TSA Security Question

[AldebTX]

In a way I made a mistake while flying today by asking one of the TSA security agents a couple of questions while waiting for my bag to be x-rayed. I am still curious as to the answer.

Where did the ounce limit on how much liquid I can bring in a carry on come from?

How come I can't take a 6 oz bottle of mouth wash or toothpaste on board, but can take two 3 oz bottles of mouth wash or tooth paste on board?

It seems to me there ought to be an over all limit to how much liquid or paste that should be dangerous, and any amount up to that total should be ok?

Am I crazy or making sense?

BTW don't ask the agents, unless you have time for a physical exam. I didn't really get a clear answer and got delayed 15 minutes while they wiped down my bag, wanded me, and searched my bag.

[slackmaster]

1. The rules and most of the screening procedures are all for show

It's a big distraction to make you think they aren't just profiling people.

[OneTenthofOnePercent]

6. Bingo. Did you know...

that metal detectors in airports are often set at the MINIMUM sensitivity required to detect a firearm at torso/chest level(most firearms are carried at the waist or chest level)? (They can adjust different zones to different sisitivities.) Modern metal detectors are actually sensitive enough to probably count the fillings in your teeth. But the truth is that the minimum level of sensitivity is chosen to keep people moving? Think about how much metal people walk through with (underwires, belt buckles, shoe acessories, medical pins & plates, etc...)

In fact, there have been incidents where a persons wearing a small pistol in ankle holsters have inadvertantly carried thier gun onto the plane only to discover later thier accident. Boy, I'll bet that's a shocking discovery/folly - lol. Now, security isn't a total joke but for the most part, unless you're selected for extra screening, the TSA checks are mostly for show.

[slackmaster]

7. I once went through one set so sensitive that I had to remove my titanium-frame eyeglasses to pass

It really, really angered me. I'm blind as a naked mole rat without them. It makes me feel extremely vulnerable.

[hobbit709]

2. It's more about control than security.

[sinkingfeeling]

3. Does anything TSA does make sense? Better question.

[MineralMan]

4. The limit on the size of containers is ostensibly to prevent

binary combinations of liquids that would produce an explosion or fire. Apparently the size limit had something to do with some planned attacks using binary components. Whether it makes sense or not is open to question, and I don't have the details.

As for asking questions like that, that's something that isn't worth bothering with. The rules are in place. The TSA worker has no idea of the answers to your questions. He/she has the rules that he/she has to follow. What's the point of asking someone who cannot answer your question? It will only lead, as it did in your case, to delays.

It's like getting pissed at the agent at the gate because the flight is delayed. What do people expect that agent to do about it? He or she probably doesn't even know the reason for the delay. And, yet, I see morons yelling at the agent for something over which he or she has no control and probably no knowledge.

It is what it is. The TSA rules aren't that hard to understand or that onerous. Have a bigger bottle? Put it in your checked bag. Don't check a bag? There is a store at your destination.

The TSA employee didn't make the rules, can't change them, and probably has no idea why they're in place. Why bug him or her about it. Write a letter to the TSA.

[Broderick]

8. touche n/t

[MineralMan]

5. I googled it for you.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/11/business/11road.html

This should explain the reason for the size. It is as I explained it in the previous post, but here are more details.

[petronius]

9. The limit on overall size is imposed by the 1 quart bag that all the 3 oz bottles

have to fit into...

As for asking them, I think it depends on the airport - I've had perfectly pleasant conversations with TSA, and the sheriff sitting by, in my small local airport, but god forbid you try to be friendly in BOS or somesuch...