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Scary Toothbrush Prompts Shutdown of World's Busiest Airport

Posted by timothy on from the rogue-toothbrush-sounds-scarier dept.

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."

44 of 284 comments (clear)

  1. Well... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    It's nice to see that we haven't let the terrorists win... oh wait.

    1. Re:Well... by c0lo · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Bin Laden... scaring US airports with a toothbrush since 2001. Death is not an impediment.

      --
      Questions raise, answers kill. Raise questions to stay alive.
    2. Re:Well... by Keith111 · · Score: 5, Insightful

      When's the last time anyone has made a bomb which beeps, ticks, or vibrates?

    3. Re:Well... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

      Does exploding count as vibrates?

    4. Re:Well... by Black+LED · · Score: 5, Interesting

      I've had the security guys at various US airports get scared on multiple occasions when I've run my toiletries bag through the x-ray scanner and they saw my electric toothbrush. With the sheer number of times that this must happen in any given airport, you'd think they would know better by now.

      I got a chuckle out of the video when the reporter mentioned that the airport personnel were "concerned". It's more like they were scared out of their minds, running from their own shadows.

    5. Re:Well... by Guignol · · Score: 5, Funny

      - Was it ticking?
      -- Actually, throwers don't worry about ticking 'cause modern bombs don't tick.
      - Sorry, throwers?
      -- Baggage handlers. But when a suitcase vibrates, then the throwers gotta call the police.
      - My suitcase was vibrating?
      -- 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.
      - But,I do not own a dildo!
      - Alright, let's just call this a toothbrush, you can use it as you see fit after all why would I care ?

    6. Re:Well... by lightknight · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Indeed. Nothing like seeing security forces have a spaz attack over an electric toothbrush to make me feel safe.

      --
      I am John Hurt.
    7. Re:Well... by Darinbob · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Everyone who feels safer now please raise your hand.

    8. Re:Well... by Genda · · Score: 5, Funny

      If you vibrator is chipping your teeth, you're using it wrong or its too deep!

  2. The first rule... by Rockoon · · Score: 5, Funny

    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."
    1. Re:The first rule... by Firehed · · Score: 4, Interesting

      Came here to read that. Thank you for not disappointing!

      --
      How are sites slashdotted when nobody reads TFAs?
    2. Re:The first rule... by Oxford_Comma_Lover · · Score: 3, Insightful

      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."

      Parent is a Fight Club reference, for those who haven't seen it.

      All-in-all, this is a step up if we didn't also arrest the person whose toothbrush it is.

      --
      -- IANAL, this isn't legal advice, and definitely isn't legal advice for you. Also, Squee!
    3. Re:The first rule... by guttentag · · Score: 5, Funny

      All-in-all, this is a step up if we didn't also arrest the person whose toothbrush it is.

      They weren't arrested, just subjected to a cavity search.

      (insert rimshot here)

    4. Re:The first rule... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

      Rim.. Shot?.. I didn't know cavity searches featured a 'happy ending' nowadays ;-)

    5. Re:The first rule... by future+assassin · · Score: 5, Funny

      The first rule of Cannabis club is, you don`t remember the first rule.

      --
      by TheSpoom (715771) Uncaring Linux user here. I have nothing to add to this but please continue. *munches popcorn*
    6. Re:The first rule... by Zemran · · Score: 4, Informative

      I had my electric razor start in my bag in Guangzhou and they made me go back through check in and open my luggage and turn it off. Their was no tension, they were still smiling at my embarrassment all the way. The took me back air side afterwards but there was never any implication that it was a threat. They just wanted me to be there when the bag was opened and it was checked out. Why is that China is the one that is always pictured as the police state when I am always treated far better there?

      I travelled a lot with my son and he caused enough scares to turn me grey. We were immediately surrounded by armed police in Thailand when they saw a gun in his carry on as it went through x-ray... It was a very realistic BB gun that he had bought in the market in Bangkok without telling me... and in China he tried to get 2 small swords on a plane and they would not let him...Thankfully he has now left home and gone to university.

      --
      I love stacking my barbecues in the shed at the end of summer - you can't beat a bit of grill on grill action.
    7. Re:The first rule... by rastos1 · · Score: 4, Funny

      Why is that China is the one that is always pictured as the police state when I am always treated far better there?

      A friend of mine was in China 2-3 years ago. While traveling on a train he saw a police patrol to stop the train in the middle of nowhere because they caught a thief. They dragged the thief off the train and shot him on the spot.

    8. Re:The first rule... by balsy2001 · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Just a couple of thoughts being an expat resident of China. 1. They treat foreigners special. Since I have been here I have felt like they make special effort to ensure we don't get a bad impression. 2. I have to have my passport and have it recorded on their police computer system each time I check into a hotel and buy a train ticket. I think they try to make it appear like it isn't a police state. At the same time I will tell people as an expat you can basically do what you want in china. 3. Compare PRC proper to Hong Kong SAR and you will see a world of difference. (I apologize if my assumption is incorrect that you are not a Chinese national)

      --
      GENERATION 27: The first time you see this, copy it into your sig on any forum and add 1 to the generation.
  3. well done. by nimbius · · Score: 4, Funny

    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.
    1. Re:well done. by Anubis+IV · · Score: 5, Insightful

      No, people fly planes into buildings, people fly ships into space, and people do a great number of other things. What separates the ones flying planes into buildings from the ones flying spaceships is that the first group is crazy in a bad way, and being crazy in a bad way is wholly independent of religion.

      For instance, Timothy McVeigh, the Oklahoma City bomber, identified his religion as science and claimed to be agnostic, the crusaders identified as Christian, and the 9/11 terrorists identified as Islamic (quick note: I'm not suggesting that science is a religion; rather, I'm suggesting that crazy acts can be perpetuated by someone regardless of their claimed religion or lack thereof). The most you could say is that certain religions attract that sort of crazy more often than others.

  4. Billions of Fricken Dollars by terbeaux · · Score: 5, Interesting

    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/

    1. Re:Billions of Fricken Dollars by Darkness404 · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Of course they shut down airports for no reason whatsoever because they have no motivation NOT to because they are paid by the government, not the airlines themselves.

      A worker who is hired by the airline and reports to airline management is not going to overreact because an overreaction means that the airline loses money. On the other hand a TSA agent has no reason not to shut down an entire airport. I mean, what do they have to lose? It isn't their money, they'll get paid no matter what and the airline doesn't have a say in their hiring/firing decisions.

      We really need to abolish the TSA and replace it with security guards who are hired by the airline itself and security policies decided by the airline itself. Thus allowing for passengers to choose where they feel safest, be it in an airplane where all the passengers are free to carry pistols if they so choose, or in an airplane where passengers are subjected to an intensive cavity search before boarding, or anywhere in between.

      --
      Taxation is legalized theft, no more, no less.
    2. Re:Billions of Fricken Dollars by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Insightful

      except the moment the security hired and ran by the airline company is even slightly negligent in an attempt to save the airline money, you will come here and post this exact same post, only complaining that the airline security has to incentive for passenger safety.

  5. What happens... by Darkness404 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    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.
    1. Re:What happens... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Insightful

      If it was a bomb, do you think it wouldn't have exploded instead of vibrated? Really?

    2. Re:What happens... by thegarbz · · Score: 3, Interesting

      You think baggage handlers are authorized to do anything but hit the panic button?

      Given the number of iPads, computers, etc that get stolen EVERY DAY from someone's checked baggage I don't think there's anything baggage handlers aren't authorised to do. Between the thefts, the policy of having a specific lock that is easily opened by airport security, and the general lack of integrity in the industry I wouldn't be surprised if they spend their spare lunch hour wearing travelers dresses and scratching their balls with your toothbrush.

    3. Re:What happens... by myowntrueself · · Score: 3, Insightful

      My 2c to that: Security and freedom are divergent goals. If we want to be completely safe, we'll have to be locked up in our homes. We risk death or injury every time we step out into the world. I thought this is what the "land of the free and home of the brave" in your national anthem meant. If you want to be free, you just have to be brave.

      They should really change the anthem "land of the trapped, home of the cowards". As it is whenever people around the world hear it today they just laugh at America.

      --
      In the free world the media isn't government run; the government is media run.
  6. Re:Happened to my wife by icebike · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Cost who a million dollars?

    Did they have to hire additional TSA agents?
    Did they pay compensation to anyone for the delay?

    Why can't these stupid TSA agents realize that if you hear buzzing its not a bomb. You won't hear the bomb that kills you.

    --
    Sig Battery depleted. Reverting to safe mode.
  7. Who's responsible... by pongo000 · · Score: 4, Insightful

    ...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.

  8. My experience at ATL by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Interesting

    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.

  9. Re:Happened to my wife by sortius_nod · · Score: 3, Informative

    Not sure if you're aware of how much parking fees are for commercial airliners, but they aren't cheap & are calculated to the minute. Add to this the reallocation of tickets for connecting flights, time on the clock for business people, etc.

    A small delay can amount to millions in a busy airport.

  10. Cost Benefit Lunacy by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Insightful

    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.

    1. Re:Cost Benefit Lunacy by Obfuscant · · Score: 3, Insightful

      We have devolved into a Country of lunatics who cannot do any kind of cost benefits analysis.

      No, we have devolved into a country of lawyers, and politicians who can do cost-benefit analysis.

      If something bad happened to that plane, then the lawyers would be lining up to sue someone/anyone, and that includes ATL, the airline, and any other government deep-pockets that were in any way involved. And the politicians know how bad it would look for them to be connected to this in any way, so their cost-benefit analysis goes something like this: "I cost a lost of money to a lot of people, the benefit is 1) a lawsuit won't stick to me, and 2) I can use it as an example of how I care about the public when it comes time to be re-elected."

  11. I think people are missing part of the story by joeflies · · Score: 3, Interesting

    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.

  12. Dear old people: by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Bombs neither tick nor vibrate anymore (that's if they ever did)...

    1. Re:Dear old people: by meerling · · Score: 4, Informative

      They never did.
      I've seen lots of the bombs (non explosive duplicates for training purposes) used by real terrorists in a little museum EOD had.
      Every one of them was a real item that had been used against Americans.
      Every one of them was indistinguishable from the item it was intended to duplicate, and often had full functionality.
      My favorite is still the telephone the detonated when you hung up.

      If you don't know, EOD is Explosives Ordinance Disposal. They are the people that deal with various bombs and booby-traps that aren't supposed to be there.

  13. What sort of idiot... by SmarterThanMe · · Score: 5, Insightful

    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?

  14. It's been tried by Beryllium+Sphere(tm) · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Screening by airline personnel was the standard prior to 9/11. It wasn't clearly better.

    1. Re:It's been tried by jschrod · · Score: 4, Insightful

      I'm not aware of any TSA screening that found any terrorist suspect. But I'm aware of thousands of lost hours due to TSA screening for all travellers. I'm also aware of lost income from tourism who don't travel to USA any more, owing to the draconian processes at immigration. AFAICS, the changed screening process have done a lot of harm, and no good.

      Thus, I severely doubt hat airline personnel screening really wasn't better.

      But then, I'm European and I think we should not let the terrorists win by giving up our freedom, our civil liberties and our life style, as US folks often seems to believe to be necessary. I would have liked to say that this comes from much more terrorist attacks in Europe than in USA (albeight not such a big one as 9/11) -- but that's not true, KKK terrorism caused more deaths than 9/11 much earlier.

      --

      Joachim

      People don't write Manifestos any more -- what's going on in this world? [Frank Zappa]

    2. Re:It's been tried by Anubis+IV · · Score: 4, Interesting

      Screening by airline personnel was the standard prior to 9/11. It wasn't clearly better.

      I know the Internet helps to spread stories around a lot more today than they would've been pre-9/11, but I don't remember horror stories about airport screening being the everyday sort of thing that they are today. I never remember hearing a story about rape victims being sent to the ER after going through airport screening or security agents helping to disperse the ashes of dead relatives all over the security checkpoint. I find it utterly sad that I am in no way surprised that there are currently over 9000 (humor not intended) results in Google for "colostomy bag tsa", with a good number of them reporting on unique incidents spread out across a number of years. In fact, if anything, I'm surprised there are only that many.

      And yet you think that the old screening wasn't clearly better than what we have today? I'll take a little more risk if it means getting my dignity back.

  15. Misleading headline, airport wasn't shut down by DanTheManMS · · Score: 5, Informative
    If you read the full article (I know, I know, it's Slashdot) you'll find that only a portion of one of the two baggage claim areas was shut down from foot traffic, as well as the MARTA entrance near it, for about half an hour. Not even a full terminal was shut down, and certainly not the entire airport.

    Talk about exaggerating the truth, jeez.

    1. Re:Misleading headline, airport wasn't shut down by Nidi62 · · Score: 3, Informative

      Well, in defense of the summary, is does say the terminal, and by inference it is referencing the Air Tran terminal. Hartsfield-Jackson has 3 terminals: South (Delta and affiliates), North (everything else), and now the International terminal. The terminals are where you have check-in and baggage claim. It has 6 concourses, which is where the flights are. Air Tran uses the southern half of C and D concourses (C is split with Southwest, who of course now owns Air Tran). So, if you know the airport layout and terminology, you could figure out what ares were or would be closed and what wouldn't, technically making the summary correct. The headline, however, should say "part of world's busiest airport".

      --
      The only thing necessary for evil to triumph is for it to be pitted against a slightly greater evil
  16. 'an abundance of caution' by John+Hasler · · Score: 3, Interesting

    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.
  17. What I want to do... by Kaenneth · · Score: 5, Funny

    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...)