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Scary Toothbrush Prompts Shutdown of World's Busiest Airport
McGruber writes "The big buzz for travelers today is the story of how a scary toothbrush prompted the closure of Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport: 'Airport officials told Channel 2 Action News that an electric toothbrush began vibrating inside a bag checked onto an AirTran flight, causing workers to alert airport officials to the strange noise.' The terminal and the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA) subway were both temporary closed 'out of an abundance of caution.' ATL has been the world's busiest airport by passenger traffic since 1998, and by number of landings and take-offs since 2005."
It's nice to see that we haven't let the terrorists win... oh wait.
Nine times out of ten it's an electric razor. But every once in a while it's a dildo. Of course, it's company policy never to imply ownership in the event of a dildo. We have to use the indefinite article, "a dildo", never "your dildo."
"His name was James Damore."
had it not been for the brave efforts of the TSA, someone could have taken this toothbrush and flown it into a building.
The only way to keep airports safe for americans now is to require them to remove their shoes, belts, AND teeth before screening.
Good people go to bed earlier.
My wife was flying for work back in 2004-2005 time period and her electric toothbrush turned on inside her bag. Nobody freaked out, but one of her coworkers made some stupid "Haha is that your vibrator" comment.
Shutting down the whole thing probably cost them at least a million dollars. This is what the terrorists winning looks like.
Billions of dollars to shutdown airports for no reason. They were thrown off the tracks by Amtrak Chief of Police for trying to encroach on American's 4th amendment rights outside of their "jurisdiction". http://www.cnn.com/2012/02/06/opinion/don-phillips-tsa-vipr-teams/
I wrote to my representatives about how I feel about the TSA. You can too: https://secure.downsizedc.org/etp/tsa/
This is what happens when we let fear reign supreme. All common sense goes out the window.
Seriously, logic and common sense seem to go out of the window whenever air travel is involved. The conversation should have gone something like this:
Security Officer: Err, what's that buzzing noise
Passenger: Whoops, looks like my toothbrush turned on, I'll just turn it off
Note the distinct lack of mass panic and knee-jerk reactions.
Taxation is legalized theft, no more, no less.
...for the hundreds of thousands of dollars it must cost to close the world's busiest airport? Is anyone held responsible? Who eats the losses? Do the good citizens of Atlanta? Or is the cost passed on to the airlines, which in turn pass them on to their customers?
Maybe this is why my $600 flight overseas this spring comes with $800 in taxes and fees...because of electric toothbrushes.
We never imply ownership of a toothbrush...
A Pirate and a Puritan look the same on a balance sheet.
Posting AC as I actually work for an airline at ATL. Worked there for the past 6 years, and maybe 3-4 times I've discovered a vibrating object in a bag. The first time a supervisor took the bag to another, private room and opened it up. The second time, it was obviously an electric razor and I was able to actually turn it off from outside the bag by pressing the button. The most recent time, I was in a bin loading the plane, it was rainy and was a quick turn, so did nothing. The passenger can always put more batteries in when they get there. In any case, at no time have I ever seen parts of the airport closed down for something like this, and vibrating bags are almost never reported anyway, because everyone knows its not going to be a bomb, and you know the person that has to open the bag and checks sure as hell doesnt want to open up a bag and find a vibrator.
All airports should be declared "No electric toothbrush or dildo zones"!!
My karma is bad. Don't get too close!!!
We have devolved into a Country of lunatics who cannot do any kind of cost benefits analysis. It is just plain sad to see the Country go from a leader of the free world to a bunch of cowards willing to give up their freedoms for an illusion of security.
There have been more deaths in the last decade from drownings and household fires each than from terrorists. Many more people a year take their own life than died in 9/11. Nearly 15 times as many people die PER year in car accidents than died in 9/11. Approximately 3 times as many 15-34 year olds are murdered EACH year than died in 9/11.
the toothbrush in question was found in checked luggage. The story didn't say if it was a security person who found the bag, or if it was a baggage handler or some other person who doesn't have the right to inspect the bag. It wasn't a matter of going through the security checkpoint where the passenger is sitting in front of the bag and could get the toothbrush out and explain what it is. Now whether sounds require closing down the airport, that seems like a bit of overreaction.
Bombs neither tick nor vibrate anymore (that's if they ever did)...
What sort of idiot bombmaker would make a bomb that vibrated, ticked or had a big freaking waste of money LED showing a countdown? It's right up there with literally having a red wire and a blue wire. The extension of this, then, is what sort of idiot "airport official" closes an airport because he saw something vibrate?
Good thing it wasn't a Mooninite toothbrush with blinking LEDs flipping them off. Then they would have had to nuke it from orbit just to be sure. Because, you know, protect teh children.
So, are we secure enough yet?
Screening by airline personnel was the standard prior to 9/11. It wasn't clearly better.
Talk about exaggerating the truth, jeez.
Zero terrorist plots foiled.
A euphemism for panic. These people are cowards.
Warning: this article may contain humor, sarcasm, parody, and perhaps even irony. Read at your own risk.
I can not cast stones at these people as I recently arrived home from a trip to find that there was a horrible buzzing noise in my house. I could hear the noise from the front door and thought it might be the furnace; no joy. Maybe the fridge, nyet. Oh no my computer, nope. But no matter where I went it was of roughly even volume. Then as I took off my backpack I realized it was my electric toothbrush buzzing in the backpack. So my little lesson is that you hear the sound you are expecting. In a airport the paranoid are expecting bombs and so they hear bombs.
I want to have a bright red LED countdown, strapped to some modeling clay, and leave in in a closet at home, continually going 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, 5...
Anyone breaking into my house might need to steal a new pair of pants.
I am much to lazy to ever actually build such a device, but it's amusing to think of scenarios. Maybe ThinkGeek can market them; next to the annoying beeping device (that would make a good combo deal actually...)
That phrase is also used by cowards to explain their inappropriate actions based upon unfounded fears when they think they can get away with it.
I'm reminded of a Fight Club scene "Of course it's company policy never to, imply ownership in the event of a dildo... always use the indefinite article a dildo, never your dildo. "
"If any question why we died, Tell them because our fathers lied."