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TSA Wants to Taste your Post-Checkpoint Drink

July 5, 2012 By
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Bomb Test, water or the black ball

Apparently the TSA has a new security tactic – they’re going to test your food and drink for explosives after you have passed through their checkpoint and after you have paid for it.

How do they go about coming up with these ideas? Do they specifically select the most unpopular ones just for the thrill of pushing people past their limits?

The article implies that the drink is partially consumed or entirely lost by the testing but elsewhere someone described a process where a pH paper from a pool cleaning set is wafted above the drink, without touching it. Has anyone had their drink tested? Let us know how it works in the comments!

The TSA is a hopelessly misguided political boondoggle. Testing drinks after their checkpoints is simply the latest absurdity. Why can’t they randomly check food and drink as they are coming into the secure area, so that the flying public isn’t further inconvenienced?

The bottom line is that a monolithic security apparatus like the TSA will never be a match for the small, agile threats that exist. The TSA needs to be abolished immediately so that airlines, airports, travelers and the security industry can work together to create a diverse marketplace of tactics and solutions that will keep the terror threat off-guard and always on the defensive.

Update

One of our Facebook friends writes:

Yup… I’ve already seen this happen. They hold a little test strip over your beverage as you’re sitting there at the gate. The trick is to stick your water bottle in your bag before they get to you, and tell the idiots don’t have any beverages.

Source: KJCT8

Filed Under: Analysis Tagged With: checkpoint, drinks, security
  • Carmen Moore

    I’ve not had a drink tested but I did have a TSA agent insist on waving the thing that checks for explosives (a piece of paper) all over my colostomy appliance. She actually asked me if there was something inside me. I told her, the same things that are inside you. She didn’t appreciate that one little bit. You should have seen her eyes when I lowered the waistband of my slacks because she HAD to see the appliance, top to bottom LOLOL

  • Crys

    You’re not even allowed to bring food & drink through security in most KY & IN airports. You have to trash it or chug it like a frat boy. And why would the drinks purchased IN the airport need to be tested?! Come on now.

  • MKEgal

    “Has anyone had their drink tested? Let us know how it works in the comments!”

    Well, the hardest part is to get them to follow their own regulations & NOT throw out the bottle of water. I’ve rubber-banded a copy (with the pertinent parts highlighted) around my travel water bottle. Once they know that I know their rules, they kinda have to follow them.

    They open the bottle, wave a piece of litmus-looking paper over it, then stick it in a testing machine. (Meanwhile, I usually pick up my bottle & have a drink, as I did before handing it over to them for testing.)

    • annoyed

      If you drink the drink first, do they then wave a piece of paper over your hoo haa?

  • EllieM

    My husband and I travel together often. 100% of the time we are told to go thru the scanner and we politely say no and ask for a pat down. We are treated like criminals. My husband has a brain tumor attributed to his cellphone use. We are quite educated about non ionizing radiation and the TSA personnel consistently argue with us and ridicule us. One day my hubby’s bt got the best of him and he lost his cool after they were telling others the machines do not radiate at all and are perfectly safe. They were about to have him arrested and I had to explain his medical condition. So awful that we are put into this position. Last night we flew from SFO to PSP and I saw something new- they said TSA was doing a special check at the gate and TSA checked ourboarding passes and licenses again before we boarded. Has Anyone else had that experience?

    • http://www.outsidetheboxretirement.com Linda

      Actually, yes I have had them check my ID both at security and at the gate in SFO. The drink thing is getting to the point of total paranoia and absurdity. I, actually remember when flying used to be part of the adventure of travel. Now it’s just torture and a necessary evil we have to put up with if we want to go anywhere.

  • mike

    i will “accidently” spill my hot coffee on the TSA thug.

  • Leighsomebody

    All that’s missing is the Arbeit Macht Frei on the doorway as we walk into the airport.

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