A blog has revealed some of the stranger items air passengers have tried to smuggle through US security.
As well as the expected assortment of drugs and weapons, a bag of live eels, some coral and a grenade launcher have also been flagged up by TSA security officials.
Scroll down for a slideshow of items confiscated by TSA agents
An official TSA blog lists stun guns, brass knuckles, batons, a throwing star, a cattle prod and some antique cannon balls as among the banned paraphernalia that has turned up at airport security gates.
A “fantasy knife that slays mythical creatures that don’t exist” was also listed among the offending items, as was a blade concealed in a bag of pretzels.
A container of dead venomous snakes was also picked up – although this was permitted to travel.
The blog also rounds up its top phrases NOT to say at checkpoints, with one passenger announcing at La Guardia Airport: “I have a torpedo in my brasserie.”
Another told Houston security officials: “If I miss my flight, I will come back and strangle you”, while one informed his fellow passengers: “Good luck getting on this plane because it’s going down.”
Drug smugglers also appear to be getting more creative (or not) with one attempting to hide a bag of marijuana in a hollowed out jar of peanut butter.
Another was rumbled after opting to hide between 1,000 – 2,000 ecstasy tablets... in his underpants.
One of the more bizarre efforts occurred at Charlotte airport where officers discovered a green leafy substance in a plastic bag: “Artfully concealed inside of a bag of sand and another plastic baggy containing a green leafy substance pushed down inside a piece of bread, stuffed inside a shoe.
“We’re not looking for drugs, but when something is packed like this and stuffed in a shoe, it’s going to look ominously odd.”