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 ... 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.
Checkpoints at San Diego's Lindbergh Field (SAN) were home to some of these dangerous discoveries in 2012.
A quick look at some of the TSA's local 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. Travel? Not so much.
- June: A grenade shaped cologne bottle.
- April: A grenade with a knife inside.
- March: Two inert shells from anti-personnel mines.
Other California finds from 2012:
- 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"—a throwing star with six folding knife blades—at Los Angeles International Airpot (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.
