A passenger traveling through O'Hare International Airport this week attempted go through the security checkpoint with about a dozen prohibited items in a carry-on bag -- and they weren't full-sized toiletries.
According to a tweet from the Transportation Security Administration's Great Lakes Twitter account, one traveler was hoping to put through the X-Ray machine a bin full of sharp objects including what appears to be a hatchet, two saw blades, several different-sized knives, two screw drivers and more.
"Sharp objects, including meat cleavers, are not allowed in your carry-on bag & should be sheathed or securely wrapped in checked baggage," the tweet said.
According to TSA, although many people try to bring them through, no sharp knives of any kind are allowed in carry-on bags.
"If we had a nickel for every knife we see in a carry-on bag, well, we’d all be retired and off living on some beautiful island by now," TSA said in a blog post from 2021. "Only butter knives without serrated edges are good to travel in your carry-on luggage."
"Let’s be as clear as we can possibly be," the post continued. "Sharp knives including pocket butterfly knives cannot go in your carry-on. If you’re travelling with any sharp items, please securely wrap them and pack them in your checked bag."
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As for the tools, however, TSA says "size matters."
"Tools measuring 7 inches or less are allowed in carry-on bags, unless they have sharp blades," TSA's post reads. "Sharp tools, or tools greater than 7 inches in length, must be packed in checked bags."
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According to a separate tweet from TSA, some of the items that made the "Top 10 Catches of 2021" list include a meth-stuffed burrito found at Hobby International Airport in Houston, Texas; Bear spray confiscated from Destin-Fort Walton Beach Airport in Florida; a machete confiscated from Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in Virginia; and a chainsaw confiscated from from Louis Armstrong Airport in New Orleans, Louisiana.
