun caps is not in the "things that explode" category either
except by some weird stretch of the definition of "explode".


Place a roll of them on a concrete floor and hit them with a large hammer
and get back to us...

How would you define "explode", particularly in the context of
representing a danger to an airliner.

--
************* DAVE HATUNEN ) *************
* Tucson Arizona, out where the cacti grow *
* My typos & mispellings are intentional copyright traps *

On Wed, 8 Jul 2009 11:17:28 -0600, "Bob Myers"
wrote:

Hatunen wrote:
I hear tell that if I put one of the pills on something like an
anvil and strike it hard with a hammer it will give a rather loud
report.

Yes, you will hear a sound that very closely resembles
that of a hammer striking an anvil. Beyond that, not so much.


So you've tried it, then?


--
************* DAVE HATUNEN ) *************
* Tucson Arizona, out where the cacti grow *
* My typos & mispellings are intentional copyright traps *

Hatunen wrote:
On Wed, 8 Jul 2009 11:17:28 -0600, "Bob Myers"
wrote:

Hatunen wrote:
I hear tell that if I put one of the pills on something like an
anvil and strike it hard with a hammer it will give a rather loud
report.

Yes, you will hear a sound that very closely resembles
that of a hammer striking an anvil. Beyond that, not so much.


So you've tried it, then?

I will remain silent regarding the things I may or may not,
in my ignorant youth, have attempted with my father's
heart medication. ;-)

But later on, a little investigation into the composition of
those tablets and the actual amount of active ingredient
contained therein shows why that's not a particularly
interesting thing to do. There's just WAY too little nitro
in each tablet, and what IS there is way, way too diluted
in inert material, for anything...errr....interesting to happen.

One interesting thing you'll turn up in researching the subject,
though, is that the medical use of nitroglycerine traces back
to the discovery that workers involved in explosives production
with nitroglycerine would regularly report blinding headaches,
which were found to come from the minute quantities of
the chemical that they were picking up on their hands, etc., and
accidentally ingesting. Further research showed that a very
small amount of nitro was an extremely effective vasodilator,
which is why it's a popular fast-acting treatment for heart-related
chest pains today. But you'll still note that "headaches" are among
the list of possible side effects on that helpful little informational
sheet they include with your pills.

Bob M.

In article ,
Hatunen wrote:


So will some greasy rags stowed in your luggage. and they will
start fire sopntaneously, while some caps won't.

v Greasy rags won't. Linseed oil-soaked rags is the biggie that is
even remotely found on airplanes, but even that is very unlikely.

--
Searching is half the fun: life is much more manageable when thought
of as a scavenger hunt as opposed to a surprise party.
Jimmy Buffett

In message "Bob Myers"
was claimed to have wrote:

DevilsPGD wrote:
In message Hatunen
was claimed to have wrote:

toy gun caps is not in the "things that explode" category either
except by some weird stretch of the definition of "explode".

A roll of caps is more then sufficient to start a small fire.

But then, so are any number of things that are perfectly OK to
take about an airliner.

True, but few (if any) are allowed in checked luggage. You certainly
can't check matches, for example, although you are allowed to carry them
with you.

As a former boy scout, I can tell you that this was considered
"cheating" but it was nonetheless effective under the right
conditions.

If you had to use a roll of caps to get your fire started, you
were doing it the hard way.

My group managed to remember matches, which fell under preparedness.