The War on Toothpaste. Is It Over Yet?
by Pam

I spent the weekend gathering my belongings for my upcoming big adventure in NYC. I did laundry, wrote invoices, made a to do and to pack list, the usuual stuff I do when I'm trying to get my head around a trip. I experienced more than a brief moment of annoyance upon discovering that my travel sized tube of toothpaste is nearly empty and I wondered: Is the war on toothpaste over yet?

Googling for "the war on liquids" turns up some pretty funny and snarky stuff, even if it's a little dated. I found this outrageous - or is it outraged? - post on Catholic Exchange

...ever since 9/11, experts in transportation safety and security have been puzzling out the question that dominates everyone’s mind as an ever-swelling array of innocuous-seeming inanimate objects turn against us in their perverse love of Terror: Why do they hate us? If only we could understand what drives liquids, cell phones, sports drinks, shoes, box cutters, and laptops to this will to kill

But hey, let's do a little retrospective.

Here's a tale of sippy cup terror from Now Public, from June 2007:

Monica, who left the Secret Service to raise a family, was stopped while going through airport security because there was water in her son's sippy cup. The sippy cup was seized by TSA. Monica wanted the cup back because the sippy cup was the only way her son would drink -- and it was a long flight between Washington, DC and Reno, Nevada where she was going for a family reunion. If you've ever had a toddler you understand about sippy cups.

Here's blurb from The Graduate Voice from March of this year:

The question burning in every mind as we sit here in the airport waiting to board is: How is TSA thwarting terror by confiscating my moisturizing lotion? It's not just my moisturizer. All our water bottles are empty and no one has any shampoo or shaving cream. We pass around a bottle of Bacardi that someone bought at the Duty Free shop, and ponder the nature of security and terror. We don't talk to one another - we just sit and think. The air in the airport is really dry. My hands are cracking, and I sure could use that moisturizer.

In August, 2006, Boing Boing let us know that it was okay to wear your gel bra again:

The TSA is winning the War on Moisture! As of today, the laws of physics have been changed, rendering the following items non-explosive:
* Gel-filled bras and similar prostethics

Here's a December post on Off Topic about a traveler buying a bottle of water:

When he went into the shop to buy it, they asked for his passport. Then his boarding pass. Then they scanned his passport. Then he had to sign a form. Keep in mind that this is not duty-free, hence there’s no issue about where we’re travelling. Also, we’re already beyond security so any purchases of liquids should be pre-cleared. Is this just some hyper-active German regulation that hikes up the nonsense liquid restrictions another notch? Or is there some real reason why we should have our passport and boarding pass scanned in order to buy a bottle of Evian that will be consumed long before we get on our next flight?

Even the Onion took a swat at the regulations when they were "relaxed":
"Thank God. I don't think I'd be able to make one more flight from New York to Chicago with a mouthful of shampoo."

In all seriousness, as much as I regret the theater of the absurd that air travel has become, I always check the TSA website if I'm not sure about what's going in my bag. There's something else I've started to check to: the hotel website on my arrivals side. I don't use a lot of product and if I'm staying someplace that provides what I need, I may just forgo tossing that stuff in my bag. Or, if I'm going for any extended period of time, I'll pick up what I need upon arrival. I refuse to pay to check my bag, I'd rather spend the money on bottled products at my destination than give it to the airlines for a service that should be included with the price of my ticket.

And if I absolutely must pack that stuff? 3oz. refillable bottles. I got mine at the drug store.

Pam blogs about travel and other adventures at Nerd's Eye View.

Submitted by Pam (view blog) on Sun, 09/21/2008 - 17:38

Comments

 

The theater of the absurd that air travel has
become

I love this sentence. 

It just CAPTURES the situation in the most brilliant way. 

---

I blog at MomGrind

I manage my kids' activities at UpToUs

Submitted by Vered on Sun, 09/21/2008 - 20:43
 

Flying nightmares

I've almost stopped flying because of this nonsense. That sucks when you live on an island.

What I never understood is that (as you point out) they won't let you on the plane with a mouthful of water left in your toddler's sippy cup, or a teeny bottle of shampoo, a pair of tweezers etc. But then you can wait 'til duty-free opens midflight and buy a big GLASS bottle of whiskey, and if you've watched as many old westerns as I have, well, you're armed. I have a few pairs of shoes that could do some damage too, no modifications necessary.   

I appreciate safety measures, and am glad they're screening for knives and things. BUT it's gone mad, and flying has become almost intolerable, especially with a family of small children.

Thanks for posting this!

 

Susan

stonyriverfarm.blogspot.com

www.carersgroup.com 

Submitted by SusanCarleton on Mon, 09/22/2008 - 00:38
 

Travel Nonsense

Farsighted Fly Girl: http://www.rosalindcummingsyeates.com/blog

I have been trying to ignore all the absurdities that the TSA comes up with but it's getting a tad difficult. I refuse to be pay for a checked bag. I also refuse to be inconvenienced.  I'm particular about the products I use so I can't depend on my hotel to have cehmical free, nature-based products. What I have started doing is filling those tiny lip gloss containers that I get at the Body Shop with all the lotion, facial wash and gels that I use on a daily basis.  I can pack a weeks worth in each container and I haven't paid anything extra buying travel-sized products or bottles.

Submitted by Fly Girl on Mon, 09/22/2008 - 10:49
 

Finding Solutions

I hate to complain, but it's hard to find a good solution when the products we purchase come in large bottles or containers. We can pack out clothes for our 3 day trip in a carry-on bag, but because our moisturizer container is too big we have to pay extra for checking the bag or we forfit our comfort.  So what can we do?  Well, for many brand-specific products I found the travel size item to buy (thank goodness!).  You can also find regulated size travel kits with the cotainers, so just fill it up. Take home the shampoo & conditioner bottles from the hotel instead of throwing them away (my dad has been doing this forever).  It's not fun, but the rules aren't going to change just because we keep getting busted for bringing our regular size toothpaste bottle on the plane.   

Alissa - Taylor Gifts

Taylor Gifts

 

Submitted by Alissa-Taylor Gifts on Fri, 09/26/2008 - 05:45
 

In Good Company

It's cold comfort, but comfort none the less, to know that I'm in good company. And Alissa - I hate that there are a million little plastic bottles floating around the planet now in a never ending non compostable swirl of stuff. I'm also wondering - who's marketed the refillable 3oz toothpaste tube?  

 

 

 

 

Nerd's Eye View

Submitted by Pam on Fri, 09/26/2008 - 06:55
 

Your average tube of

Your average tube of toothpaste would be below the 100ml limit (or whatever the imperial equivalent is). So what's the problem with just putting it in your plastic zip lock bag and letting them scan it separately? Or checking it in, if you have hold luggage?

Submitted by Arrietty on Tue, 09/30/2008 - 09:26
 

Solution and Real Issue

 The best solution is tooth powder. I use Ecodent. One ounce equals about a one-month supply. Other advantage to tooth powder is that it's a lot easier to rinse out of your toothbrush, which is good when you're somewhere you have to use bottled water for brushing your teeth. Plus, if someone squashes your bag, you don't have toothpaste all over everything. And Ecodent is better for your teeth and gums than most toothpastes.

 Another great product for dealing with these rules is J.R. Liggett shampoo. It's a bar -- and a 3oz bar is roughly the equivalent of 24 fluid ounces of liquid shampoo. Plus it doesn't leak. I used it for years before the TSA rules came along, just because a 3 oz. bar is a lot lighter to carry than a bottle of shampoo.

 As for carrying liquids in through security, it's not because they think the plastic water bottles are more dangerous than the big glass bottle of booze you buy in duty free, it's because they know what's in the big bottle of booze. Al Queda has blown up more than a few things with liquid and gel explosives poured into plastic water bottles -- including an airplane. So it may seem silly to require the empty sippy cup (just as patting down the 80-year-old grandmother does), but it's part of not profiling. If the bad guys can blow up a plane with a couple of liters of gel exposives, we all have to leave our liquids outside security.

 Perhaps it's because I've been so many places where security is MUCH tigher than anyting the TSA every dreamed up, but it just doesn't seem to be all that hard to cope with the regulations.

Cynthia

http://waltzingaustralia.wordpress.com 

Submitted by Cynthia Clampitt on Fri, 10/10/2008 - 22:36
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