No cannons allowed on board: The TSA’s extraordinary Instagram account

By Daisy Carrington, for CNN
1 minute read
Updated 4:39 AM EDT, Wed October 24, 2018
2,212 firearms were discovered in carry-on bags at checkpoints across the United States in 2014. Of those, 83% were loaded.
Confiscated guns —
2,212 firearms were discovered in carry-on bags at checkpoints across the United States in 2014. Of those, 83% were loaded.
Courtesy Transportation Security Administration
Oddly, grenade art seems to be a common item that travelers try to sneak into their carry-on. Even inert grenades can cause a closure of the checkpoint, warns the TSA, as officers can't distinguish between active and inactive explosives.
Grenade art —
Oddly, grenade art seems to be a common item that travelers try to sneak into their carry-on. Even inert grenades can cause a closure of the checkpoint, warns the TSA, as officers can't distinguish between active and inactive explosives.
John Moore/Getty Images
This cell phone stun gun was discovered in a carry-on bag earlier this year.
Stun phone —
This cell phone stun gun was discovered in a carry-on bag earlier this year.
Courtesy Transportation Security Administration
Martial arts weapons are also not allowed on planes
Martial arts —
Martial arts weapons are also not allowed on planes
Courtesy Transportation Security Administration
Meat cleavers, bread knives and blades of any kind are, of course, prohibited from carry-on luggage.
Kitchen knife-mares —
Meat cleavers, bread knives and blades of any kind are, of course, prohibited from carry-on luggage.
Courtesy Transportation Security Administration
Knives, however, are allowed in checked luggage.
Check your blade —
Knives, however, are allowed in checked luggage.
Courtesy Transportation Security Administration
This dagger, hidden inside a replica of the Eiffel Tower, was confiscated at the airport in Oakland International Airport in California.
Artfully concealed —
This dagger, hidden inside a replica of the Eiffel Tower, was confiscated at the airport in Oakland International Airport in California.
Courtesy Transportation Security Administration
While all knives are prohibited, the TSA warns that concealed blades (like the one hidden in this battery charger) can lead to extra fines and arrest.
Concealer —
While all knives are prohibited, the TSA warns that concealed blades (like the one hidden in this battery charger) can lead to extra fines and arrest.
Courtesy Transportation Security Administration
That includes knives hidden in food items, such as the one that a passenger tried to smuggle inside this enchilada.
The whole enchilada —
That includes knives hidden in food items, such as the one that a passenger tried to smuggle inside this enchilada.
Courtesy Transportation Security Administration
A lipstick knife was discovered in a carry-on bag at Milwaukee in January.
Leave the lipstick —
A lipstick knife was discovered in a carry-on bag at Milwaukee in January.
Courtesy Transportation Security Administration.
This "burning book" is a gag from a magic store. The safety of traveling with such an item is questionable in the best of times, says the TSA. Even if the item weren't flammable, it bears an eery resemblance to an improvised explosive device.
Burning book —
This "burning book" is a gag from a magic store. The safety of traveling with such an item is questionable in the best of times, says the TSA. Even if the item weren't flammable, it bears an eery resemblance to an improvised explosive device.
Courtesy Transportation Security Administration
Leave the rocket launcher at home
CNN  — 

Trying to board a plane with a loaded gun, grenade or cannon in one’s carry-on is a pretty bone-headed move, one you’d assume most travelers would know to avoid.

Unfortunately, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) confiscates thousands of weapons from carry-on luggage each year (the agency discovered 2,212 guns in 2014 alone).

The TSA, which as part of the United States’ Homeland Security Agency faces a possible shutdown this week, posts photos of some of its most memorable confiscations on its Instagram account.

While informative (did you know you could carry pecan pie through security?), the account is equal parts terrifying and hilarious, thanks in part to a deadpan, often tongue-in-cheek writing style.

Not quite as state-of-the-art as some expended weaponry that the TSA confiscates, but this cannon was still a no-no when found in checked luggage.