TSA On The Job: Confiscates Play-Doh from a 3 yr. old

[MA-Caver]

Tight Airport Security Costs Boy His Play-Doh

http://www.fox2now.com/news/ktvi-play-doh-pitney-010410,0,2130327.story
ST. LOUIS, MO (KTVI-FOX2now.com) - A TSA screener in New Orleans confiscates a Wildwood three-year-old's favorite toy. Josh Pitney was not allowed to take a pack of play doh on board his return flight to St. Louis, even though play doh is not on the TSA's list of prohibited items. Monday afternoon, Josh and his 15 month old little brother sat on the carpet of their home, making fun shapes out of play doh. "You know, all you have to worry about is it getting in the carpet," said their mother, Christy, as she watched them play, "small problem to have when you have a child who is entertained for half an hour."

And play doh probably would have entertained Josh and Nathan for much of their flight home from a post-Christmas trip to New Orleans last week, but a TSA screener decided not to allow the play doh through security. The screener allowed them to keep the plastic mat and tools for molding the play doh, but took the 20 cans of clay out of the box.

"I had the kids and my husband was there with all our bags," recalled Christy. "Josh and I were sitting, getting our shoes on and, my husband kinda motioned to us and said, 'They took our play doh.' And the man from TSA was taking every can out one at a time and putting it on a table, and Josh saw it and he started fussing."

Christy and her husband decided not to protest. "Quite honestly I just wanted to get out of there. I thought the less time we could spend right there, maybe we could solve it with a candy cane or you know a piece of candy from inside the terminal, so I just tried to move us as quickly along as possible with a very traumatized child in tow."

I'm so glad that we're being now protected against potential 3 year old terrorists! Thank God for the TSA!!

NUTS!!

 

[Carol]

20 cans of Play-Doh to appease a toddler for a 2 hour flight?

I can see where TSA was a bit suspicious.

 

[Tez3]

Damn right it should be confiscated for the safety and comfort of the other, adult, passengers. Even the mother says about it getting in that carpet, can you imagine that stuff everywhere in a plane? In your hair, clothes, on the seat when you unwittingly sit down,in your food ugh. I say confiscate kids on planes too actually. This mother wanted to give her kid sweets (sorry candy lol) all that sugar, in a child, on a plane?

 

[Nolerama]

The TSA agent got jealous at the kid's Play Doh stash and wanted to snack on it, too.

 

[Omar B]

Kids shouldn't be on planes anyways. Damn are they anouying on flights, a guy can hardly get any work done or some sleep.

 

[MA-Caver]

Kids shouldn't be on planes anyways. Damn are they anouying on flights, a guy can hardly get any work done or some sleep.

Or flirt with the cute stewardesses.

I'll admit that 20 cans of it was a bit much but how can it be suspicious? If they went through the trouble of opening them all up (to ensure none of it was actually colored C-4 or something ) then returned it, well *grumbles* alright then... but to simply keep it all? Sheesh.

 

[Bob Hubbard]

I don't think the TSA hiring requirements are high enough to tell C4 from Playdoh. Then again, having read the many many stories about what they do hire, maybe they wanted to play with it too.

 

[Omar B]

Or flirt with the cute stewardesses.

I'll admit that 20 cans of it was a bit much but how can it be suspicious? If they went through the trouble of opening them all up (to ensure none of it was actually colored C-4 or something ) then returned it, well *grumbles* alright then... but to simply keep it all? Sheesh.

Yeah, but as Tez pointed out, it was an excessive number of tins. I can only imagine the nightmare of cleaning that crap out of the seats, carpets, off the walls, during the turn around time at the terminal which is usually just long enough to refuel and a quick vacuum.

 

[Carol]

Perhaps the TSA is more concerned about scraping it out of someone's respiratory passages.

Google says 20 tins of Play Doh is either 40 ounces or 80 ounces, depending on whether the tins were 2 ounces or 4 ounces.

Am I the only one deviant enough to see its use as an improvised weapon, in that quantity?

 

[grydth]

Undoubtedly, these will go down in TSA monthly reports as "20 weapons seized".... along with all the cuticle scissors seized from 75 year olds....

"THE SYSTEM WORKED"

 

[Ken Morgan]

By now the play doh has found a new home with the TSA employees children.

 

[Bob Hubbard]

By now the play doh has found a new home with the TSA employees.

fixed that......