How to pack Play-Doh
Oct 5, 2011 | 10:27 pm
#16
Join Date: Nov 2007
Posts: 322
Oct 6, 2011 | 1:01 am
#17
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: DFW
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Oct 6, 2011 | 6:18 am
#18
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: Nashville, TN
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Oct 6, 2011 | 7:53 am
#19
Original Poster
Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: ORD
Programs: AA, UA, GE
Posts: 5,388
It may sound absurd, but here is what I would do:
Pack it in your checked bags; put the original unopened container in a plastic quart or gallon baggie, with a copy of the therapist's instructions in the bag. Put it on top of everything else in the luggage, so when they open the luggage, it will be the first thing they see and they won't have to paw through your undergarments. Don't pack anything valuable in the bag, with the Play-Doh if you can reasonably avoid it. I wouldn't pack any electronics or cords in the suitcase with the Play-Doh, either, because that might make it look more bomb-y.
Personally, I would also seal the luggage shut with a zip tie, so I could verify whether or not anyone opened my bag; if so, I would check it for missing items before I left the airport.
Pack it in your checked bags; put the original unopened container in a plastic quart or gallon baggie, with a copy of the therapist's instructions in the bag. Put it on top of everything else in the luggage, so when they open the luggage, it will be the first thing they see and they won't have to paw through your undergarments. Don't pack anything valuable in the bag, with the Play-Doh if you can reasonably avoid it. I wouldn't pack any electronics or cords in the suitcase with the Play-Doh, either, because that might make it look more bomb-y.
Personally, I would also seal the luggage shut with a zip tie, so I could verify whether or not anyone opened my bag; if so, I would check it for missing items before I left the airport.
Wish me luck ... leaving for ORD in a couple of hours
Play-Doh
Jul 30, 2012 | 1:02 pm
#21
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Aug 2001
Location: Finally back in Boston after escaping from New York
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Jul 31, 2012 | 5:00 am
#22
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Mar 2002
Location: An NPR mind living in a Fox News world
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If you want them to find it, wrap some oregano in a small piece of aluminum foil and mold the play doh around it
Jul 31, 2012 | 7:29 am
#23
Join Date: Apr 2003
Location: BOS and vicinity
Programs: Former UA 1P
Posts: 3,730
Take a container of play-doh, turn it upside down. Does it pour out? Not to my memory. Does it even change shape? Not to my memory. That's the argument that should be used with any power tripping TSO. And as necessary, their lead, STSO, TSM, AFSD, the police, the press, and the OP's Congressman. Letting these TSO power trippers affect our lives is completely unacceptable and only grows their power.
My only other advise to the OP would be to run the item through the x-ray separately from other luggage (i.e., in a gray bin), so that it can be viewed in isolation and so if it attracts attention, that attention doesn't affect other property. There is no need to declare it as a medical liquid/gel/aerosol since it is not, and that will only attract unnecessary attention.
Jul 31, 2012 | 8:00 am
#24
Original Poster
Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: ORD
Programs: AA, UA, GE
Posts: 5,388
I should have posted back with my experience.
I took two sets of the Play-Doh like substance with me. One in my carry-on and one in checked luggage.
I did nothing. Did not discuss anything with the folks at security.
Nothing happened. No secondary check of my carry-on and my checked bags were not opened.
I took two sets of the Play-Doh like substance with me. One in my carry-on and one in checked luggage.
I did nothing. Did not discuss anything with the folks at security.
Nothing happened. No secondary check of my carry-on and my checked bags were not opened.