It makes sense to ban people from carrying knives and other sharp, pointy objects in their carry-on luggage. But now, we’re barely allowed to carry on any liquid essentials past the security checkpoint. Why is that?

You can thank the lovely people who were planning to blow up airplanes using a cocktail of peroxide explosives and Lucozade, a British sports drink. Liquids were banned shortly after London police arrested 24 suspects on the night of August 9th, 2006.

The bottles of Lucozade were going to be filled with the original drink. However, the would-be terrorists planned to add fake bottoms filled with some explosive gel or liquid dyed red to match the rest of the drink. The explosive substance they were planning to use would be very sensitive to heat and friction, and could have been ignited with an electrical charge. Some reports said plotters were going to set the things off with iPods.

Chaos followed. People were immediately banned from taking liquids and gels on the plane, even if it was just a bottle of water bought in a secured area. TSA spent a lot of time throwing away drinks, cosmetics, toothpaste, hairspray, and all the other different essentials people take with them when they travel. The only liquid they allowed was baby formula.

Although the ban on liquids eventually relaxed, we now have to follow the infamous 3-1-1 rule when it comes to taking liquids on the plane. You are only allowed to take as many 3-oz bottles of liquids that will fit inside a 1-quart zip lock bag.

So the next time your zip lock bag comes open at the security checkpoint and spills out all your teeny bottles of soap, lotion, and shampoo, you can thank those terrorists for making airline travel just a little bit harder for the rest of us.

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confido1205 on February 7th, 2008 | File Under Carry-on | -