# Omnibus Stupid MFers in the news thread (Part 1) **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [January 31, 2021, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omnibus-stupid-mfers-in-the-news-thread-part-1/931945 "2021-01-31T21:25:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 337
**Author:** ![DavidNRockies](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidnrockies/32/6279_2.png) [@DavidNRockies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidNRockies)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2023, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omnibus-stupid-mfers-in-the-news-thread-part-1/931945/6731 "2023-03-02T19:54:55Z")
Time for tactical passports. Kevlar, Baby… ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2023, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omnibus-stupid-mfers-in-the-news-thread-part-1/931945/6732 "2023-03-02T19:57:27Z")
> [@DavidNRockies](#): > > Time for tactical passports. This site has a Kevlar passport holder. > **[Bullet Blocker NIJ IIIA Passport Wallet](https://www.bulletblocker.com/bulletblocker-nij-iiia-bulletproof-passport-wallet.html)** > > The BulletBlocker NIJ IIIA Bulletproof Leather Passport Wallet features several micromesh slots to hold identification cards, credit cards and your passport. It has a document holder with RFID blocking technology that prevents unauthorized access to... I wouldn’t actually count on it though. ---
**Author:** ![DavidNRockies](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidnrockies/32/6279_2.png) [@DavidNRockies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidNRockies)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2023, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omnibus-stupid-mfers-in-the-news-thread-part-1/931945/6733 "2023-03-02T20:00:43Z")
And Jesus wept. ---
**Author:** ![InternetLegend](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/internetlegend/32/13154_2.png) [@InternetLegend](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/InternetLegend)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2023, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omnibus-stupid-mfers-in-the-news-thread-part-1/931945/6734 "2023-03-02T20:14:45Z")
I still really, really want to hear how a hotel “mistakenly” shredded more than 40 passports. How did they even have them in the first place? Were they keeping them in the hotel safe? Did they somehow get mixed in with old hotel financial records on the day a shredding service came? Even if you thought that your **gigantic foreign tour group** had somehow left without their passports, why would you shred them?? It’s not like they won’t be needing them pretty soon! Also, who’s going to be paying for over 40 people to stay for extra days? There are hotel and food costs, airline ticket change fees, and I saw that the fees to replace the passports totaled $180 each. I’m assuming the hotel will end up covering all those expenses, and they should probably be thanking their lucky stars that there aren’t any American parents involved, given our general litigiousness. ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2023, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omnibus-stupid-mfers-in-the-news-thread-part-1/931945/6735 "2023-03-02T20:19:40Z")
> [@carrps](#): > > Oh, yeah, and I admit I’ve gotten pretty cavalier about it. I’m notorious for forgetting to put the sticker on my car, because I know it’s not a big deal. HERE. I _did_ renew my Suburban but the stickers and slip never arrived – stolen out of the mail box most likely. I kept meaning to contact the DMV about it but kept putting it off until two years passed and I had to renew again. It wasn’t my daily driver but I’d take it out once a month or so, including a run to Burning Man, 900-miles each way. Never got pulled over. ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2023, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omnibus-stupid-mfers-in-the-news-thread-part-1/931945/6736 "2023-03-02T20:20:05Z")
> [@InternetLegend](#): > > they should probably be thanking their lucky stars that there aren’t any American parents involved, given our general litigiousness Oh, they are certainly getting sued. It’s not as though Brits don’t know the way things work over here, or that attorneys here won’t have noticed and be pitching for the business with this many involved. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2023, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omnibus-stupid-mfers-in-the-news-thread-part-1/931945/6737 "2023-03-02T20:35:21Z")
> [@InternetLegend](#): > > Also, who’s going to be paying for over 40 people to stay for extra days? There are hotel and food costs, airline ticket change fees, and I saw that the fees to replace the passports totaled $180 each. Sounds like the British Embassy in New York covered everything except the passport fees. They certainly paid for sightseeing. > [@Riemann](#): > > Oh, they are certainly getting sued. I’m pretty sure that would be after asking the lodge for reimbursements and they refuse. ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2023, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omnibus-stupid-mfers-in-the-news-thread-part-1/931945/6738 "2023-03-02T23:41:21Z")
> [@InternetLegend](#): > > How did they even have them in the first place? This is what gets me. I am in a foreign country and I hand my passport over to the desk clerk to hold on to? Sorry, not happening. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2023, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omnibus-stupid-mfers-in-the-news-thread-part-1/931945/6739 "2023-03-03T00:21:42Z")
> [@eschereal](#): > > I am in a foreign country and I hand my passport over to the desk clerk to hold on to? Sorry, not happening. I went to Mexico recently and we kept our passports in a safe in the hotel room. We didn’t want anyone touching them. ---
**Author:** ![squeegee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/squeegee/32/14537_2.png) [@squeegee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/squeegee)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2023, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omnibus-stupid-mfers-in-the-news-thread-part-1/931945/6740 "2023-03-03T02:23:38Z")
> [@eschereal](#): > > This is what gets me. I am in a foreign country and I hand my passport over to the desk clerk to hold on to? Sorry, not happening It’s actually quite common in Europe (certainly in Italy last I was there) for hotels to require you to store your passport with them. Insurance against you skipping sans paying I suppose. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2023, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omnibus-stupid-mfers-in-the-news-thread-part-1/931945/6741 "2023-03-03T03:09:40Z")
What do they do about all the people traveling within Europe but without a passport? Do they only require passports from people they know will need them to get to and from their home to the hotel? I don’t know enough about the EU/Schengen Area to know how easy it is to collect from someone that lives across a border, but I assume it would be akin to a hotel in California requiring passports from people coming from out of the country, but not someone coming from Chicago. ---
**Author:** ![squeegee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/squeegee/32/14537_2.png) [@squeegee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/squeegee)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2023, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omnibus-stupid-mfers-in-the-news-thread-part-1/931945/6742 "2023-03-03T03:15:35Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#): > > What do they do about all the people traveling within Europe but without a passport? I don’t know. Maybe it’s no longer common because of the EU. It was certainly unremarkable before then. ---
**Author:** ![squeegee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/squeegee/32/14537_2.png) [@squeegee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/squeegee)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2023, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omnibus-stupid-mfers-in-the-news-thread-part-1/931945/6743 "2023-03-03T03:46:55Z")
I’ll be in Italy in May and will report back. I’m from the US, so either the hotel won’t ask for my passport, or they will because I’m non-EU. I was in Thailand in December, and nobody outside of an airport wants your passport in my experience. ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2023, 4:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omnibus-stupid-mfers-in-the-news-thread-part-1/931945/6744 "2023-03-03T04:19:05Z")
> [@squeegee](#): > > It’s actually quite common in Europe (certainly in Italy last I was there) for hotels to require you to store your passport with them. Insurance against you skipping sans paying I suppose. That’s what I was thinking when I read the story, “An American Hotel collecting your passport? I thought that was a European thing.” ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2023, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omnibus-stupid-mfers-in-the-news-thread-part-1/931945/6745 "2023-03-03T04:26:27Z")
I could imagine maybe a teacher in charge of 40 kids thinking it was a good idea to collect all the passports and ask the hotel to put them in its safe? But I think many U.S. hotels would refuse, they don’t want the liability. They don’t want to be responsible for exactly this outcome. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2023, 4:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omnibus-stupid-mfers-in-the-news-thread-part-1/931945/6746 "2023-03-03T04:31:14Z")
> [@Riemann](#): > > I could imagine maybe a teacher in charge of 40 kids thinking it was a good idea to collect all the passports and ask the hotel to put them in its safe? But I think many U.S. hotels would refuse, they don’t want the liability. They don’t want to be responsible for exactly this outcome. - That still doesn’t explain who decided to destroy all the passports or why. ---
**Author:** ![JaneDoe42](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/janedoe42/32/14104_2.png) [@JaneDoe42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JaneDoe42)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2023, 5:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omnibus-stupid-mfers-in-the-news-thread-part-1/931945/6747 "2023-03-03T05:04:39Z")
There are many, MANY people out this way who would not recognize a passport or know that it is important. The level of willful ignorance out this way is just gobsmacking, and the schools teach for the level of education that PAB liked. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2023, 10:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omnibus-stupid-mfers-in-the-news-thread-part-1/931945/6748 "2023-03-03T10:16:50Z")
> [@Riemann](#): > > I could imagine maybe a teacher in charge of 40 kids thinking it was a good idea to collect all the passports and ask the hotel to put them in its safe? My daughter’s going on a school trip to Italy soon. There are no in-room safes, so the teachers will indeed be collecting all passports and keeping them in the hotel safe. ---
**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2023, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omnibus-stupid-mfers-in-the-news-thread-part-1/931945/6749 "2023-03-03T14:55:05Z")
> [@JaneDoe42](#): > > The level of willful ignorance out this way is just gobsmacking, and the schools teach for the level of education that PAB liked. I don’t know what “PAB” means in this context. ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2023, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omnibus-stupid-mfers-in-the-news-thread-part-1/931945/6750 "2023-03-03T14:59:25Z")
> **[Trump Begged Twitter to Delete a Tweet Calling Him a 'Pussy Ass Bitch'](https://gizmodo.com/donald-trump-chrissy-teigen-tweet-hunter-biden-hearing-1850089753)** > > Republicans grilled former Twitter employees over colluding to burry the Hunter Biden laptop story. They ended up embarrassing Donald Trump. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omnibus-stupid-mfers-in-the-news-thread-part-1/931945.md?page=336) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omnibus-stupid-mfers-in-the-news-thread-part-1/931945.md?page=338)