Usually, when you get held up going through security at the airport, it’s because some dingus wants to fight about whether or not toothpaste counts as a liquid, or the guy in front of you decided to carry $50 in assorted coins in his pockets. Every now and then, though, the Transportation Security Administration actually does catch someone with something they really shouldn’t have, and we’re not talking about the occasional Swiss Army knife. With 2024 finally over, what’s the coolest stuff the TSA caught this year?
As it turns out, the TSA has its own YouTube channel, which isn’t technically wrong but still feels weird, and it recently released a video showing what it considers to be the 10 best catches of 2024. The tone of the video is also weird, especially in the beginning where the 10th-best catch is apparently some weed in a peanut butter jar. Not only is that not a particularly surprising catch, but whoever made the video decided to work in an Elmo angle for some reason. The social media internship at the TSA must really be something.
I’m not going to lie, though, the meth in the crutches was pretty clever. I mean, they got caught, so it wasn’t that clever, but it was pretty good — definitely smarter than trying to hide a gun in a teapot. Also, whoever tried to sneak snakes onto a plane needs to absolutely never do that again. While it’s plausible that someone could forget a multitool in a hiking boot, there are also some real head-scratchers. I mean, aside from why you’d want to travel with one in the first place, how did someone think a replica IED would make it through security? Seriously?
Some of the examples that made the top 10 aren’t the most shocking things you’ve ever seen, but they’re definitely enough to get you in trouble. Besides, the really good stuff is probably considered evidence in several ongoing national security investigations. Either that or people got smart and decided not to try to sneak entire machete collections through security this year.