Who had turtles in a bra on their 2025 bingo card?
The Transportation Security Administration has seen just about everything. But every year, a handful of discoveries rise above the usual pocketknives and oversized shampoo bottles and earn a place in TSA lore.
This week, the agency released its list of the top ten most unusual items discovered at airport security checkpoints in 2025, and while this year’s lineup may be slightly more benign than some infamous lists from the past, it still delivers plenty of head-shaking moments.
Through the years, there have been some…let’s say…unusual items confiscated at TSA security checkpoints. Remember in 2022 when a gun was found inside a raw chicken at Fort Lauderdale Hollywood International Airport (FLL)? Well, it happened. And you can read about it here.
A Chaotic Year at the Checkpoint
Fairly or unfairly, TSA shouldered much of the public’s travel frustration in 2025. The year brought wild weather, record-breaking passenger volumes, the nationwide rollout of REAL ID in May, and a 43-day government shutdown that throttled flights at some of the nation’s busiest airports and left many TSA officers working without pay for weeks.
The numbers alone explain why strange things occasionally slip into the X-ray tunnel. In 2025, TSA screened 906.7 million passengers, averaging about 2.48 million travelers per day. Eight of the ten busiest travel days in US history occurred in 2025, including a record 3.1 million passengers screened on Sunday, 30 November, the day after Thanksgiving.
Over the course of the year, officers screened 2.1 billion carry-on bags and 480 million checked bags, confiscating more than one million prohibited items, including 6,669 firearms.
It goes without saying that with that sheer volume of bags passing through TSA hands each and every day, there are bound to be wacky items discovered from time to time. I’m sure TSA agents reading this right now are laughing to themselves and saying under their breath, “You have NO idea, man. No idea.”
Oh, the stories they could tell.
TSA, But Make It Internet-Savvy
While it may seem odd for a federal security agency to crack jokes about confiscated contraband, TSA has leaned into humor as a way to connect with travelers. Its social media feeds are equal parts public service announcement and dad-joke masterclass, with puns that feel suspiciously well-workshopped.
This year’s unusual finds list continues that tradition. Compared to past years, most of the items were relatively harmless, though “relatively” is doing a lot of work in that sentence.
So, without further ado, here is the official countdown.
The Top Ten Most Unusual TSA Finds of 2025
#10: Bullets and Knives Wrapped in Tinfoil
Akron-Canton Airport (CAK), Ohio, and Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR)
A classic case of optimism over logic. Wrapping ammunition and knives in foil may keep leftovers fresh, but it does not make them invisible to X-ray machines.
#9: Firearm in a Golf Bag
George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH)
A shotgun concealed among golf clubs, complete with a head cover. Apparently, someone took “driving range” a bit too literally.
#8: Bullets in Strawberry Nesquik
Miami International Airport (MIA)
In July, a passenger heading to Cuba tried to sneak 64 hollow-point bullets through security by hiding them inside a rubber glove buried in a container of strawberry Nesquik. TSA officers noticed the container felt unusually heavy, which is generally a bad sign for powdered flavored milk.
#7: Knife in a Child’s Booster Seat
Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW)
A discovery that made seasoned TSA officers pause. The knife was found during screening of a child’s booster seat, prompting a reminder that kids’ gear gets screened just as carefully as adult luggage.
#6: Pills in a Shampoo Bottle
Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport (ANC)
In August, TSA officers discovered two plastic bags filled with hydrocodone and benzodiazepines hidden inside a shampoo bottle in checked luggage. The passenger was arrested, and TSA gently reminded travelers that shampoo is for hair, not pharmaceuticals.
#5: Knife in a Knee Brace
Quad Cities International Airport (MLI), Illinois
Supportive for joints. Not approved for carry-on. The knee brace did its job too well by hiding a blade where no one should be hiding anything sharp.
#4: Drugs in Shoes
Ellison Onizuka Kona International Airport at Keāhole (KOA), Hawaii
Two pairs of sneakers were found stuffed with heroin, fentanyl, ketamine, meth, acid, Xanax bars, and soma pills. TSA summed it up best online:
“Dirty socks are bad enough… but these kicks were criminal.”
#3: Razor Blades in Clothes
Denver International Airport (DEN)
An attempt to scatter razor blades throughout clothing, presumably hoping quantity would equal invisibility. It did not.
#2: Turtles in a Bra and Down Some Pants
Miami International Airport (MIA) and Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR)
Really? This happened not once, but twice? Yes. Really.
In April, a passenger at MIA attempted to smuggle two turtles taped and wrapped inside her bra. TSA responded on social media with a request to “please stop hiding animals in weird places on your body.” Sadly, one of the turtles did not survive.
Just a month earlier at EWR, another passenger tried to conceal a five-inch turtle in his groin, wrapped in a small blue towel. TSA officials noted it was the first time they had encountered someone hiding a live animal down the front of their pants. That turtle, at least, was unharmed.
#1: Explosive Replicas
Boise Airport (BOI), Idaho
Topping the 2025 list of most unusual TSA findings is a replica pipe bomb discovered in May at Boise Airport. After a bag alarmed during screening, TSA explosives specialists found PVC pipes and wooden blocks marked “C4,” complete with wires, an initiator, and a detonator.
The items were determined to be non-functional training aids, abandoned at the checkpoint after the passenger admitted what they were. TSA’s response online captured the moment perfectly:
“BOI, oh boy!”
Final Boarding Call
TSA’s 2025 list may not feature raw poultry packed with firearms or live snakes in carry-ons, but it’s still surprising the lengths people will go to be creative when they are late for a flight.
Somewhere between the booster seat knife and the turtles in undergarments lies the tried and true truth of air travel: no matter how many signs you post, someone will always test the boundaries.
And TSA agents will be there, scanning bags, shaking their heads, and quietly adding another story to the pile.
Now, for one more laugh, check out TSA’s video highlighting the year’s strangest finds.
