Word: liquids
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...Reader is about the size of a trade paperback, though thinner, and instead of a liquid-crystal display, its 6-in. screen uses E-Ink technology. Each of its finely packed pixels can be white or black but they don't shimmer or emit any light, so the experience is eerily like looking at paper, high in contrast and relaxing on the eye. The tradeoff is that E-Ink can't yet refresh fast enough to show video, and even scrolling or zooming is a complicated business, but that's not the purpose of the Reader. Even without a backlight...
...many have noted, liquids are not a new threat. Terrorists have tried to use liquid explosives for almost two decades, with only one notable success (in 1987, North Korean agents blew up a South Korean airplane). But as Time magazine notes, of the roughly 2,000 bombs planted on U.S. territory every year, almost none are liquid explosives. Six months ago the TSA itself stated, “While random items commonly found under a kitchen sink could conceivably be concocted into an IED [improvised explosive device], there are so many things that could go wrong with this hypothetical scenario...
...Because liquid explosives are extremely volatile—simple friction can be enough to set them off—and very dangerous even in a steady laboratory setting. An attempt to combine liquid explosives in a bouncy airplane is likely to cause a prematurely explosion, inducing damage but not enough “bang” to blow the plane. Furthermore, mixing components on board, as the London suspects allegedly planned to do, produces a noxious smell that any half-witted air steward would notice...
...Given the low probability of a liquid bombing and the difficulty of detecting a liquid explosive—it could be anything from Jello to a gel pen—banning liquids simply doesn’t pass a rational cost-benefit analysis...
...only effective means for guarding against liquid explosives, banning all non-essential carry-on items, is a massive inconvenience and a logistical nightmare. Certainly, the risk of liquid explosions will be almost completely eliminated, but at what cost? When the U.K. sharply limited carry-on items in the immediate wake of the August plot, roughly 20,000 bags were lost at Heathrow...