I had a very strange experience at O'Hare recently. My family and I had just
gotten through security, and the woman behind us did not speak English and
was having a hard time understanding that she not only had to present her
liquids, but that they also had to *be* in a small ziploc bag. (By the way,
is the rule that they have to be in one, or just potentially fit into one?)

Anyway, having already passed security, I was still putting my preschooler's
shoes on him, so I heard this, so I offered to give her my ziploc and I
started to dump my own mini-liquids into my purse. The screener said "no, you
need to keep them in the ziploc as long as you are in the airport." I said ok
and gave her another ziploc that I happened to have in my suitcase, which
passed muster, and the passenger seemed very relieved (though the screener
seemed irritated).

Oh, and by the way, that same screener had just thrown out my baby's
water that had been approved by his colleague (and was presented and
put into the bin and discussed three seconds before). I politely asked,
as we came through, "I don't see the infant water?" and the TSA guy said,
"oh, I threw it away," no other comment. I said, "but the other screener
had already checked it for the baby," and he said, "oh, sorry, I threw it
away," kind of flippantly.

(Grr.)

I was just getting used to the new rules and kind of accepting them, but
now this has thrown me back into my irritation at the whole process.

--LG