Second Annual Movie-Plot Threat Contest Semi-Finalists
On April 1, I announced the Second Annual Movie-Plot Threat Contest:
Your goal: invent a terrorist plot to hijack or blow up an airplane with a commonly carried item as a key component. The component should be so critical to the plot that the TSA will have no choice but to ban the item once the plot is uncovered. I want to see a plot horrific and ridiculous, but just plausible enough to take seriously.
Make the TSA ban wristwatches. Or laptop computers. Or polyester. Or zippers over three inches long. You get the idea.
Your entry will be judged on the common item that the TSA has no choice but to ban, as well as the cleverness of the plot. It has to be realistic; no science fiction, please. And the write-up is critical; last year the best entries were the most entertaining to read.
Well, the submissions are in; the blog entry has 334 comments. I’ve read them all, and here are the semi-finalists:
- Butterflies and beverages; water must be banned.
- Dimethylmercury; security checkpoints must be banned, but of course they can’t be. Oh, what to do!
- Oxy-hydrogen bomb; wires—earphones, power cables, etc.—must be banned.
Cast your vote; I’ll announce the winner on the 15th.
Michael Ash • June 5, 2007 12:27 PM
I don’t buy the first and last ones for plausibility. They’re both based on the idea of using a very small explosive to take out an airliner. However evidence would seem to indicate that this doesn’t work, and that you need a pretty big bang to do the job. The case of Pan Am 103 was exceptional and due to extremely bad luck in the placement of the bomb, and I don’t think it could be replicated at all from the passenger cabin. What’s more, the explosives described are extremely weak, and would probably do nothing more than scare people.
I know that these aren’t necessarily supposed to be 100% realistic, but I have a tough time suspending my disbelief at all with these two.