The powers that be have released their list of the most intercepted prohibited items from prospective airline passengers today. While I find lists of all types eminently readable (Harper's Index fer sure!) , this one is so good, and raises so many thoughts, I wanted to share it with you:
Prohibited items intercepted by airport screeners, Jan. 1-Nov. 29, 2005:
Lighters (prohibited as of April 14, 2005): 8,124,525
Ok, let's stop there. As Scout can attest, there is a growing underground behaviour for flying smokers. It seems that once you find an area to smoke at the airport, it is common courtesy to leave your lighter on the edge of the ashtray, for smokers to use once they arrive, nicotine-depleted, from their flight. While I appreciate that consideration, my mind is reeling from the fact that at an average price of a buck a piece, we are talking about eight million dollars worth of product being seized. That makes many local drug busts look like child's play. Do you think that the BIC people are in on this? I had no idea that they sold eight million lighters in a year....whew.
Sharp objects: 3,041,218
Knives and blades: 1,650,894
Less than 3 inches: 1,599,103
3 inches or longer: 51,791
OK, so who needs to carry on sharp objects? Three million people do. I want more specific information here. Obviously, these passengers are not so sharp. And what is with the knife thing? Either many more chefs, taxidermists, butchers and sword swallowers are flying than I thought or people are simply stupid- OR- members of the Swiss Army.
Tools: 819,450
Ya never know when you might need that chainsaw during your flight...
Flammables/irritants: 362,613
Ammunition and gunpowder: 21,939
Hey, at least they stowed the gun in the checked baggage...
Box cutters: 19,499
and finally...
Clubs, bats and bludgeons: 19,183
Please tell me the nineteen THOUSAND bats were from like, little league teams flying to games.
So pack carefully for your holiday travels, folks.
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1 comment:
More Peanuts!
I once heard that the airlines were able to reduce expenses by $1,000,000 per year for every peanut they took out of the snack bag- Surely you've noticed that you only get about seven peanuts now.
I see a new opportunity- Sell us our lighters back for $1.50 when we reach our destination airport, or $2.25 if we are at a layover airport. We'll gladly pay. Give us a smoking room in the airport and you can even charge us admission and a lighter rental fee.
Think about it, that's a lot of peanuts.
L.
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