2018 was another wild year for Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officers who confiscated a laundry list of head-scratching items.
If you thought people would have learned by now, you're not alone but apparently wrong nonetheless. It's safe to say as more and more travelers take to the skies (many for the first time), it's likely only going to get weirder in 2019.
Here are some of the craziest things TSA discovered over the course of the past year and let them be a warning to all travelers when packing for their next trip.
TSA confiscated plenty of knives in 2018, including unusual ones like this knife disguised as a hair comb at Boise Airport.
The agency warns that all knives are prohibited from being carried onto planes and that concealed knives can lead to fines and even arrest.
Take a look at some of the other strange knives TSA uncovered this year.
More than one unusual sharp object turned up at Nashville International Airport in 2018, including a machete and a giant pair of scissors. Both items were boldly packed in carry-on bags.
Among the other bizarre weapons that TSA officers found inside passengers' carry-on bags this year were a zombie-killing ax (Chicago's O'Hare International Airport), a razor glove a la Freddy Krueger (Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport) and twin martial arts sai (Houston's George Bush Intercontinental Airport).
Apparently, superheroes aren't immune to security checkpoints either because an actual brass knuckle "Batarang" was discovered inside of a carry-on bag by officers at Baltimore-Washington International Airport this past February.
"Does BWI actually stand for "Bruce Wayne International?" TSA joked.
Reminder: Leave your inert explosives and anything resembling a grenade at home.
An inert mortar was found in a checked bag at Sacramento International Airport in February. TSA notes that items such as this can not only result in big trouble for the owner but lead to airport evacuations, delays and missed flights for fellow travelers.
Another inert mortar was found at Indiana's Evansville Regional Airport in April.
And then there was this terrifying contraption at Chicago's O'Hare Airport.
Meanwhile, a plastic dinosaur-shaped grenade landed a traveler in hot water at Denver International Airport.
Perhaps the most unsettling of all, a pair of inert replica rocket-propelled grenade launchers were found at Hawaii's Lihue Airport in August.
Wait, it gets stranger.
Officers at Alaska's Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport found a bag of marijuana stuffed inside of a microwave oven being transported as checked baggage back in March.
Some unique stun guns also made their way into passengers' bags this year, including one disguised as an outdated cellphone.
Around the Fourth of July holiday, Houston officers were surprised to find a speargun while agents in Kentucky confiscated firecrackers.
There was no shortage of naughty passengers in 2018 but fortunately, these foolish travelers were busted before they even got on the plane.
Thanks, TSA.
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