Travel

TSA Confiscates Ray-Gun-Shaped Belt Buckle

As I've said before, we can't just assume everyone at the TSA is an idiot and/or a petty bureaucrat drunk on his or her semi-power. This story confirms that. It suggests that only 40 to 80 percent of them are….


U.S. Patent App. No. 20140159444: Airline Passenger Torture Device

The application calls it "Seating Device Comprising a Forward-Foldable Backrest," but I like my name better. The inventor describes the alleged motivation thusly (my annotations below): [T]o increase the number of cabin seats [and thus profit], the space allotted to…



TSA Turns Away Mute Stroke Victim

KABC in Los Angeles reported on April 5 that our heroes in the TSA had successfully prevented another innocent disabled person from flying. This time it was a stroke victim in a wheelchair who couldn’t answer questions about her expired…


Dear Falkland Islanders Who Want to Buy My Book

I have no idea what it would cost to ship it there from the U.S. otherwise, but I have just learned that if you buy from the Book Depository.co.uk, they will ship it to you for free. The base price…


Good Riddance to Hampton, Florida?

The New York Times reported on March 10 that the Florida Legislature may abolish the town of Hampton, a one-square-mile craphole northeast of Gainesville that until now was known, if at all, only for being one of the nation's worst speed…


Colorado Removes “420” Mile Marker

The problem is the number's association with the practice of smoking marijuana. Not that Colorado has a problem with that; as I'm sure you all know, it's now legal there to use or possess up to an ounce. It's just…


TSA Embarrassed by Nine-Year-Old

Oops, that's not a grenade after all As a result of this incident the agency has announced that only infants will be permitted to fly for the foreseeable future, because at least for the most part it has that threat under…


TSA Has Objected to Lightsabers Before

After my post about the TSA's concern over Peter Mayhew's simulated fictional weaponry ("TSA Questions Chewbacca's Lightsaber," June 10), I heard from Patrick Smith, a professional pilot and author of (among other things) the long-running column Ask the Pilot at Salon.com…