"explosives" in my luggage

So I'm sitting in Tulsa on Friday wating to board my flight when I hear my
name being called to approach the podium. The services manager needs to ask
me about the explosives that the TSA found in my luggage. I'm a little
confused as I certainly didn't recall packing any, so he explains that the
toy cowboy gun I'd bought for my son came with a pack of paper caps, which
contain gunpowder and so are considered as explosives.

I can't fault them on their logic, and clearly their procedures work which
is comforting to know I guess, but it seems a little extreme. On the
positive side, they decided not to enforce the $50,000 fine.

Gerry

Gerard Farrell wrote:

So I'm sitting in Tulsa on Friday wating to board my flight when I hear my
name being called to approach the podium. The services manager needs to
ask me about the explosives that the TSA found in my luggage. I'm a little
confused as I certainly didn't recall packing any, so he explains that the
toy cowboy gun I'd bought for my son came with a pack of paper caps, which
contain gunpowder and so are considered as explosives.

I can't fault them on their logic, and clearly their procedures work which
is comforting to know I guess, but it seems a little extreme. On the
positive side, they decided not to enforce the $50,000 fine.

What sort of buffoon doesn't know about this stuff and still gets on
airplanes?

--
William Black

In message "Gerard Farrell"
was claimed to have wrote:

So I'm sitting in Tulsa on Friday wating to board my flight when I hear my
name being called to approach the podium. The services manager needs to ask
me about the explosives that the TSA found in my luggage. I'm a little
confused as I certainly didn't recall packing any, so he explains that the
toy cowboy gun I'd bought for my son came with a pack of paper caps, which
contain gunpowder and so are considered as explosives.

I can't fault them on their logic, and clearly their procedures work which
is comforting to know I guess, but it seems a little extreme.

I'm sorry...

I'm normally one to dump all over the TSA for every little bit of
mission creep or rights abuses, but honestly, what part of "no
explosives" did you misunderstand?

"No explosives" means "nothing that explodes"

In "Gerard Farrell"
wrote:

I can't fault them on their logic, and clearly their procedures work
which is comforting to know I guess, but it seems a little extreme.

Having your pack of caps go off when your bag got jolted and then
starting a fire in the cargo hold would be a bit extreme too.

--
Bert Hyman St. Paul, MN

In article ,
DevilsPGD wrote:

In message "Gerard Farrell"
was claimed to have wrote:

So I'm sitting in Tulsa on Friday wating to board my flight when I hear my
name being called to approach the podium. The services manager needs to ask
me about the explosives that the TSA found in my luggage. I'm a little
confused as I certainly didn't recall packing any, so he explains that the
toy cowboy gun I'd bought for my son came with a pack of paper caps, which
contain gunpowder and so are considered as explosives.

I can't fault them on their logic, and clearly their procedures work which
is comforting to know I guess, but it seems a little extreme.

I'm sorry...

I'm normally one to dump all over the TSA for every little bit of
mission creep or rights abuses, but honestly, what part of "no
explosives" did you misunderstand?

"No explosives" means "nothing that explodes"

I'd have to agree. They found something hinky, followed up, and
(apparently quite nicely) told him discreetly what the problem was. If
they had then hauled him off in handcuffs for a cavity search and fined
him or arrested him, THAT would have been extreme.

--
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 Mon, 06 Jul 2009 20:49:50 -0700, DevilsPGD
wrote:

In message "Gerard Farrell"
was claimed to have wrote:

So I'm sitting in Tulsa on Friday wating to board my flight when I hear my
name being called to approach the podium. The services manager needs to ask
me about the explosives that the TSA found in my luggage. I'm a little
confused as I certainly didn't recall packing any, so he explains that the
toy cowboy gun I'd bought for my son came with a pack of paper caps, which
contain gunpowder and so are considered as explosives.

I can't fault them on their logic, and clearly their procedures work which
is comforting to know I guess, but it seems a little extreme.

I'm sorry...

I'm normally one to dump all over the TSA for every little bit of
mission creep or rights abuses, but honestly, what part of "no
explosives" did you misunderstand?

"No explosives" means "nothing that explodes"

How about my nitroglycerine tablets?

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

In article ,
Hatunen wrote:


How about my nitroglycerine tablets?

Interesting. I would think that the sensors should pick it up.
My bet is that there has to be a certain minimum concentration that even
a full bottle of pills wouldn't come near.

--
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 Tue, 07 Jul 2009 16:46:09 -0400, Kurt Ullman
wrote:

In article ,
Hatunen wrote:


How about my nitroglycerine tablets?

Interesting. I would think that the sensors should pick it up.
My bet is that there has to be a certain minimum concentration that even
a full bottle of pills wouldn't come near.

A full bottle of pills measures about 17mm diameter by 37mm long
and has a very tight cap (lest the pills oxidize to impotence) so
it presents a rather small sensor or canine nose target.

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

"Hatunen" wrote in message
...
On Mon, 06 Jul 2009 20:49:50 -0700, DevilsPGD
wrote:

In message "Gerard Farrell"
was claimed to have wrote:

So I'm sitting in Tulsa on Friday wating to board my flight when I hear
my
name being called to approach the podium. The services manager needs to
ask
me about the explosives that the TSA found in my luggage. I'm a little
confused as I certainly didn't recall packing any, so he explains that
the
toy cowboy gun I'd bought for my son came with a pack of paper caps,
which
contain gunpowder and so are considered as explosives.

I can't fault them on their logic, and clearly their procedures work
which
is comforting to know I guess, but it seems a little extreme.

I'm sorry...

I'm normally one to dump all over the TSA for every little bit of
mission creep or rights abuses, but honestly, what part of "no
explosives" did you misunderstand?

"No explosives" means "nothing that explodes"

How about my nitroglycerine tablets?



When flying I always offer my GTN (Glyceryl TriNitrate) spray for inspection
but only once (at Schiphol) has anyone been even remotely interested in it.
--
JohnT

Hatunen wrote:
On Tue, 07 Jul 2009 16:46:09 -0400, Kurt Ullman
wrote:

In article ,
Hatunen wrote:


How about my nitroglycerine tablets?

Interesting. I would think that the sensors should pick it up.
My bet is that there has to be a certain minimum concentration that
even a full bottle of pills wouldn't come near.

A full bottle of pills measures about 17mm diameter by 37mm long
and has a very tight cap (lest the pills oxidize to impotence) so
it presents a rather small sensor or canine nose target.

Not much of an explosive hazard, either - nitroglycerin tablets
are typically under 1 mg each, so even a bottle of 100 would
be less than a tenth of a gram of nitroglycerine. Even if it weren't
in a dilute, inert form which can't explode, 0.1g of nitro isn't
enough to simulate the explosive force of a good sneeze.
(Nitroglycerine is estimated to have an explosive force
roughly 13 times that of a similar volume of gunpowder.)

Bob M.