A couple of weeks ago, the U.S. Transportation Security Administration released an iPhone, a move that it promises will provide 24/7 information about the most efficient ways to zip through airport security.
For what it’s meant to do, it seems fine, though I have to say there’s something deeply unsettling about the TSA asking for my GPS location. You can check wait times at various airports, for example.
But the app has a secret value as a source of unintentional humor in the form of the “Can I bring?” tab, a very well-intentioned program that allows you to enter any object and see if it’s safe to carry onto a plane or check it in baggage.
For example, let’s say I’m uncertain if it’s legal to carry on the bomb that my son and I made in the garage. I simply type in “bomb”, and the TSA tells me to keep it at home. Crisis averted!
I spent awhile (much longer than I would like to admit) testing various household goods and weapons on the TSA to see what’s acceptable to carry on. I learned two things: 1. It’s safe to carry on a cane, and 2. The TSA could really use a bigger dictionary. I present my gallery of reasonable questions and the TSA’s often baffling responses.
Apparently, the TSA is unfamiliar with what most of us where on our legs. Interesting
They are, however, aware that some people need a mobility aid to get around.
Some weapons are legal, especially the variety you might use in a convenience store parking lot (see 1:50).
Other weapons baffle the TSA.
Including some weapons that have been used on airplanes.
More than one, at that.
And they’re aware of neither how to clean oneself…
And how to get dirty.
What do you think, folks? Has anyone else found some surprising things that the TSA allows?
Pete Mortensen is a design strategist for consulting firm Jump Associates and the co-author of Wired to Care: How Companies Prosper When They Create Widespread Empathy, a book and blog that are significantly more interesting than you might initially think. Pete’s particular Apple avocations are both around design–interface and industrial. Follow him on Twitter!
