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Two Lessons Learned At Spokane International Airport
R. Alex Whitlock
First, if you want to avoid a wand search, it's highly recommended that you take out any foil that may exist in your pockets, such as gum wrapper.
Second, if you want to avoid a really intrusive search, it's recommended that you don't (a) have anything in your pockets to get pulled aside and (b) do not have a button on the fly of your boxers big enough to alert the wand.
Observations
The fact that YOU have managed to find this out, amazes me.
The fact that your boxers have metallic buttons, doubly so.
Well, there is a single button on about five pairs that I own that were on sale in a given week. They're actually kinda convenient.
What puzzled me was that the wand didn't care about the zipper or (larger) button on my jeans. Just the one on the boxers.
Those wands depend a lot on the alloy that the item is made of. Zippers are usually a pretty light alloy.
Do uhhh, any guns have a light alloy?
As far as I know, no. Certain parts have to be of a heavier alloy to handle the stresses of being fired.
The other factor is, of course, the thickness of the item in question. Guns will pretty much uniformly require a thicker metal, even if it were light alloy, than the button on your fly did...
Airport security is a joke no matter where you are.
Example, after air traffic started after 9/11, my sister had the pleasure of flying. JFK airport had everyone going through a metal detector that wasn't even plugged in.
George Carlin once made an observation (many years before 9/11) that the things that you use to be able to carry on an Airplane were ridiculous. But he took it further "why are people with big hands allowed? I mean they could strangle a person really easily."
The people that took over the planes weren't even using anything terribly threatening. Box cutters. Yes yes they are very sharp, but it doesn't take a whole lot to snap someone's neck if you know what you're doing either.
I'm surprised more American's aren't afraid of their own shadow (although we do have a holiday surrounding a shadow coming up).
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