HawaiiTrvlr

http://overheadbin.msnbc.msn.com/_ne...rt-checkpoints

Apparently the TSA will now allow "small" snow globes in your carryon if it appears to have 3.4 oz of liquid or less. The catch is that the snow globe must fit into your 3-1-1 bag. And you don't get a separate 3-1-1 bag for your snow globe and 1 for your other liquids. Here is the best quote from the article: "...TSA officers will be aware of the size requirement and apply “some discretion in their evaluation of the item being transported."" It will be interesting on how the "discretion" works.

Darkumbra

Anyone want to do the math? What is the diameter of a sphere containing 3.4 oz of liquid? A large marble? I think egg size would be too large.

spd476

I'm sure Disney and places like that will have signs stating certain snow globes they sell are "TSA Compliant". I wonder how long it will take for the first story of a kid's compliant snow globe being confiscated to come out? Trusting the TSA's judgement and discretion seems like a good way to have to "voluntarily surrender" a snow globe.

Are snow globes really that big of an issue for the TSA to worry about? I would much rather have them work on a way for me to carry a bottle of water or soda through security. I'll even put it in a ziploc bag if they want. They have a way to test liquids at the gate, so why not the checkpoint? Do the TSA magic strips only work at the gate?

saulblum

I'm eagerly awaiting the occasion of the first magic test strip hovered over a snow globe at the gate.

spd476

If I did my math correctly, it should be about 2.272" in diameter. That's slightly smaller than a tennis ball (2.575-2.700").

saulblum

I am envisioning the nation's best science minds -- the best of the best from MIT, Stanford, CalTech -- spending days and nights holed up in their laboratories, poring over the data from their experiments with snow globes from a wide variety of the nation's top tourist destinations, finally concluding that no, said snow globes do not pose an existential threat to this great nation as we know it today.

Caradoc

Discretion and size issues don't seem to work out too well for the TSA.

OrlandoFlyer

http://http://overheadbin.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/07/16/12774618-tsa-relaxing-rules-on-snow-globes-at-airport-checkpoints?lite

Oh dear, now the TSA Clerks are going to be given some discretion. Another PR disaster waiting to happen for the TSA.

IslandBased

A control freak walked into a bar and said ""And it has to be the same bag. You don't get a 3-1-1 bag and a snow-globe bag," he added."

Where would TSA be if it didn't micromanage stupidity?

chollie

Won't work.

In the 'testing eye drops' thread, post #106, we find out why not. An alleged TSA rep responds to a poster's grumble that 'highly trained, experienced, professional' xray technicians can't tell the difference between a netbook and a tablet (resulting in hysterical barking, red-faced TSOs and pax having to pull an allowed tablet out of his/her bag, in spite of the stated rules).

The alleged TSA rep defends this by pointing out:

"We don’t have calibrated eyes, we guess right along with everyone else. And an x-ray cannot tell the difference in size between them, there is no scale on the side of the screen giving us a representation of how large something is. "

Perhaps HQ should have consulted with the troops, like this alleged rep, before making such a change. Perhaps HQ is out of touch with how ...'limited' the abilities of the TSOs at the checkpoint are....

How often does a TSO 'guess' in favor of the pax? Particularly when the item in question is a handy, easily pocketed little gift like a snow-globe?

Sadly, not all snow globes are, strictly speaking, 'globes'. Wonder how many TSOs will take advantage of that to get their stocking stuffers free?

mikeef

If I were carrying a snow globe, I'd carry a copy of the new rule with me (to be told, of course, that the new rule is already out of date and the snow globes have been re-banned). It actually is an issue for me, since my kids love snow globes.

Mike

chollie

New rule won't matter - not just for the reason (backed by a recent post by an alleged TSA rep) cited in my post above.

TSOs occasionally still confiscate LGAs because the container isn't specifically labelled, regardless of size (small shampoo bottle, same size as other containers in baggie, but label has worn off).

I expect we'll see repeats of the 'cupcake' incident, where, in the absence of clearer rules, a non-globe shape will get confiscated or a TSO will simply 'guess' that your snow globe contains 3.5 ounces of liquid.

Website print-out? The website still doesn't make clear that ice chips (remember Brittany Spears) are allowed, even though during that incident we were told that the rules had recently changed, the website just hadn't been updated yet (and still hasn't). The website is always out-of-date or TSA does it 'differently' at the airport you're at.

mahohmei

Do a Google search for the following:

...and Google will do the dimensional analysis for you and give you the answer:

So there we go; the snow globe's interior diameter must be <=2.4 in.

Of course, the snow globe would need its volume factory-labeled on the bottom of the base; otherwise, an unlabeled snow globe could be carrying enough explosives to bring down several A380s simultaneously.

So the TSA won't trust us with more than 3.4 oz. of liquid, but they _do_ trust manufacturers to label them correctly.

Does someone here work for Coleman? I want a gallon sports jug labeled "3 oz".

TheGolfWidow

If this news doesn't make you want to pack the family onto an airplane to visit a theme park, I don't know what will. Sure, they might have to investigate your infant's diaper contents or send grandpa's pants to the floor, but.....snowglobes!!!

Honestly....shaking my head.....

mre5765

Too big.
Still too big. And inconsistent, since 2.4 is < 2.45635207 .

I think instead of ( 4 / 3) you need to have this as 3/4, because you are solving for the radius, not the volume.

V = 4/3 * pi * r^3

r = (V / pi * 3 / 4) ^ (1/3)

d = 2 * ((V / pi * 3 / 4) ^ (1/3) )

100 mL == 100 cm^3 of volume, so d = 2 * ((100 / pi * 3 / 4) ^ (1/3) )

plugging this into google: 2 * ((100 / pi * 3 / 4) ^ (1/3) ) cm to inches

yields: 2.26725347 inches