Can the TSA's $200,000 apiece full-body scanners be foiled simply by placing objects to the side of your body? That's what blogger Jonathan Corbett claims — and he's posted a video showing him smuggling a small metal tin through security at two different airports using a pocket sewn onto the side of his shirt. The scanners generate images of the front and rear of your body, with any objects a passenger may be concealing showing up in black against the bright white skin. Corbett suggests that by placing an item to one side of your body, the object will be invisible against the black background of the scanned image.
Corbett and the TSA have history: he was the first to sue the agency on the grounds of invasion of privacy following the scanners' introduction back in November 2010. In response, TSA spokesperson Lisa Farbestein told Digital Trends that the video is "a crude attempt to allegedly show how to circumvent TSA screening procedures," and that the scanners have been successful in the past in revealing passengers carrying guns, knives, grenades, and even a loaded spear gun. The court case continues, with Corbett planning to petition the Supreme Court in the coming months.