Stop us if you’ve heard this one before: What do a chicken, a PlayStation and jar of peanut butter have in common? TSA found a gun in all of them.
Every year, the Transportation Security Administration intercepts thousands of firearms at airport security checkpoints, plus pills disguised as candy, throwing stars, dead sea horses and lots of bottles of liquids over 3.4 ounces. That includes jars of peanut butter, sans guns. And while pets are not banned from planes, TSA is constantly reminding travelers not to put them through the X-ray scanners because they’ve found a few of those in suitcases, too.
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The agency shares its weirdest finds throughout the year on social media and then compiles its greatest hits at the end of the year. Items left behind at checkpoints that are not contraband end up at TSA’s lost and found for at least 30 days and then are sold, destroyed or donated.
Think you could spot a banned item coming down the belt? Test your skills below with these real-life airport security X-rays from around the world.
Spot and click the contraband
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Contraband found
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Contraband shown left to right, top to bottom:
Knife and brass knuckles. Boa constrictor. Skull with wires and 9-volt battery. Bomb or improvised explosive device. Live dog. Gun. Gun hidden inside a gaming console. Bomb or improvised explosive device (IED). Three 9mm rounds sewn into the lining of shoes. Brass knuckles, folding knives and a large amount of cocaine.
Washington Post illustration; TSA; Shutterstock; Getty Images; iStock.
Editing by Amanda Finnegan. Art direction and design by Katty Huertas. Design editing by Christine Ashack. Photo editing by Lauren Bulbin. Copy editing by Jamie Zega.
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