The Transportation Security Administration (TSA)'s Instagram account is a real hoot, featuring weird, ridiculous, and sometimes helpful images of items that are prohibited and permitted to bring on flights. Apparently Jeremy Bentham's mummified head, above, "is allowed in carry-on as long as it's properly packaged, labeleled, and declared..." Also, who knew that Batarangs and Krull Glaives were so popular. From National Geographic:
"It almost looks like we're in the entertainment business at times," says Bob Burns, lead social media specialist with the TSA Office of Public Affairs and the man behind the account's cheeky posts. After leaving his rock band in 2002, Burns originally joined TSA as a screener and later started the Instagram account in 2013-his idea to educate the public in a more engaging way.
"Everyone's had that teacher where you're afraid to ask questions because you'll get criticized or yelled at. The human tone of our Instagram account makes us more approachable," Burns says. "The majority of our photos are prohibited items and strange things " we try to use that as a teaching moment: A chainsaw is not allowed in your carry-on bag."
Talk about deadheading... This crusty ol' chap is actually a prop from the #TexasChainsawMassacre movie. He was brought through a checkpoint at the Atlanta (#ATL) International Airport, where as you can see, he was screened and sent on his jolly way. #TSAOnTheJob
A post shared by TSA (@tsa) on May 15, 2016 at 3:41pm PDT
Some might find this nanner knife appealing. I'm guessing you have a bunch of them? Yes, you can take bananas on the plane. This is a screenshot of a tweet sent to the @AskTSA account on Twitter. Have you ever wondered whether or not you can pack a certain item? Fret no more! Now you can simply snap a picture and tweet it to @AskTSA or send it via Facebook Messenger and our team will get back to you promptly with an answer. If you're a regular follower of this account, I'm sure you can think of many situations where it would have behooved somebody to send us a picture first. And that's not all. Contact us about any TSA related issue or question you might have. We can even help you with TSA Prea(R) issues. We look forward to answering your questions, 8am-10pm ET weekdays; 9am-7pm weekends/holidays. #AskTSA #TSATravelTips
A post shared by TSA (@tsa) on May 10, 2017 at 5:00pm PDT
#TSATravelTips - Don't pack your homemade replica suicide vest. The traveler who packed this vest in his checked bag at Richmond (RIC) stated it was a prop intended for use in a live-action role-playing game (LARP). TSA explosives experts raced to the checked baggage room and the airport police were called immediately. Fortunately, the explosives experts determined the vest posed no danger. It has yet to be determined if the officer who searched the bag needed a change of clothing.
A post shared by TSA (@tsa) on Oct 27, 2016 at 2:58pm PDT
