So just what are these "sensitive electronics" in my passport??

[arcane1]

I finally got a passport for the first time, and couldn't help noticing the little blurb on the last page:

"This document contains sensitive electronics. For best performance, do not bend, perforate or expose to extreme temperatures."

it has a bar code thing on the back, but that's the only thing I see, and I wouldn't classify that as 'electronics'.

Should I just bend, fold, and expose, and see what happens?

[LeftyMom]

1. RFID

A few seconds of microwave would be a real problem. Whatever you do, don't do that.

[Lethe]

2. radio id chip?

do they those in them now?

[alarimer]

3. I think there is an RFID chip in there now

with your info on it.

[La Lioness Priyanka]

4. hey babe! where are you planning on going?

[arcane1]

5. the plan is London for x-mas

though I still have the minor detail of purchasing tickets :hi:

[La Lioness Priyanka]

7. thats funny, i am planning to go to england in jan!

[arcane1]

8. sweet!

you're now the third friend who is "almost" gonna be there at the same time as me :)

[prolesunited]

10. London?!?!?

Sounds like fun. What's on the itinerary?

We went to Maui last year, but putting a new roof on the house is the priority now. No trips until that's done and paid for. :-(

[arcane1]

15. the London itinerary:

Arrive.

Party.

Perhaps a trip to Stonehenge.

Party.

Depart.

Arrive in SF in time to party for new year's eve :D

:hi:

[prolesunited]

23. I obviously forgot who I was talking to

;-)

:hi:

[Midlodemocrat]

17. Isn't home ownership a blast?

:eyes:

We're doing a facelift in our kitchen, so any trip for a while is being postponed. And, we're currently storing all the food from the pantry in the family room. So, we now have...ants. Again.

Gah.

[prolesunited]

24. Beats paying rent and having nothing to show for it.

And we grew a ton of organic food this year in our garden in the back.

We have a very small, modest house, but plenty for us. Better yet, we'll have it paid for in 10 years (or hopefully a little less) and we'll have all that money to travel.

[AZBlue]

6. Hammer it.

It won't show but will destroy the chip (in theory - haven't tested it for sure).

[Dangerously Amused]

9. If you google "disable passport rfid chip"...

I bet you'll come up with LOTS of information. And I mean LOTS.


Just a guess, mind you.


:7

[lligrd]

26. Won't Disabling It Lead To Re-entry Problems Eventually

I'd hate to get strip searched just because my chip was fried.

[petronius]

11. I thought that warning was kind of funny - I can see bending,

but who perforates their passport (let alone cooking it)? :shrug:

[jus_the_facts]

12. "..bend... fold...expose....

....see what happens." Sounds like a plan! :evilgrin:


:hi:

[DarkTirade]

13. 3 seconds in the microwave oughtta fry 'em good...

No need to bend, fold or expose. :evilgrin:

[ashling]

14. Wouldn't it be funny if it turned out

that the sensetive electronic equipment in passports interfered with airplane navigation and other equipment causing international flights to crash in certain locations, like, say, on the way to London?

BTW, where are you headed?

:hi:

[Midlodemocrat]

16. HOLY CRAP!!! Where have you been?

I was just thinking about you the other day. I was hoping you might pay your old hometown a visit.

Great to see you!!!

:hi:

[arcane1]

27. hey there!

I've been around.. thr new job doesn't fly me to VA anymore, but I plan to fly myself there next year :D

[DS1]

18. It has secret nano-technology which allows it to morph into the passport

of a given terrorist's passport after its been in a plane crash, it gets the name and info via NSA satellite

[KitchenWitch]

19. Would setting it close to a fairly strong magnet do the trick?

:evilgrin:

[pitohui]

20. no but keep your passport in an aluminum bookcover

it's an rfid chip and it has already been proven that people can scan your information from a distance so you need to keep your new passport in what is in effect a faraday cage

either that or expect some evil doer to be walking around w. a duplicate of your passport info one of these days...

[book lady]

21. I have read that whacking the back of the passport with a hammer disables the rfid chip...

microwaves tend to leave scorch marks...

[carly denise pt deux]

22. it's that strip on the back page

it's sweet when you need to check in at the airport kiosk, just swipe it and it knows you, no need to remember the booking numbers

Carly

[jmowreader]

25. They're trying to keep this under wraps, or everyone will want one...BUT...

I have here before me a prototype of the new SmartPassport. I built it myself out of a refrigerator box and a big pile of used transistor radios.

This new passport contains the complete functionality of a Windows Vista computer in the exact form factor of a regular, garden-variety passport.

When you're not using the passport to get back into the country, you can use the three included applications--the three most important programs for your Vista box--or buy new ones of your own. The three apps, of course, are Solitaire, the other game of Solitaire and a virus protector.

Unfortunately, the SmartPassport has a strange bug: it likes to put pictures of terrorists next to your name while you're going through Immigration. Our company president flew to Canada and, on the way back, the machine put a picture of Mohammed Atta where his own face should go. We'll get him out of Abu Ghraib sometime in the next five Democratic presidents.