LAURIE BARATTI | TravelPulse.Com
Troy Warren for CNT #Travel
Plenty of us have been guilty of absent-mindedly packing an over-three-ounce bottle of some toiletry or other, and getting stopped at an airport security checkpoint due to the potentially hazardous nature of, say, our contact solution.
But, then, there are always those travelers who intentionally try to smuggle some sort of contraband past the Transportation Security Administration (TSA)—some attempts are laughably inept or, perhaps, simply illustrate complete ignorance of the rules.
This week, the TSA revealed its ranking of the agency’s ‘Top 10 Catches of 2021’ in the form of a quippy Twitter video.
Partially, the intent is to raise public awareness about what types of items are prohibited from being brought aboard flights, but it’s also good for a bit of a laugh. Photos of the confiscated items and corresponding witticisms are also accompanied by avatars, whose eyerolls, facepalms and laughter illustrate probable reactions to finding such things in someone’s baggage.
“Our officers found some truly unusual items,” the TSA said, according to CNN. “They worked hard to keep travelers safe as they returned to the skies.”
2021’s Top Ten Most Bizarre TSA Catches:
1. Chainsaw – New Orleans International. “Can’t stump us.”
2. Wine-bottle holder shaped like a pair of guns – Sacramento International. “Please don’t make pour decisions like this passenger.”
3. Fireworks – Syracuse Hancock International. “Doesn’t take a rocket scientist to know this is a no-no.”
4. Machete – Reagan Washington National Airport. “Talk about a dull idea.”
5. Bear spray – Destin-Fort Walton Beach Airport. “Is definitely not a bear necessity for your flight.”
6. Meat cleaver – Harrisburg International. “Not a cleaver idea to bring this through security.”
7. Belt buckle with an inlaid firearm – Honolulu International. “How’s our list holding up so far? Better than this passenger’s pants, hopefully.”
8. Meth-filled burrito – Hobby International. “You can’t speed your way through security with this one”.
9. Old-timey pistol – Newark Liberty International. “Is your one shot worth…a mug shot?”
10. Bullets smuggled inside a deodorant stick – Atlantic City International. “This passenger must have been sweating bullets.”
