Carrying a knife through airport security (idea)

I worked as the IT Manager for Aviation Security Service (abbreviated to AvSec, as the acronym isn't that flash) in bonnie New Zealand for a couple of years. It is their role to pass all luggage through an x-ray unit, and search passengers setting off the metal detector you walk through when leaving the country. There are also several other roles they perform (regular searching of aircraft for explosives and weapons, ground security, etc).

Each of the main international airports has display cabinets in the AvSec offices of confiscated dangerous items. You would be astounded at the items people try to carry aboard an international flight - many of which are covert weapons, designed specifically for the "protection" of the holder.

Such items include:

• grenades
• swords - large and small, decorative and pre-loved/used
• belt buckles with hidden knives
• leather blackjacks (basically a leather strip with lead or sand sewn into one end, designed for beating somebody with)
• smoke bombs
• flame throwers - yes, even the trusty incendiary packs of old have been confiscated off idiots trying to get through)
• pens with built-in blade
• walking sticks with built-in blade
• knuckle dusters
• rounds of ammunition
• mortar shells (hmmm, where were they hiding the mortar?)
• hand guns
• sawn-off shot guns
• rifles of varying calibre
• a multitude of knives of varying size from a couple of inches, to a foot or so long - and yes, even ceramic knives

So it is for this reason that in the storeroom where I kept computer bits there was always a large supply of rubber gloves for the security workers. The next time you consider attempting to get through an airport security stop with a weapon onboard, try practising bending over and touching your toes with your pants around your ankles first...