Either they are or they aren't... you can't have it both ways....
BZBDEWD and I just got into Tucson last night and actually left the bags in the car overnight... just too tired to go from driveway to house - I'm sure you know the feeling. That being the case, I didn't notice until this morning when unpacking for the big laundry day, the love note from the TSA. Hey, no big deal, we get them all the time.... most of the time, I can pretty much figure out why (based on what was in the bag, the way it was packed, etc, etc) why they went through the checked bag. For instance, we have
two portable tripods that are not much more than bean bags with a metal screw attachment. Now I would think that two of them would look suspicious in a bag...
All that being said... I usually don't have the same "problems" that my wife does when she gets fondled by the TSA... until now.
Call me a "metrosexual" if you will - I am not... but I am rather particular about the hair care products that I use... I use a
specific kind of hair gel that comes in a little green pot. BZBDEWD saw them in the Walgreen's in GSP under the "closeout" banner, so she got two extra ones. As I was putting them in the bag, I thought that two round pots of gel might look odd... so I kind of expected the once over from the TSA...
What I did not expect to find was a finger print in both of the pots where they had taken a dollop out... My first thought was, "Ewwwww"... my second thought was... "Wow, I would not have done that..."
Think this through logically, and yes, I realize who we are talking about here...
If you had a potenitally hazardous material that appears dangerous enough to warrant a search; would you open it up and swipe your finger (covered with latex or not) through it? Personally, I can think of about 500 things that I know about that would eat right through the latex, your skin... etc, etc..
Either this was a hazardous material - and if it warranted a sampling, should be performed via mechanical means - or not... you can't have it both ways....