As O'Hare's busiest day approaches, we all might need a little reminder

Flying to Toronto early this year to visit family, I fell on the wrong side of the law.

Or rather my carry-on bag did.

Despite hearing and reading reports ad infinitum about the Transportation Security Administration's ban on containers with liquids or gel bigger than 3 ounces in carry-on luggage, I had a brain cramp while packing in a hurry.

I didn't blame the security agents who confiscated my contact lens bottle. I considered myself an idiot who forgot the obvious.

But I'm not alone. In fact my mistake ranks on the ho-hum level for any seasoned TSA officer.

I've got nothing on the guy who tried to bring the alternator on board.

The would-be sailor who thought a boat motor was an acceptable carry-on.

The traveling cook who took a Cuisinart blade along for the ride.

Or - wait for it - the passenger who couldn't leave their Taser behind.

A lot of security checkpoint boo-boos are the result of innocent mistakes, TSA spokeswoman Lara Uselding said. "But you have to question where someone's marbles are if they bring a loaded gun to a checkpoint."

With Thanksgiving just a few days away, it's a good time to revisit a trip I made this summer to a storage closet at O'Hare International Airport, where TSA agents store all the contraband they collect at security checkpoints.

There's usually enough to fill several bins until it's collected and destroyed.

So what else do busted travelers hand over?

• Bottles of expensive scotch and wine.

• A camping shovel.

• Souvenir baseball bats from Cubs and Sox games.

• Gassed-up chainsaws.

• Darts.

• A hockey stick.

• Corkscrews.

• Pepper spray.

• Tools.

"There's a lot of things that can be used for weapons," says Douglas Ruhde, the TSA's coordination center manager at O'Hare.

Some of the verboten items caught before their owners boarded are so obvious you have to wonder what the owners were thinking, including dangerous-looking 5-inch hunting knives and a cap gun.

There also was an expensive velvet case containing two silver knives intended to cut a wedding cake.

That gift that never made it to the bride or groom would have been perfectly OK if the wedding guest had stowed it in a checked bag.

Some regulations have eased up this year. For instance, fliers now can bring medical supplies, such as saline solution or insulin, and breast milk and formula in larger quantities than 3 ounces in their carry-on bags. To speed up the process, the TSA advises pointing out these items to security officers as you proceed through checkpoints.

For a quick brush-up on what's permitted and prohibited in carry-on luggage, check the TSA's Web site at tsa.gov.

It's got the skinny on what's allowed - yes to canes, umbrellas, disposable razors, cakes and pies. No to brass knuckles, axes, cricket bats, gravy and cranberry sauce.

And if you wondered what's allowable in checked luggage - cattle prods are OK but leave the dynamite at home. They'll be quite enough family fireworks without the added stimulus.

Incoming

• There won't be free pumpkin pie on trains but Metra is offering a variety of Thanksgiving fare breaks this week. These include $5 passes good for travel all day Thanksgiving and Friday. Also, children under 12 ride free provided they're accompanied by a fare-paying adult up to a limit of three kids Thursday through Nov. 30.

• Nothing like going through O'Hare or Midway over Thanksgiving along with 2.5 million other people. To soothe frazzled travelers, both airports will offer live jazz, classical, blues and international music on Wednesday from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. The Radio City Rockettes will be shaking a leg at O'Hare Wednesday also. Rockettes are not allowed in carry-on luggage, authorities advise.

• Now if this doesn't put you in the holiday spirit, nothing will. The Illinois Department of Transportation has announced it will suspend construction work around the state from 3 p.m. Wednesday to midnight Thanksgiving. IDOT also provides travel directions and winter road condition updates at gettingaroundIllinois.com.

• The Chicago Transit Authority will operate trains and buses on a holiday/Sunday schedule this Thanksgiving but return to normal Friday.