[Public-List] Story of an ordeal...

[Gordon Laco]

I only took chemistry up to grade 13 in high school… switched to history after that.   I supposed I should have known.

We have another object in our house which resulted in drama at airport security…

After doing a documentary in England I was at Heathrow waiting to fly home.   One of the Brits I worked with gave a gift…  a 12” long model of a 24pdr ships’s cannon.   The barrel is cast iron.  
I put the model (dismounted from its wooden ship’s carriage) in my suitcase in the midst of my clothing.    

An announcement came over the airport PA system… (imagine a female British accent)   “Would Go-don Laaay-co please report to the information kiosk in the departures level.”    I thought ‘Oh no, it’s the cannon…'

At the kiosk I found a customs inspector and two policemen waiting for me.   I introduced myself… the inspector said ‘come with us’.    Away we went through a doorway marked ‘employees only’ and down various hallways and stairs to a fairly shabby looking white room deep in the airport terminal.  There was my red suitcase on a steel table in the centre of the room, with another customs officer.

I started my explanation but the senior inspector just held his hand up to silence me, and nodded to one of his colleagues.  This fellow began reading a list of questions I had to answer with yes or no.   Did I pack this suitcase myself…  am I aware of its contents…  has it been out of my possession since I packed it (well yes, when I gave it to the airline at check in…)  Finally the last question was ‘Are you willing to open your suitcase for inspection?’   

I opened it, dug through my stuff and lifted out the cast iron cannon barrel.  The senior inspector asked me to describe what it is…  he held it in his hands.  Then he asked me if it could fire.   I said no.  He said why not?   I pointed to the place where the touch hole of a fireable cannon would be and said ’no touch hole’.     He looked at me over his reading glasses, which were down toward the tip of his nose (imagine a rolling Scottish accent) ‘And YOU, Mr Laco, would NEVER drill that touch hole?’   I nearly flung my glasses off my face while shaking my head and saying oh, NO I’d never do THAT’.   He stared at me for a long time, then handed it back to me and said ‘have a pleasant trip home’.

I have never drilled out the touch hole.   

Gordon Laco
#426 Surprise




> On Mar 8, 2019, at 12:22 PM, Michael Connolly via Public-List <public-list at lists.alberg30.org> wrote:
> 
> Gord,
> Only you so we can get yet another terrific story. Organic as in Organic Chemistry....................Hydrocarbons.
> Michael
>> On March 7, 2019 at 4:37 PM Stephen Gwyn via Public-List <public-list at lists.alberg30.org> wrote:
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> The word "organic" has changed meaning in common use
>> in the last half century, drifting from the original
>> scientific meaning where it was roughly synonymous
>> with "hydrocarbon". You aren't allowed to bring
>> liquid hydrocarbons on a plane because they are
>> usually flammable. Compass oil is probably a lot
>> less flammable then say, gasoline. But I'm not
>> at all surprised you weren't allowed to bring what
>> was probably a litre of liquid hydrocarbons onto
>> a plane.
>> 
>> SG
>> 
>> 
>> 
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