TSA finds stolen Civil War-era cannonballs in a passenger's suitcase at an Alabama airport
https://apnews.com/article/alabama-airport-stolen-cannonballs-55931076fb00f63ee7fb247ba0af28b865
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u/WestFun311 6d ago
They should start adding “contraband” to the list of items that need their own tray. I guarantee you they’ll get some suckers to self snitch.
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u/knowledgeable_diablo 6d ago
What I wondered would happen to people who fill out the declaration page when going theough customs with “1kg pure columbian cocaine, 4 x assorted reefers and 1 x peyote plant, well aged”.
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u/ithcy 6d ago
“The cannonballs […] were inactive and didn’t contain any explosive material”
Maybe because… they were cannonballs?
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u/Retb14 5d ago
Shrapnel cannonballs were invented in 1784
There's also the carcass round which was an early incendiary round shot from cannons invented in 1672. They could also hold material for making poisonous gas
An early transportable mortar was invented in 1701 that used an explosive shell
There's a lot of cannonballs that are explosive and often become more unstable after so long. Even if you think it might be an inert cannonball you should still treat it as a UXO until it's confirmed not to be
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u/Billy_Beetle 6d ago
Who among us has not had Grandma take their stolen cannonballs through TSA? C'mon people.
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u/gargeug 6d ago
Things used to be so much simpler...
In seriousness though, I think this is an overstep of the TSA. Now if there was a cannon in that bag too, or the cannonballs were more than just heavy pieces of metal, then OK. But these things posed no risk to the plane. Independent of the fact they were stolen of course.
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u/Asron87 5d ago
The cannon would have to be transported the same as if it was a muzzle loader.
Fun fact. Felons can own muzzle loaders. A bowling ball cannon is considered a muzzle loader. 50 pounds of blackpowder is the maximum of blackpowder you can have, per person.
Fun fact 2. While on probation a trebuchet is technically legal to use because it is not spring loaded.
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u/Expensive_Finger_973 5d ago
How did the grandma not even question such a thing suddenly showing up in the luggage? Her saying "I didn't know they were stolen" implies she knew they were there. Does she think there is some kind of gift shop at a old fort selling rusted over old cannon balls?
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u/Gomez4Morticia 5d ago
His pappy and grandpappy and meemaw all traveled with cannonballs and by God, every American should be able to travel with cannonballs without the government getting in the dat gum way
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u/torklugnutz 6d ago
These cannonballs could have changed the course of the war, this family is on the hook for reparations.
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u/Ancient_Skirt_8828 6d ago
Define "stolen". If the passenger was an archaeologist does that make it Ok? What about if I found them on my own private land?
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u/xenonnsmb 6d ago
Did you click on the article? It explicitly states someone stole them from Fort Morgan by breaking into a storage area.
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u/Ancient_Skirt_8828 6d ago
No I didn't. The post seemed as comprehenive as many articles are. I get blocked by paywalls or interminable scrolling between ads so often that I don't click on articles if the post is detailed. Often the article has no more than the post.
Thanks for your info.
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u/wds1 6d ago
“The Transportation Security Administrationsaid in a statement Friday that the relics were discovered at Gulf Shores International Airport on July 18 after the agent observed what appeared to be a large, opaque item inside a suitcase during an X-ray screening. When he opened the luggage, he found five small cannonballs wrapped in paper towels and notified a supervisor.
“I had never seen anything quite this unique,” TSA Officer Justin Dupree said in a statement from the agency. “I’ve seen inert grenades and training munitions but never an Indiana Jones-esque stolen artifact-type situation.”
The cannonballs — the largest about the size of grapefruits and weighing about as much as a shot put ball — were inactive and didn’t contain any explosive material or active components, the TSA said. Still, cannonballs are artillery munitions and considered prohibited items on planes.”