While getting the anal probe at the Phoenix airport yesterday, I learned something interesting from the cattle herder running the metal detector. I set it off, because I was wearing a belt buckle with a lot of metal (3.8 ounces to be exact). After asking if I had anything else on me, she suggested that I cover the buckle and go back through.
Huh? I was confused. Cover it with my hand you mean?
Yes. I did so, and went right on through with no beep. My jaw dropped. Amazing. Apparently, flesh stops the detection ability of the machine.
For those of you who aren't aware of it, there are a number of tiny guns in .22LR and .22 Magnum that have far less metal than my buckle. My 3.5" folding knife is allowed to pass, as well as my camera (large Nikon N90s), film, cell phone, and other items, uninspected. Each of those could easily conceal a few rounds. The N90s alone, with the grip extension, could hold a lot.
This whole airport security thing is truly a farce, far more than I had originally imagined.
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Carlos Alvarez, Tucson, AZ, USA, Earth, Sol System, Milky Way Galaxy
http://www.neta.com/~carlos
"Programming today is a race between software engineers striving to build bigger and better idiot-proof programs, and the Universe trying to produce bigger and better idiots. So far, the Universe is winning."