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GPS Coke Can X-Rayed

carbolic writes "WiFi-Toys.com and Engadget have posted a link to X-ray images of the GPS Coke can that has security people all up in arms. The GPS Coke can looks a little bit like an IED (improvised explosive device). The PDF file posted on security company Blackwater USA's site shows several views of the can and compares it to an IED. And for thoroughness, the PDF shows a regular can of Coke X-rayed, too."

20 of 291 comments (clear)

  1. dirty bomb by crazyray · · Score: 4, Informative

    it may be tinfoil-hat'ist, but couldnt a coke can be a miniture http://www.dirtybombdetector.com/ dirty coke bomb?

    1. Re:dirty bomb by mooniejohnson · · Score: 5, Funny

      Oh, you mean Diet Coke? There's a "dirty bomb" if ever I drank one...

      --

      Elmo knows where you live!

    2. Re:dirty bomb by Bi()hazard · · Score: 4, Funny

      Anyone who takes a look at the PDF will see there's little room for confusion between the can and the example explosives. The explosives, packed with explosive charge, contain material throughout the can, but the GPS Cokes are hollow. Actually I'm disappointed, you win the contest and you don't even get to drink a coke? sheesh.

      The controversy over GPS Cokes is just another example of our society's terror complex. It bears all the hallmarks of an unhealthy obsession that would lead an individual to a psychiatrist-not that I'd know about those-but these sorts of things tend to catch on at the societal level, as history shows us. Even though there has not been a major terrorist attack on US soil since 2001, a handful of cans of coke that could potentially look suspicious create a national spectacle. These things supposedly look like IUD's? What's the worst that could happen if an IUD ends up in the wrong place? Only minor bloodshed. Compare it to what happens in our automobiles every night. Look at the statistics sometime, and you'll realize psychology is the primary factor here-what matters is what you think about, not what actually is.

      Oh yes, that's right, the worst is as follows: The lucky contest winner has his can confiscated and destroyed as a potential IUD. He spends the night, and possibly several more nights until a court date, in a holding cell. The surrounding building is shut down, potentially paralyzing traffic in a major city in the middle of rush hour. (Yes that has happened, read down to see another poster's link about a suitcase getting lost and being "suspicous") This kind of thing has become routine, even expected in modern society. Nobody considers it an outrage when excessive measures are taken to combat an imaginary problem at great expense to society.

      We live in times when the world's most powerful nation is obsessed with the potential threat of an IUD. Are the IUD scare mongers the same ones that can't get over the horror of gay marriage and want to amend the constitution over it? They can't even accept the existence of birth control. The IUD and other "dire threats" like it have become a political tool used to manipulate the masses. You might hope that Kerry takes the election, simply so that we won't have the existing administration playing the terror card on every single issue as they have proven so fond of doing. An actual encounter with something containing an IUD might be shocking to most slashdotters, but think about why-you've never seen anything that could contain IUD. The odds are infinitesimal. Considering how little actual terrorism has been occurring in the US, clearly it's time to put things in perspective. A pragmatic foreign policy combined with old-fashioned enforcement of existing peacetime laws will be sufficient to keep order. Overreaction, fear, and excessive measures will paralyze the country, damage the economy, reduce consumer confidence, and most important of all, take a painful toll on individual Americans. This is the country of the individual, is it not?

      I'm not using an IUD. I never intend to, and I'm not going to live in fear of the consequences of IUD's. I for one refuse to live in fear of amenorrhea, irregular bleeding, cramping, partially expelled strings, and other side effects that can occur with progestin-releasing IUDs, which can be considered a frightening biological weapon. It's only frightening if you don't realize that you're a billion times more likely to die of a heart attack than an IUD.

    3. Re:dirty bomb by orthogonal · · Score: 5, Informative

      I'm not using an IUD. I never intend to, and I'm not going to live in fear of the consequences of IUD's. I for one refuse to live in fear of amenorrhea, irregular bleeding, cramping, partially expelled strings, and other side effects that can occur with progestin-releasing IUDs, which can be considered a frightening biological weapon. It's only frightening if you don't realize that you're a billion times more likely to die of a heart attack than an IUD.

      I'm not usually one to feed the trolls, but yours was brilliantly subtle.

      One question: did the article originally use the acronym "IUD" (intrauterine device), later corrected to "IED" (improvised explosive device) -- and thus your post was a satire on the Slashdot editors -- or did you just count on moderators not noticing the difference?

      Until I read your last paragraph, I wasn't even quite sure you hadn't made the mistake and had merely coincidently written descriptions that could apply either to IUDs or IEDs (the best of course, "An actual encounter with something containing an IUD [for those who modded the parent "Interesting": IUDs are "contained" in vaginas, or, more generally, sexually active women, so this is a slam at the stereotypical Slashdot geek] might be shocking to most slashdotters, but think about why-you've [sic] never seen anything that could contain IUD."

      Admittedly, you did throw in a pretty obvious clue "They can't even accept the existence of birth control. The IUD and other "dire threats" like it have become a political tool used to manipulate the masses"" but one that could be conceivably seen as a Lefty Slashdotter extending (legitimately, in my eyes) a critique of the Bush administration.

      Again, most trolls are a waste of time and earn their down mods, but this construction definitely deserves +5 Funny -- but not +4 Interesting (2 "Interesting"s, one Funny), which it was when I read it.

  2. Re:IED? by Alcohol+Fueled · · Score: 5, Informative

    Yep, its actual demolition lingo. IED stands for Improvised Explosive Device. :)

    --
    Ah am not a crook! (\(-__-)/)
  3. *Sigh* by Emperor+Tiberius · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Honestly. There are only a few hundred of these, and people are flipping out. Most of the things flying around are totally inaccurate. The cans come in a box, not your typical vending machine. So if companies are really security concious, they'll check employees with coke packs. Seriously though, how many people that work at those "high-level" (sic) facilities, bring 6/12 packs to work everyday.

    1. Re:*Sigh* by DerekLyons · · Score: 3, Informative
      The cans come in a box, not your typical vending machine. So if companies are really security concious, they'll check employees with coke packs. Seriously though, how many people that work at those "high-level" (sic) facilities, bring 6/12 packs to work everyday.
      Quite a few I'd imagine.

      When I was on SSBN 655, many folks would take a box or two of their favorite soda's to sea with them. (All we had for soda was fountain machines with generic (cola, lemon-lime, etc.) syrups. It's nice to have a taste of home when you are [mumble] feet under the North Alantic.) When I worked at TTF-Bangor, those of us in the Weapons Training Dept kept a refrigerator stocked with soda because that was cheaper than buying from the machine.
  4. So? by arakon · · Score: 5, Insightful

    "It may look like a IED to a layman..."

    Um so? I imagine a lot of things could look like an explosive to a "Layman". Ever seen the inside of a CRT monitor or a TV? Imagine how much C4 you could hide in that.

    This is just plain silly.

    Are we moving to a society that fears anything that could potentially look like a bomb to an uneducated twit?

    --
    "If I were bound by all laws everywhere I'm sure I would have committed a capital crime somewhere."
  5. Sheesh. by The+Human+Cow · · Score: 5, Funny

    What are they worried about? Can't they just disarm the IED by tapping on the lid?

    --
    The Human Cow - bringing you scrumtrelescence since 1995
  6. Re:GPS coke can? by jgardn · · Score: 3, Insightful

    You posted a knee-jerk reaction.

    What causes starvation and poverty is not the lack of food. There is more than enough food. It is the lack of a free market to transport that food to market efficiently.

    In America, we have all kinds of systems to get the food to your dinner plate. These include the food processing and food transporting industries. Just as important is advertising and price setting. by advertising the availability of food, Americans are able to discover the rich variety of foods available.

    In Kosovo and other countries, starvation is caused by the lack of a free market. Right now, terrorists threaten any free trade. Just stepping outdoors is risking your life. In other places, farmers are not allowed to grow the foods they want to and sell them at whatever price they want. People are not allowed to traffic in food trade, and are not allowed to build up processing plants to process foods. It is either terrorism, civil war, or bad policy that causes this, but the end result is all the same.

    If you would really like to help the Kosovoans, send in some footsoldiers to weed out and eliminate the terrorists. Allow the people a chance to have a free election, encouraging things like civil discourse and not killing the opponent. Stabilize the security of the country first.

    Next, you must enact policies that will allow the free market to thrive.

    As you can see, whether or not the Coca-Cola company advertises a campaign for a contest has little bearing on the economy in Kosovo. Your comment was not only stupid, it was actually counterproductive.

    --
    The radical sect of Islam would either see you dead or "reverted" to Islam.
  7. Re:GPS coke can? by dekeji · · Score: 3, Insightful

    It is the lack of a free market to transport that food to market efficiently.

    Yes, and do you know who is responsible for that? The US and Europe, with their lavish farm subsidies. If Western nations ever allowed the free market to operate in developing nations, problems with food and poverty in the world would be greatly reduced.

    In America, we have all kinds of systems to get the food to your dinner plate.

    We also have enormous government subsidies, paid for by tax payers, to keep farmers happy and in business. It may be good for ensuring a reliable food supply domestically (and give the number of wars we fight, not exactly a bad idea either), but it is causing huge economic problems elsewhere.

  8. Re:IED? by volteface · · Score: 5, Informative

    Well, here's the wiki entry for it. It's a real term. I don't know who it's used by (demolitions experts, etc.), but it wasn't made up on the spot. Whether or not it was recently coined, I don't know, but it wasn't just made up for people to "sound important".

  9. Re:That helps a lot... by mabinogi · · Score: 3, Insightful

    So how are you going to manage that?

    If you look at the X-Rays, the main difference between a real explosive device, and the GPS coke can, is that the GPS coke can just has electronics and batteries.
    An explosives device has electronics, batteries and.......explosives...

    Unless you're just gonna make an explosive device by overloading some capacitors I don't think there's much chance of anyone making the mistake.

    --
    Advanced users are users too!
  10. Hey my car looks like a car bomb by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

    Lots and lots of cars look like the type somebody would make into a bomb including mine. (car bombs are always made out of white vans or white sedans). I think all non bomb devices that look like they _could_ be a bomb should have a sticker on them saying "This device in not a bomb". That way, the security people would have an easier job doing what they do. Whatever that is other than complain.

  11. why fly if you just won a car? by axonal · · Score: 3, Insightful

    The promotion with these coke cans is that you get a GMC equinox right? First off, if I had one of these cans, I don't think I'd take a flight and run it through the x-ray machine before I thought about pressing the button to claim my prize. I think as soon as I take this soda out of the package, and see, HEY! I WON MY PRIZE! I'll press the button. Thus, the Coca-Cola Prize Squad will come by, collect my can of technological glory and nicely deposit my newly won SUV. So why would I wanna take my can and run it through the x-ray machine?
    Those of you that may think that terrorists could run their "IEDs" through the x-ray machine to get past security. It wouldn't make sense, since the reason I just explained before. If it was REALLY a REAL GPS coke can, it wouldnt be there, since the person would have already claimed their prize as soon as they see it. Thus, it has to be a bomb otherwise.

  12. Re:GPS coke can? by NanoGator · · Score: 3, Insightful

    "With so many people in the world today facing starvation and mass death from lack of nutrition, it literally sickens me to the stomach to see things like this."

    A.) Coke != America. It's a company.
    B.) Can't fight starvation without a strong economy.
    C.) It's one thing to say that corps making a lot of money should donate more, it's another to say they should stop marketing and put the money into other people's pockets. What happens when they grow dependent on it, then the lack of marketing suffocates the source of income?

    My post is off-topic, I accept that. It's worth the karma hit to tell you how short-sighted you're being. I don't want people to starve, either. We agree on that point. I agree that more sharing could happen. But, "What will Americans throw money away on next"? Grow up. I know for a fact you don't come from a country that's dedicating all its resources to the rest of the world. Give the USA a little credit, our economy is benefitting a LOT of people & countries through frivilous commercialism. Just ask anybody who thinks we're importing too much.

    --
    "Derp de derp."
  13. Okay I am confused. what is the point? by SmallFurryCreature · · Score: 3, Funny
    If security sees something they don't trust then they call the bomb experts. Simple. Better a false alarm then having a plane blow up.

    This seems to give the X-ray operators the idea that some cans can contain electronics. So all a terrorist now has to do is make his detonator be as neat as the coke can, thanks to the handy photo's and a x-ray operator will think "oh a suspicous thing oh no wait I seen that presentation this is one of them cans no need to check further".

    I wonder about the "normal" can x-ray. Why is it all orange? Can x-rays pass through aluminium but not coca cola? For gods sake what have I been drinking all this time that stops x-rays?

    So the perfect IED device is a can with a double wall, explosives inside, coke on the outside.

    --

    MMO Quests are like orgasms:

    You may solo them, I prefer them in a group.

  14. Useful Information by _archangel · · Score: 5, Interesting

    To some extent, I can see the usefulness of this information. Back in summer of 2000, I was setting up DSL at my new apartment, and my ISP was going to ship the DSL modem to me.

    I came home from work one day to find two ambulances, two fire trucks, and a number of police vehicles throughout the fairly spread out apartment complex. Luckily, they were concentrated toward the front while my apartment was near the back of the complex. I was just able to enter my apartment without crossing the lines. On my way in, I asked an officer what was going on, and he said that there was a suspicious package that they were checking out.

    After about an hour, a policeman knocks on my door and asks me to come with him. When we arrived at the center of activity, I found out that the postman had delivered my DSL modem to the wrong address. Not only had he delivered it to the wrong address, but he placed the brown box label-side down on the doorstep of a police officer's apartment. The bomb squad did not know what it was after taking the X-rays, so they fired a water bullet into it. When nothing more happened, they decided it was safe and found my address on the package and got me. One of the bomb squad team told me that they were going to circulate the X-rays because they had never seen X-rays of these things before.

    When I got back to my apartment I plugged in the modem and everything worked perfectly. The modem had been double-boxed and bagged, and the outer box took the brunt of the damage.

  15. The real purpose of this.. by wfberg · · Score: 3, Funny

    is to enable those people who encounter such "suspect" cans of soda during their routine X-ray scanning for security purposes to identify them, in order to prevent a false alarm. X-ray operators should now have no need to call in the bomb squad, they can simply confiscate the suspect can themselves, for security reasons, and activate it, for security reasons, and keep the prize themselves.

    Strictly for security reasons, you see.

    --
    SCO employee? Check out the bounty
  16. EOD Perspective by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Insightful

    I am an Explosive Ordnance Disposal Technition (military bomb squad) and I would just like to add that the Coca-Cola company was very helpful in the disemination of imformation to all security agencies. The device is not a threat, lack of information about this device is a threat.