30 Legal Things That Looked Too Suspicious For Airport Security To Ignore

Airport security workers see it all—from the mundane to the downright mind-boggling. So when someone asked on Reddit, “Airport Security Workers of Reddit, what’s the weirdest but still legal thing you found in someone’s bag?”, the answers were exactly the kind of mix you’d expect: hilarious, bizarre, and occasionally touching.

Here are some of the most unforgettable (and totally legal) finds shared by TSA agents and other airport staff that’ll make you think twice before judging someone by their carry-on.

#1

Image source: BigPaulieEh, reddit We found a Japanese guy with a bottle of pure maple syrup taped to his inner thigh in my airport. Apparently it's hard to get in Japan and he knew it was over the size limit to carry on a flight. Pretty d**n funny IMO. edit: Thinking back, there was another good story I just remembered. We found a pet Tarantula that a young man was trying to bring home with him while on break from college. It wasn't allowed on the flight so my friend/supervisor offered to take care of it while he was gone. He had many exotic pets over the years and knew how to take care of them. My supervisor took care of the complete stranger's tarantula and reunited it with the young man when he came back to town a few weeks later.

#2

Image source: BeanBagLlama, reddit Obligatory "sorry for being late to this" and "not an airport worker". Before getting my desk job, I used to be a police officer and once had to fly to do an investigation in a remote part of the country. Sent in the appropriate forms to the airline to advise them I'd be flying with my sidearm and equipment, all secured properly of course, and would have my badge and credentials with me to support that I was, in fact, a police officer travelling on-duty. Low and behold, the day of my flight comes and I walk into the airport - pistol, ammo, expandable baton, handcuffs, badge and ID in my carry on as advised by the company - and I walk up to the service desk to let them know who I am and what I'm carrying. After a quick conversation with the supervisor they take me to a separate screening desk where they run all of my bags through the x-ray. Security stops dead. "Sir, you can't carry this on the plane." I'm surprised because I followed the regulations they'd given me for the pistol. Maybe I needed to ship the ammo separately and had just misread the form? "What do you mean?" I looked to the supervisor for help. Security guy shakes his head. "No, the gun is good to go, but you can't have the baton on the plane." WHAT!? I can have a semi-automatic pistol and 25+ rounds of ammunition in my carry on, accessible to me in my airline seat, but I can't have a 21" metal stick weighing like 2 lbs!? I asked them in a much more professional way and they confirmed, yes, that is correct. It was then that I realized security/ policing is a screwed up world and traded it for a desk and telling people what to do with their money.

#3

Image source: LOUDCO-HD, Generated Image / Boredpanda I was travelling for work once, I am a freelance technical director, and my son had put a large Jolly Roger sticker on my hard shell laptop case. He was going through his pirate phase. I was opening the case up to put the laptop in a tray for the scanner when the TSA screamed at me to stop. He activated some kind of Purple alert and in seconds I was swarmed by TSA agents and local LEOs. After much explaining it was revealed the TSA guy saw the Jolly Roger skull and crossbones and thought I was carrying human remains. Katzekratzer: I read this as Jolly Rancher in both parts and was so, so confused!

#4

Image source: Silent-Zebra, TSA_Northeast On an episode of Border Security Australia, Brisbanes main airport had to be evacuated and b**b techs called as a grenade had been spotted on the x-ray machine. B**b techs go in only to discover it's a belt with a metal grenade shaped buckle. Not the smartest thing to travel with. zerbey: Friend of ours went flying with his kids. His one kid was very small and was crying about wanting to take toys from home on their trip. They were so busy he just said whatever, throw what you need in your suitcase. At the airport they get called to information because of an "issue" with one of their bags. The kid had packed his entire toy gun collection. It was an international flight. They got a good laugh out of it and let them continue, since it was the check in bag.

#5

Image source: mrdarcyslaw, reddit Not an airport security worker, but the security agents in Berlin were concerned that some rocks I had in my backpack (why buy a souvenir when you can just take a rock?) were pieces of the Berlin Wall. SiTheGreat: They actually sell them at the gift shops. Pretty cheap too.

#6

Image source: hobbur, reddit When me and my family went to Florida some police dogs were barking like hell at my dad and he was immediately taken into a room very quickly. Turns out dogs are good at sniffing out bananas as well as d***s.

#7

Image source: anon, envato Well when I was 6 I had my Dora the Explorer backpack on and I put one of those small sizes 8 oz water bottles in it. When my mom put the my bag up on the belt through X-ray it got flagged and they pulled my 6 year old self into a room (without my parents) and did a full search of me and then the woman yelled at me to never do it again. My mother wasn’t happy. jacobr1020: What did your parents do? I would have punched that woman if I was your dad. Anon (OP): Well being the child I was (had severe anxiety, very nervous about life, was afraid of a toilet flushing) I was absolutely panicked and upset that this barbaric tsa agent woman scolded me for something I didn’t even really understand as a small child. too be truthful I don’t think my parents did anything except make sure I was okay and calmed me down because I was hysterical that I got into “trouble”. I remember it. She sorta reminded me of the principal from Matilda. My parents had to explain to me there were certain things you can/can’t have on the airplanes. I do recall them being absolutely pissed but what really could they have done? jacobr1020: Did they say anything to her? I certainly would have. Anon (OP): Just talked to ma. She said she chewed out the woman and the supervising officer for taking a 6 year old unattended for a search in a large airport without her parents over a frickin 8 oz water bottle.

#8

Image source: scix, freepik Another slightly related story: When my grandparents died, they wanted to be cremated and then have their ashes scattered into the Pacific Ocean near where they had a house. But we lived in New York. so my mom wrapped them both up, in really cheap plastic cremation urns, and put them in her carry on. The airport scanned them, took us both aside into a separate room, swiped the boxes for explosives, and tried to take them. My mom had none of that, and after yelling "you cant confiscate my parents!", we got to keep them and continue on our flight. tldr: dead grandparents fly for free.

#9

Image source: DancingBear2020, lucigerma / envato My landlady in college was the stereotypical harmless looking little white haired grandma. She made some ceramic pistols so one of her grandkids could have them on the wall as part of a pirate-themed bedroom redesign. The world had changed since she had flown anywhere so she didn’t think twice about tucking them into a carry-on bag. Hilarity ensued. DancingBear2020: Imagine the embarrassment for the security guy to find out it's clay after opening it in front of everyone.

#10

Image source: aellenhicks-2, reddit I'm not a security worker, but I have a story from the other side. I'm asthmatic and had a peak flow meter in my carry on. This is a device you use to measure how much air you're exhaling. This one was a long cylinder with a tapered end. It had a metal rod in it that the gauge would slide along. When my bag went through x-ray, the guard called another guard over. Elbows poked at each other, and latex gloves went on. When the guard pulled out the peak flow meter, he looked super confused. He clearly thought he was going to be pulling out a d***o. "Um, what is this?" he asked. "It's a peak flow meter for my asthma," I explained. "I blow in it. Would you like a demonstration?" "No, ma'aam. That won't be necessary." But then he cracked, leaned over and asked "Do you mind if I show my friend?" We all got a kick out of it.

#11

Image source: drhunny, coffeekai / envato Passenger here. I used to work for a tech firm that made very strange electronics for the government/military. I'd occasionally fly with a small weird box that is filled with electronics and slabs of strange materials. Ok to x-ray, but looks decidedly odd in an x-ray machine (like contains odd shaped pieces of metal that are totally opaque to x-rays). Couldn't be checked because it's delicate. So I'd pull it out of carry-on and put it in a tray. They'd always want to check it and know what it was. It wasn't dangerous, but actually saying what it was in a security line could cause trouble. I'd just pull out Id and paperwork, and point to the property tags on it and say "it's (military agency) property, it's harmless, it's very delicate, and costs about a years salary. You guys examine it however you want - Worst case I'll just get paid to make another one and double the profit." Nobody ever wanted to touch it.

#12

Image source: DepressedBagel, freepik Not a TSA agent, but last time I flew I was bringing chalk pastels home because I do a bit of art. They asked what they were, I said they were chalk pastels in a box that was clearly labeled “chalk pastels” The box was opened upside down, spilling all of my chalk pastels on the table and coating the entire table in bright chalk dust, which does not wash off very easily.

#13

Image source: zerbey, ResidentFinger8340 Oh I can do you one better. May 2000, I'm flying to Florida to propose to my fiancee. My parents know this so they wrap up a gift and say "it's expensive, be careful with it". I threw it in my carry on and didn't think any more of it. Going through security I'm tapped on the shoulder. They found something in my interesting backpack, what the hell is it. It looks like some kind of long knife. They pull it out and find my parent's gift. I explain it's a gift from my parents and I'm flying to the US to get engaged. They go "hold on a second" and run it through. Both the security guys start laughing and tell me "You'll love it, congratulations and please don't open it up on the plane". It was a cake server with a decorative handle. Fast forward to the end of my flight, I'd told the person sitting next to me I was going to propose. I guess word got around the plane. I had so many handshakes and best wishes as I was leaving the plane, it was pretty awesome! 20 years later, still married.

#14

Image source: simplywitingjustcuz, reddit French security workers once thought I had a b**b but it turns out you just don’t get Terry’s chocolate oranges in France!

#15

Image source: KingOHrts, reddit Back in the 90’s, my friend who was a professional square dance caller and traveled all the time to call dances would get hassled all the time going through security. At that time square dance music was exclusively on vinyl 45’s. He had a special suitcase that held the nearly 200 records he traveled with. It weighed a ton when loaded but in the X-ray nothing shows up. Our local airport got to know him quickly, but he got real tired deplaning in new cities and having to explain again what it was.

#16

Image source: TiBiDi, reddit Slightly unrelated, but it's a funny story. I was flying back from Milan. the security worker stopped my dad's bag after the X-ray machine, and said there's some sort of liquid or gel in there. So he searches through the bag and eventually pulls out what he saw in the machine - a jar of Nutella. Now, he's probably a proud Italian and loves his Nutella, because I never seen a more devastated face in my life once he realized he needs to confiscate our Nutella. He started apologizing like crazy, "Oh no, I am so sorry..." and so on. DachshundLuv: I'd be devastated too, I've heard European Nutella is better than what we can get stateside and I freaking LOVE Nutella.

#17

Image source: cat2claw, freepik My grampa once tried to bring solar cells on a airplane. When TSA searched his bag after seeing something weird on the X ray and opened it up to see wires, the b**b squad was immediately called. Being white and in his 70’s probably helped him in not getting arrested.

#18

Image source: PlsHlpMyFriend, reddit One time I was flying somewhere and I had made this really really awesome toasted turkey sandwich. I was really excited about it because I hadn't had a sandwich in probably a year (food sensitivities coupled with a rare brand of "safe" bread leads to sandwiches being few and far between.) I said on the way there that they'd better not flag my sandwich. When we went through TSA, guess what? They flagged. my damn. sandwich. I got it back, at least, but I'm never going to forget that they tried to take my sandwich. They probably just thought it looked good and took it themselves.

#19

Image source: Spacegirl_Spoof, freepik S*x toys are pretty common but my favorite are the college girls traveling with their parents. When they realize we need to search their bag you can see the panic take over and silently beg us to not let their parents see what they have.

#20

Image source: orthogonius From the other side. Early 90s. My dorm had a pool table with a c***py cue ball. I bought one when I was home and had it in my carry on. A cue ball is apparently dense enough on the x-ray to alarm the staff.

#21

Image source: bananapaants, reddit I once bought a pack of barbicans from UAE and i was travelling back to india. The pack was in my hand luggage. The security guys stopped me and they were arabs and didn't understand english that much. They got hold of it and i enquired why. They show actions of cans exploding and one of them was like cans - *splooosshh, bphrrrooom, booom* i will never forget it.

#22

Image source: SpiritofHyrule, tkasperova / envato So my mother is into healthy lifestyles so imagine the look on the TSA’s faces when they had to leave a note saying they had to inspect her luggage further because she thought it was a great idea to pack PROTEIN POWDER in ziplock bags lol *taste tests* hm...good choice.

#23

Image source: lalv91, Viethavvh I had a bottled snake confiscated from me when arriving in NZ from Vietnam. I understood completely and didn't argue with them as it only cost me about $4. The biggest surprise was receiving it in the mail 2 weeks later with a letter justifying it by saying the snake wasn't endangered.

#24

Image source: Polyfuckery, freepik Not a worker but probably my bag. My friends kids decided to pack me part of their rock collection and several small crafts. Apparently not wanted to have them broken they padded out the pouch they were in with maxi pads. Security was not impressed that I had no idea what was in my bag and couldn't explain it.

#25

Image source: Phooled, reddit Once when I was traveling out of Thailand, the boarding desk had told my family to deflate our basketball because it might burst due to high pressure. We stated we would gladly deflate the ball but we couldn't without tools. The man promptly grabbed the ball out of my hands and I started crying. (I was 7 at the time) He walked to the side, grabbed a pair of scissors from the desk and stabbed my basketball multiple times.

#26

I take 100+ flights a year on business, and have carried the same basic content in my same toiletry bag for 8+ years of doing this. Never had an issue -- until the time flying back from Cancun to Atlanta, the Mexican version of the TSA confiscated my tiny fingernail clippers. The reason (she says) is the one-inch file attached "could be a weapon". Tired and frustrated, I raised my voice to argue a little bit, and am immediately ringed by three armed guards -- one even pointing his rifle at me! I somehow managed to get up the gall to bend the file back and forth a few times until it snapped off, handed it to her, and put the rest of the clippers back into my bag, smiling. I still carry around that file-less clipper. Image source: AllTheGoodIDsAreGone

#27

Image source: teh_ash, reddit I bought a bottle of maple syrup at the duty free when I was flying back from Canada. I had to make my connection in DC but had to switch terminals and go back through security. TSA took the sealed bottle out of the duty free bag and would not let me pass with it. He asked me what I wanted to do with it. I said "Well, I'm not going to f*****g drink it." They threw it away :(.

#28

My wife and I were leaving for our honeymoon. One of our friends thought it would be funny to put a large bottle of lube in my carryon. TSA guy checking bags for explosives, etc, pulls it out, tries not to smile, checks its for explosives and puts it back in our bag. Wife was mortified. I thought it was hilarious. Image source: boredmatt

#29

Image source: I_Am_Albert_Potato From the passenger side - the missus got me a Jerry-can bag thing - essentially a 20l jerry can, cut in half with a hinge and wheels added. I checked everywhere i could to make sure it was allowed to go on the plane. The only problem was every time i went through security, the agent pulled it out and made me unpack it because the scanning machine couldn't resolve the contents clearly enough. So, unpacked, and re-packed three times on the way there, and three times on the way back. Without fail they all said it was a cool bag though.

#30

Image source: gwarster, reddit Last week I went to Tokyo with my girlfriend. When I was going through security when I was heading back to Okinawa (I'm an American, but I'm working in Japan for the moment), I got stopped for having the handcuffs with me. The security guards didn't speak any English, so when a flight attendant came through, she had to ask me why I would want to bring handcuffs to Japan. Needless to say, it was funny to see the reaction on the faces of the security guards when she translated "I bought them in Tokyo because I like it when my girlfriend restrains me during s*x.".