With all the rancor in the air these days, “settling disputes in a gentlemanly manner” sounds like a perfectly wonderful idea, does it not?
That is unless you’re planning on employing a shillelagh — a wooden Irish walking stick that can double as a handy club or cudgel — inside the cabin of an aircraft to make your point.
Despite their colorful history and craftsmanship, it turns out that the Transportation Security Administration frowns upon such objects in carry-ons.
Security at Boise Airport in Idaho found it last month, saying in a tweet that “it may look like a miniature golf club, but it’s not. It’s a shillelagh, a Gaelic club. … Bad idea to bring it to the checkpoint; perfect for checked baggage.”
So there you have it from the TSA: “We know that anything that’s made with the intent to bludgeon someone else is not allowed as a carry-on item.”
It’s just one of the prohibited objects TSA is publicizing on its Twitter feed during #ProhibitedItemsWeek.
What else TSA has found in carry-ons
On Day 2 of #ProhibitedItemsWeek, TSA spotlighted something less fanciful but perhaps even more menacing: a double-edged tactical knife discovered in a carry-on at Boston Logan International Airport.
After questioning by Massachusetts State Police, the man was allowed to continue his journey —sans his knife.
The first day of the campaign spotlighted an even more incredible item uncovered at El Paso International Airport in Texas: A firearm with 20 rounds of ammunition.
Air travelers, take note: Be sure to keep your guns and your knives and shillelaghs – and your cats for that matter – out of your carry-ons.
Click here to find out more about what’s allowed in carry-on and checked bags.