A few months after 9/11 when tensions were even higher than they are now, the TSA in Philadelphia confiscated numerous "dangerous" items from me (nail clippers, tweezers, a small corkscrew, mini bic lighter, etc.).

Perhaps the silliest of them all was a 0.5g sample of Blistex that I had in my toiletry kit:



The TSA inspector claimed that he felt the foil package had a very sharp edge that could be used to injure someone. Please...

What was probably one of the more ironic moments was when a couple of national guardsmen attempted to bypass the TSA security line next to me in route to their assigned posts (carrying M4 carbines and sidearms). One of them (a seargent) was carrying a small enclosed file folder, so he was stopped by another TSA inspector and instructed to place the folder on the xray belt for inspection - nevermind the fact that they were carrying semi-automatic weapons!

As the first TSA inspector was somewhat embarassed watching all this moronic activity in the next lane, I commented to him that it made perfect sense to me - for all we knew the seargent might have had lip balm hidden in the file folder.

Jim