Chewbacca vs the TSA
Jun 24, 2013 | 11:58 pm
#121
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But of course. Be my guest. 
Raising your arm to the ceiling of the average plane is not within the range for the average adult. As in, they won't have enough room to do it. Long, thin objects require space in order to build up speed and, thereby, energy. Unless the person wielding it really knows what they're doing.
Actually, yes, Lucite is quite brittle unless extra stuff is added. No doubt such stuff is used in this instance, given its use, but that may or may not include an ability to "load" it with lateral impact energy. Lucite is seldom a good choice for that task.
On that I have a little experience and I'm going to disagree with you. Oak, whether red or Japanese white, is a very different beastie from lucite. Oak has flex and density, two things that lucite is missing.
Indeed.
First, blunt force trauma can be inflicted with a fairly minimal swing. Straight up and down with a heavy, solid object, a person could inflict serious, possibly fatal damage, in just the length of their arm; so, in an aircraft cabin, just raising your arm up to ceiling height is enough swing space.
Second, lucite is not one of those fragile, brittle plastics like those used in child's toys.
A solid lucite rod of that size actually would be every bit as effective a weapon as a solid oak rod of the same dimensions.
The issue, for me, is not whether the cane could be used as a weapon, since it clearly could, but whether it poses any greater danger than any of the other millions of wooden and metal canes which are permitted on aircraft by TSA without any further examination or determination necessary.
Jun 25, 2013 | 2:20 pm
#122
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PMMA's density is below 1,20 g/ccm. The dimensions you gave would make the cane less than 2400 ccm, ie. below 3 kg (that's below 6,5 pounds for Americans) - and that's at the upper estimate levels.
Jun 25, 2013 | 5:22 pm
#123
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Jun 27, 2013 | 2:35 pm
#124
Join Date: Jun 2010
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My 2.7 cents on this...
1) If it is strong enough to be a cane for a giant person, it could cause significant damage if it could be effectively used as a weapon. See #3.
2) Everything can be used as a weapon. Paper cuts can be lethal.
3) Stick-like weapons inside confined spaces (in all close quarters situations, actually) are almost always LESS EFFECTIVE once they get outside a certain length. Too short is ineffective. Too long is much much less effective. There is a reason that asps, batons, billy clubs, truncheons, and similar are all about the same length. There is a reason the Romans carried swords along with spears (hint: once the enemy was up close, the spear doesn't work so good). This effective length is no where near the length necessary for a really tall person to use as a cane.
4) Light-sabers are no more of a weapon than a soccer ball painted to look like the death star. Only a complete idiot would be afraid of either of these fictional items causing actual "movie-like" damage.
5) TSA's position in this case is idiotic. See #4.
1) If it is strong enough to be a cane for a giant person, it could cause significant damage if it could be effectively used as a weapon. See #3.
2) Everything can be used as a weapon. Paper cuts can be lethal.
3) Stick-like weapons inside confined spaces (in all close quarters situations, actually) are almost always LESS EFFECTIVE once they get outside a certain length. Too short is ineffective. Too long is much much less effective. There is a reason that asps, batons, billy clubs, truncheons, and similar are all about the same length. There is a reason the Romans carried swords along with spears (hint: once the enemy was up close, the spear doesn't work so good). This effective length is no where near the length necessary for a really tall person to use as a cane.
4) Light-sabers are no more of a weapon than a soccer ball painted to look like the death star. Only a complete idiot would be afraid of either of these fictional items causing actual "movie-like" damage.
5) TSA's position in this case is idiotic. See #4.
Jun 27, 2013 | 2:47 pm
#125
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Jun 27, 2013 | 3:20 pm
#126
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My 2.7 cents on this...
1) If it is strong enough to be a cane for a giant person, it could cause significant damage if it could be effectively used as a weapon. See #3.
2) Everything can be used as a weapon. Paper cuts can be lethal.
3) Stick-like weapons inside confined spaces (in all close quarters situations, actually) are almost always LESS EFFECTIVE once they get outside a certain length. Too short is ineffective. Too long is much much less effective. There is a reason that asps, batons, billy clubs, truncheons, and similar are all about the same length. There is a reason the Romans carried swords along with spears (hint: once the enemy was up close, the spear doesn't work so good). This effective length is no where near the length necessary for a really tall person to use as a cane.
4) Light-sabers are no more of a weapon than a soccer ball painted to look like the death star. Only a complete idiot would be afraid of either of these fictional items causing actual "movie-like" damage.
5) TSA's position in this case is idiotic. See #4.
1) If it is strong enough to be a cane for a giant person, it could cause significant damage if it could be effectively used as a weapon. See #3.
2) Everything can be used as a weapon. Paper cuts can be lethal.
3) Stick-like weapons inside confined spaces (in all close quarters situations, actually) are almost always LESS EFFECTIVE once they get outside a certain length. Too short is ineffective. Too long is much much less effective. There is a reason that asps, batons, billy clubs, truncheons, and similar are all about the same length. There is a reason the Romans carried swords along with spears (hint: once the enemy was up close, the spear doesn't work so good). This effective length is no where near the length necessary for a really tall person to use as a cane.
4) Light-sabers are no more of a weapon than a soccer ball painted to look like the death star. Only a complete idiot would be afraid of either of these fictional items causing actual "movie-like" damage.
5) TSA's position in this case is idiotic. See #4.
A kid will be able to carry an unarmed GI Joe toy, but he'll have to give up an armed GI Joe or a toy drone...and if he's a civil war buff, probably a good idea to leave the 1-inch plastic cannon at home, too.
Jun 27, 2013 | 4:04 pm
#127
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The difference between stupidity and genius is that genius has its limits.
- Albert Einstein