Skies Safer Than Ever After TSA Prevents Passenger From Boarding Flight With Cartoonish Novelty 'Bomb'

from the I-don't-want-to-say-they're-morons-but...-they're-morons dept

The skies are now that much safer [uses finger and thumb to approximate appropriately small amount] thanks to the super-serious safety efforts of the TSA. (via Amy Alkon)

Ever vigilant, intellectually adept, and multi-talented (seeing as how they can spot stuff to steal even as they have their hands down your pants), they discovered the above pictured Big Scary Terroristy Thing at Mitchell Airport in Milwaukee.

It is an “F Bomb Paperweight,” a piece of art handmade by Fred Conlon and selling for $45. Quoting from the F Bomb’s blurb:

It’s never easy dropping truth bombs in the office. But “f” bombs? Always explosive fun! Fred Conlon’s recycled steel sculpture lightens up desk-side chats and tough conversations with a delightfully abstract expletive appropriate for any situation. Handmade in Utah.

Each is one-of-a-kind and will vary slightly.

How do we know the TSA managed to confiscate such a dangerous item? Because the TSA itself posted the photo above at its blog.

A black novelty bomb was detected in a carry-on bag at Milwaukee (MKE).

Accompanying the photo of the clearly-not-a-real-bomb is the following statement:

We continue to find inert grenades and other weaponry on a weekly basis. Please keep in mind that if an item looks like a real bomb, grenade, mine, etc., it is prohibited. When these items are found at a checkpoint or in checked baggage, they can cause significant delays because the explosives detection professionals must resolve the alarm to determine the level of threat. Even if they are novelty items, you cannot bring them on a plane.

"Looks like a real bomb." Yeah, about that… This looks about as real as any bomb ordered by Wile E. Coyote from ACME Products. The "fuse" appears to be recycled power lines, something no one could actually light. The TSA's internet mouthpiece, Blogger Bob, has previously complained that bombs are hard to detect because they don't look like their animated counterparts.

“It’s not like they’re using a cartoonish bundle of dynamite with an alarm clock strapped to it,” Bob Burns of the TSA Blog Team posted on the agency’s Web site.

He must be so relieved that someone actually walked into the Milwaukee airport with something cartoonish enough to be recognized as a bomb immediately by TSA staff -- which now looks more cartoonish than the "bomb" it confiscated. (Real bombs tend to go undetected...)

Presumably, the dangerous item will be forwarded to the TSA confiscation dumping grounds where it can be sold to the highest bidder and put back into circulation. Too dangerous to put on a plane but not too dangerous to put back in the public's hands, where it might be carried onto a bus, subway car or aerial tram. The TSA doesn't mind if you hijack/blow up another form of mass transportation… just don't take down an airplane.

Filed Under: novelty bomb, searches, tsa