When I was a kid in the mid-1970s they confiscated my toy guns in MIA, I think. One was fluorescent green. I was upset about the plastic six-shooter but it turned up in the mail in Europe a year later. This was in the "fly this plane to Havana" days.

Things were annoying for a while after TWA 800 until they figured out that the military shot it down or whatever. But no shoe nonsense and carnival barking antics. They had laptop nonsense and you even had to open them on the on the belt at some airports.

Even in 1999-2000 there were some ancient security screeners who didn't get the message and insisted on this at Elmira airport.