photo credit: yoppy

I’m heading to WordCamp Chicago today and mentioned on Twitter that I wasn’t bringing my electric toothbrush.  I didn’t want the hassle of TSA making up “rules” on the spot and then telling me I’d have to toss my toothbrush.  @swirlspice suggested I try and get it through TSA so today I will attempt to bring my toothbrush with me as carry-on.

I found some interesting experiences on the internet:

Let’s design a basic, compact, TSA-compliant carry-on “survival kit”

In light of the continuing drama-rama that is the TSA (see this thread), I propose a project: let’s design a basic carry-on kit that complies with TSA rules while granting the bearer the most comprehensive array of essentials possible in the event of an emergency (delayed/lost luggage, etc).  The more compact the “core” essentials, the more space is left over for items you don’t want to check (read: “donate,” provided they’re legal to carry onto the plane).

Confessions of a Baggage Screener

So far I had seen the machines flag plenty of deodorant sticks, toothpaste tubes, and shoe heels, which showed up on the screen outlined in red. I had handled sex toys, machetes, and pistols (legal in checked bags). But the closest thing I had seen to a bomb were manufactured images on the screen created by the Threat Image Projection System, a software package developed by the government to make sure we were paying attention. Every once in a while, I learned, police let drug dogs find contraband so they don’t grow discouraged. I didn’t much care for the implied comparison.

The ticking was real enough, though, and I couldn’t let the suitcase through until I’d figured out the origin of the sound. A US Airways supervisor was hovering nearby, and jittery fliers were peeking at us through the breaks in the partitions. I took everything out, stacking clothes on the table. I felt around the lining. I turned the suitcase over once more, noted that the ticking stopped, and saw a bulge in a tiny pocket tucked between the rods for the extendable handle. It was an electric toothbrush that turned on when it pressed against the table but was packed too tight to vibrate.

Common Items, Extraordinary Threat (TSA Blog)

Authorities overseas also found an electric toothbrush, similar to one the TSA showed ABC News, which was actually re-engineered to detonate a plastic explosive that could be hidden in the lining of a briefcase.