TSA's strange finds

TSA'S STRANGE FINDS TSA agent at Pittsburgh International Airport. Getty Images Novelty and inert bombs, loaded guns, daggers and all manner of "artfully concealed" items that

somehow could be used as weapons are among the objects TSA officers regularly find in carry-on bags belonging to some of the more than 1.8 million passenger screened at U.S. airports each

day. "The vast majority of travelers that are bringing the stuff are not frequent flyers but people that might fly once a year at best. Either they just never understood the rules or

thought the rules did not apply to those items," said aviation security expert Jeff Price of Leading Edge Strategies. Others know exactly what they're carrying and try to conceal

prohibited items inside suitcase linings, belt buckles and shoes. "What they don't know is how amazingly easy a lot of that is to spot in the standard old-school X-ray machine,

much less the newer advanced X-ray technologies," said Price. "In most cases these people aren't terrorists or people with ill intent. I think they're just people trying

to slip one through the system." Packed with ill-intention or not, these items don't fly. So where do these items end up? According to the TSA, a lot of them are put into checked

luggage or given to a nonflying family member to take home. Law enforcement officials at many airports decide what to do with the truly illegal items, but a lot of items flagged as

prohibited end up as what the TSA terms "voluntary abandoned property"—and most of that ends up as excess government property that is eventually auctioned off or destroyed. But

before anything leaves the airport, the more unusual items get photographed and posted in the TSA blog's weekly roundup of airport finds. Here are some examples of the featured items

found so far this year. _—By Harriet Baskas, S__pecial to CNBC.com. __Follow her on Twitter at_ _@hbaskas__._ _ Posted on 2 Dec. 2013_ FLARE GUN A flare gun spotted in a carry-on bag at

Chicago's Midway Airport. Image source: TSA A flare gun would be useful if someone was lost at sea and needed to attract attention for a rescue. But like this colorful flare gun spotted

in a carry-on bag at Chicago's Midway Airport in February, they are not allowed on planes. Besides, you don't need a flare gun to signal a flight attendant, TSA blogger Bob Burns

noted in his weekly roundup. For that "there is a little button above your head." NOVELTY BOMBS Replicas or novelty bombs that look like the real thing are also forbidden according

to TSA. Image source: TSA Real explosives aren't allowed on airplanes, but neither are replicas, including these novelty bombs found in a carry-on at Phoenix Sky Harbor International

Airport that the TSA determined looked "like something Wile E. Coyote would lob at the Roadrunner." BRICKS TSA found a brick inside a carry-on bag at new York's Syracuse

Hancock International Airport. Image source: TSA Some travelers are light packers; others are often asked if they've filled their suitcases with bricks. The TSA recently found this

brick inside a carry-on bag at New York's Syracuse Hancock International Airport. And while not named on the TSA's list of prohibited carry-on items, "brick" brings up a

"Special Instructions" alert on the TSA's Can I bring my… app. "[B]ecause of how they appear on the X-ray ... we suggest that you pack this item in your checked bag, ship

it to your destination or leave it at home." PURPLE PEPPER SPRAY Pepper spray hidden in a purple lipstick case found at Sky Harbor Airport. Image source: TSA Stun guns and knives

(prohibited in carry-ons) are often discovered inside containers that look more like lipstick or travel-sized hair spray. In this case, it was pepper spray inside the pretty purple lipstick

case found at Sky Harbor Airport in June. While good for warding off muggers on the street, mace and self-defense sprays are prohibited in carry-on baggage. LOADED GUNS TSA's offical

count for finding handguns in carry-on bags stands at 1343 this year so far through September, 2013. Image source: TSA You'd think by now everyone would have gotten the message that

guns are not allowed on airplanes. But guns—often loaded and with rounds chambered—show up in passenger carry-on bags all the time. The TSA's official count for 2013 was up to 1,512

firearms found at checkpoints as of the end of October. That's close to the 1,556 firearms found at checkpoints during all of 2012. GRENADES A live smoke grenade discovered in a

carry-on bag by TSA at Dulles International Airport. Image source: TSA Inert hand grenades and perfume in bottles that look just like grenades seem to show up in carry-on bags quite often as

souvenirs or presents. But they are all, understandably, turned away because they could easily be mistaken for the real thing. As was this live smoke grenade discovered by the TSA in March

under the lining of a carry-on bag at Dulles International Airport. SKULL FRAGMENTS TSA officers at Fort Lauderdale International Airport found skull fragments inside clay pots in a

passenger's checked bags. According to the TSA "the passengers had just purchased the pots and had no idea skull fragments were inside." Image source: TSA Not all unusual

items found by the TSA show up in carry-on luggage. In April, TSA officers at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport in Florida found skull fragments inside clay pots in a

passenger's checked bags and, at first, assumed the worst. But, according to the TSA "the passengers had just purchased the pots ... and had no idea skull fragments were

inside."