Gizmodo: Airport Security

Bacon Sets Off Airport Bomb Detector

Dan Nosowitz — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 14:13:33 EDT

According to German news site Nachrichten, a passenger at the Linz airport set off alarms when his suitcase full of bacon was mistaken for a bomb. The story was translated with Google, so it's high on hilarity and low on verifiable detail.

Apparently when asked to identify the suspicious material in his luggage, the passenger replied, "There is fat inside." This explanation understandably failed to allay concerns and the passenger was forced to remove the offending pork products from his suitcase. Evidently, bacon has a similar "nuclear density" to certain types of bombs.

The other items accompanying the bacon were weird enough to warrant an investigation anyway: He also had a hotel-quality electric shoeshiner and a package of some sort of electronic doll with wires and batteries.

It seems that he was concerned that the bacon actually might have been a bomb planted by his estranged wife, who packed it for him, but eventually it was determined to be a safe, if bizarre, item for carry-on. No word on whether the new "checkpoint friendly" bags are bacon-compatible. [Boing Boing]

New Airport Screening Procedure for MacBook Air (No, Really)

matt buchanan — Mon, 24 Mar 2008 19:00:20 EDT

You might recall a couple of weeks ago, a dude got hassled by airport security because they couldn't make sense of his MacBook Air. Turns out, it actually does look "very different" than 99 percent of the notebooks they're used to seeing under the scanner, in a way that would "pique some interest" of security personnel, according to the TSA's Blogger Bob.

The culprit? Its solid state drive. Which means any notebook with a SSD could've gotten your ass busted by the Feds. Helpfully, they've since distributed photos of what SSD notebooks look like to security personnel, reducing your chances of a friendly cavity search. [TSA Blog via TUAW]

Scan-It X-Ray Machine the Ugly Face of 21st-Century Toys

AddyDugdale — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 07:22:48 EST

Billed as a way of acclimatizing kids with airport security checks, the Scan-It X-Ray machine detects the presence of metal in objects and is, let's face it, a scary addition to your child's toy box. Stick Barbie on the conveyor belt, pass her through the Scan-It and you will be able to see if her IUD is in place or not. It costs $29.95, but I'm going to hang on for the Crazy CIA Waterboarding Kit. Seriously. [OhGizmo]

T-Rays Check You Out, Don't Give You Cancer

Wilson Rothman — Wed, 28 Nov 2007 08:33:05 EST

The next big thing in homeland-security technology is a T-ray machine, which can see through leather, fabric, cardboard and paper, but can't penetrate water or metal. T-rays (terahertz rays) used to be really hard to make without massive gear, but now researchers in Turkey and Japan have figured out how to build a compact T-ray machine using—what else?—high-temperature superconducting crystals. T-rays may prove to be the next great ray; they can even look half an inch into your skin and spot tooth decay in your mouth. And unlike X-rays, which do evil things to your cells, T-rays don't have the energy to cause cancerous cell ionization. They're totally harmless, except of course when used by TSA to look at you naked. [Reuters]

Microsoft Zune vs. Heightened Airport Security

Jason Chen — Thu, 10 Aug 2006 18:14:01 EDT

A reader sent in this tip about the clash between a friend and airport security, with a little bit of Microsoft Zune thrown in. Apparently, this Microsoft-insider friend was flying somewhere today, and when he got to the security check, officials made him check his laptop and cellphone. All fairly normal considering today's events.

The interesting part comes when security saw the Microsoft Zune in his bag. Since they don't recognize it—it's not an iPod, so who would—they made him surrender the prototype and mailed it back to his office. They wouldn't even let him put it in his checked luggage!

So, apparently some US airports are following UK airports and are forcing passengers to check all gadgets before boarding. More news as we hear it. – Jason Chen