Just about every FIRST team I know of gives out buttons as mementos and tradeables at the competitions.
What are the airlines going to do with all these buttons when FIRST folks try to board planes?
While I can’t picture a terrorist hijacker holding a flight attendant hostage with a “Swamp Thing” glowing eyed button, I can see all those collected buttons getting thrown out by the security guys at the gates.
I think as long as you keep them in checked baggage, it shouldn’t be an issue.
I would keep them were you can easily pull them out and show the guard what they are and were your keeping them. No doubt they will look very suspicous in an x-ray. So just throw them in a zipperd capartment or on the top of your stuff.
Actually, I would think that you should put them in your non carry-on luggage. Make sure to inform the airlines ahead of time to see that there won’t be a problem or ask tem how they recomend you packing them. It would make sense to have them where you can get them out of a bag easily if you needed to but not have them where you could get to them on a plane. I hope that makes sense.
Having flown a couple of times in the last few months I’d recommend putting them in you checked bags. You really don’t want anything “pointy” in your carry on or on your clothing. Obviously tools should not be in your carry on either. not even that handy multipurpose tool you’ve been carrying in you pocket for quick robot adjustments.
Two years ago we had a team member try and take a 70 lbs tool chest has his carry on. It fit in the sizing box, but they didn’t like the fact that he was trying to bring in cordless drills, files, hammers and other assorted pointng objects.
Tools, buttons, etc. should all be checked. If there’s anything that could be viewed as dangerous, declare it right away. Airlines usually don’t have a problem as long as they know what it is and what it’s there for.
Two years ago coming home from the National, as we were going through the metal detector, I kept causing the detector to go off. I couldn’t figure out what was setting it off. I must have gone through at least 5 times before my friend pointed at my hat; I had forgotten one of my team’s buttons was fastened to it. Needless to say, I’m reminded of it often.
last year in orlando, a girl on our team got stopped by the bag checkers cause of all her buttons on her bag… lets just say she was a little embarrased:p
Hye, it wasn’t the buttons… it was my stinking keychain! Make sure you don’t have any huge metal keychains on your keys or else they will stop you and it took forever to figure out what it was… not to mention having all your stuff taken out of your bag in front of the whole airport!
it seems that not many over here are very bright , i mean come on he is obviously starting this thread as more of a joke, buttons?! hahah who really cares he is just tryign to get a rise out of you all, and congrats on accomplishing his silly goal.
*Originally posted by THE EDGE *
**it seems that not many over here are very bright , i mean come on he is obviously starting this thread as more of a joke, buttons?! hahah who really cares he is just tryign to get a rise out of you all, and congrats on accomplishing his silly goal. **
Well, I went into the KSC vistors center during the regional and they make you go through metal detectors. I had a bunch of buttons with me and took them off, but it kept going off. They took me to the side and did a pat down and used a little metal detector. It turned out that I had a button in my back pocket. Silly me.
The battery on my cell phone was dead while I was going through the KSC metal detectors. They almost had a fit with me (you know how they make you “change” the screen…) so I had to get my friend give me his battery off his phone so I could prove that, yes, It was a cell phone.
I spent about 5 minutes taking off all my buttons and other items, including my shoes (steel toed boots) at KSC, only to walk through and have my decidly unmetal wallet set it off. After about 3 more tries I figured it out. Then I had to face the inspectors, who were quite concerned about me attempting to carry in a tether cable, set of allen wrenches, and spare fuse.
Here’s a kinda funny one
While at KSC I was with some kids from another team and well they wanted to take in a back pack because it had money and cameras and stuff in it right?
Well he just asked a simple question as to why he coudln’t take it in even if the ysearched it and the secuirty quard was like do you want me to have to use this and this on yo (pointing to a relaly big gun he was holding and to another smaller gun) and then the security guy was like I thought so and the kid left.
Then I had a disposable camera and they wanted me to take a picture with it to prove it wasnt a “weapon” of any sort andi refused to becasue i wasnt going to waste a picture on nothing so they got pissed and i was like wel lif you wanna buy me a new camera then ill take the picture,…they just let me go through.
Weird people
Just wanted to let ya all know that
and plus i was realyl bored=) hehe
Oh jeez, those metal detectors at KSC were a pain. After taking off all your buttons, there was always one you forgot somewhere on you. Even the foil on my friend’s gum set one of them off once.
But still, it’s fun to laugh at people on your team getting frisked.
*Originally posted by Wayne C. *
**I can see all those collected buttons getting thrown out by the security guys at the gates.
**
well dude, last year one of our team members just so happened to have a large clanky medal in his carry-on, and he set off a metal detector. to make it short, it was a pain in the butt, and the security doesn’t find much humor in it. they took is bag and did a little ‘sniff’ for chemicals, but… no major problems, just a waste of time. and remember… nothing large and metallic, nothing sharp, keep that in mind.
–Dave
Insanity is relative.
“Like olympic medals and tennis trophies, all they signified was that the owner had done something of no benefit to anyone more capably than everyone else.”
-Catch 22
In days of old, when knights were bold, and toilets weren’t invented, you left your load upon the road and went along contented
It was rather interesting at KSC. Like 75 kids were trying to get through. I remember each one went through like 4 times. I personally took 4 of those baskets to put metal things in (like 50 buttons, necklaces, multitools, belts, keychains, program backup disks, etc.) it took like 5 minutes to pull all this stuff off since all the buttons were on my shirt and everything else was scattered in the lime 20 pockets of my camo pants.
