Originally Posted by
Boggie Dog
I am familiar with go/no gauges and other such testing devices. While they are useful those testing methods are limited. TSA on the other hand has rolled out a machine that alerts on contact lens cleaner, hand lotion, and other harmless items. This in my mind clearly make these devices useless for the testing they are in place to do.
It is not so much that the testing method is useless than it is the inappropriate application of the technology. Furthermore, the method of resolution is highly inappropriate for the nature of the alarm.
Since everyone is a suspected terrorist, the TSA must have some method to weed out people that do not need further checks. They pretend that the ETD is to find problems. What they are looking for are people that need no further check as they do not "trip" the alarm. The ETD used as an indicator of innocence by the lack of an alarm is correct almost 100% of the time.