For all of the basic things people easily forget to pack for travel—cell phone chargers, toothbrushes—it's amazing what people find time to slip in. Like, say, belt-buckle knives, landmines and, um, chastity belts.
Oh, and lots of grenades.
The Transportation Security Administration, whose agents make sure your shoes are off at the airport, has a blog with a roundup of some of the most dangerous and odd things found and said at checkpoints each week.
Sidenote: Saying you're a terrorist won't get you on the plane any faster.
A quick look at some of the TSA's recent finds:
- November: An inert detonator.
- September: A Mark 24 tube initiator used to detonate explosives.
- July: A novelty tobacco grinding grenade.
- June: Bat stars perfect for "fighting diabolical crime," the TSA says.
- June: A grenade-shaped cologne bottle.
- April: A grenade with a knife inside.
- March: Two inert shells from anti-personnel mines.
Other California finds:
- September: An inert grenade at San Francisco International Airport (SFO).
- July: A knife concealed in a belt buckle at San Jose International Airport (SJC).
- July: "Six Bladed Star of Death," or a throwing star with six folding knife blades, at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX).
- January: Two butterfly knives at LAX.
- January: Two razorblades in the frame of a bag at Sacramento International Airport (SMF).
The TSA, in a look back at all of 2012, noted that there were an average of four firearms found at checkpoints every day across the country at 199 different airports.
Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport Airport (ATL) topped the list with 95 guns found last year.
Other crazy finds? A grenade launcher in Seattle, inert warheads in Salt Lake City and a chastity belt on a passenger's body.
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