The Patterson Film

Monday, November 10, 2008

TSA question: Which is it? 3 ounces or 100 ml?

According to the TSA website, the amount of liquid you're allowed to bring on a plane is "bottles 3 ounces or smaller (or 100 ml)."

Here's the interesting bit:

3 fluid ounces are equal to 88.72 ml, not 100 ml

So which is it?

If I bring a 100 ml container to a U.S. security checkpoint, is some security person (in his newly-minted and freshly badged-up uniform) going to hassle me? It may sound like a petty question, but to date I have yet to be all that impressed with the level of knowledge possessed by the TSA's front lines.

I just want to know before I go, as they say.

Every time I travel by air, I'm sure the face police (aka the Behavior Detection Officers) have been tempted to pull me aside, because I always find myself gearing up to go through security. It's certainly a mental challenge, trying to hold it together as my Fourth Amendment rights slowly disintegrate.

If the TSA is trolling blogs for mention of their august institution, I would actually appreciate a real-deal clarification of the "3 ounces doesn't equal 100 ml" issue.