# You Can't Take A Finger Nail Clipper On A Plane, But A Bloody Chain Saw Is OK **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [June 8, 2005, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-cant-take-a-finger-nail-clipper-on-a-plane-but-a-bloody-chain-saw-is-ok/307382 "2005-06-08T00:13:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![DMark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@DMark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMark)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2005, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-cant-take-a-finger-nail-clipper-on-a-plane-but-a-bloody-chain-saw-is-ok/307382/1 "2005-06-08T00:13:36Z")
[This story](http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8132799/) is just too odd to let pass by. And the photo is priceless. ---
**Author:** ![Kythereia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e8c25b/32.png) [@Kythereia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kythereia)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2005, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-cant-take-a-finger-nail-clipper-on-a-plane-but-a-bloody-chain-saw-is-ok/307382/2 "2005-06-08T00:19:29Z")
This is _so_ a hoax. It’s gotta be, right? …right? ---
**Author:** ![CynicalGabe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/3e96dc/32.png) [@CynicalGabe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CynicalGabe)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2005, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-cant-take-a-finger-nail-clipper-on-a-plane-but-a-bloody-chain-saw-is-ok/307382/3 "2005-06-08T00:24:23Z")
You can’t take a bloody or otherwise chainsaw on the pane either. Neither did Despres. He arrived at the US-Canada border and was arrested. You make it sound like he snuck it on a 747. ---
**Author:** ![brickbacon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/898d66/32.png) [@brickbacon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brickbacon)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2005, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-cant-take-a-finger-nail-clipper-on-a-plane-but-a-bloody-chain-saw-is-ok/307382/4 "2005-06-08T00:26:53Z")
Good thing for him that looking like a nutcase isn’t a crime. ---
**Author:** ![cabdude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/58956e/32.png) [@cabdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cabdude)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2005, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-cant-take-a-finger-nail-clipper-on-a-plane-but-a-bloody-chain-saw-is-ok/307382/5 "2005-06-08T00:45:16Z")
Yeah - that mugshot should have set alarm bells ringing straight off. ---
**Author:** ![Beware\_of\_Doug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@Beware\_of\_Doug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beware_of_Doug)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2005, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-cant-take-a-finger-nail-clipper-on-a-plane-but-a-bloody-chain-saw-is-ok/307382/6 "2005-06-08T01:31:36Z")
Shee-_it_ yes. He looks like _Our Gang_’s Alfalfa as re-envisioned by Fritz Lang. ---
**Author:** ![dare\_devil007](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/3bc359/32.png) [@dare\_devil007](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dare_devil007)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2005, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-cant-take-a-finger-nail-clipper-on-a-plane-but-a-bloody-chain-saw-is-ok/307382/7 "2005-06-08T01:34:11Z")
> [@cabdude](#): > > Yeah - that mugshot should have set alarm bells ringing straight off. Oh, my God! You’re so right!! Jeez, that guy has freaky eyes. People with freaky eyes scare me…Hold me. ---
**Author:** ![Dragwyr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dragwyr/32/2855_2.png) [@Dragwyr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dragwyr)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2005, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-cant-take-a-finger-nail-clipper-on-a-plane-but-a-bloody-chain-saw-is-ok/307382/8 "2005-06-08T01:39:47Z")
His photo looks photoshopped to me, but that’s just my opinion. ---
**Author:** ![cabdude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/58956e/32.png) [@cabdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cabdude)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2005, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-cant-take-a-finger-nail-clipper-on-a-plane-but-a-bloody-chain-saw-is-ok/307382/9 "2005-06-08T01:48:45Z")
> [@dare\_devil007\_](#): > > Oh, my God! You’re so right!! Jeez, that guy has freaky eyes. People with freaky eyes scare me…Hold me. Only if you hold me _shivers_ ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2005, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-cant-take-a-finger-nail-clipper-on-a-plane-but-a-bloody-chain-saw-is-ok/307382/10 "2005-06-08T02:33:36Z")
> [@CynicalGabe](#): > > You can’t take a bloody or otherwise chainsaw on the pane either. Neither did Despres. He arrived at the US-Canada border and was arrested. No, he wasn’t arrested at the border. They confiscated the various items as a condition of entry, but since he was an American citizen and they had no information that he had committed a crime, they had to let him in. He was arrested in Massachusetts two days later by the local police. ---
**Author:** ![GingerOfTheNorth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/cdc98d/32.png) [@GingerOfTheNorth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GingerOfTheNorth)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2005, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-cant-take-a-finger-nail-clipper-on-a-plane-but-a-bloody-chain-saw-is-ok/307382/11 "2005-06-08T03:57:42Z")
They make it sound like they just let the guy go through. Like Northern Piper said, they had to let him in without evidence of warrants or that he had committed a crime. ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2005, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-cant-take-a-finger-nail-clipper-on-a-plane-but-a-bloody-chain-saw-is-ok/307382/12 "2005-06-08T04:08:00Z")
I thought you were going to talk about [this story.](http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=domesticNews&storyID=8723742) Or, Why not to stowaway in the wheel well, parts 2. ---
**Author:** ![Ogre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ecb155/32.png) [@Ogre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ogre)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2005, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-cant-take-a-finger-nail-clipper-on-a-plane-but-a-bloody-chain-saw-is-ok/307382/13 "2005-06-08T04:10:19Z")
Man, I haven’t seen a devilock since Samhain broke up. ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2005, 5:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-cant-take-a-finger-nail-clipper-on-a-plane-but-a-bloody-chain-saw-is-ok/307382/14 "2005-06-08T05:35:22Z")
> [@Ogre](#): > > Man, I haven’t seen a devilock since Samhain broke up. Those “new” Misfits have them, don’t they? ---
**Author:** ![danceswithcats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9e8a1a/32.png) [@danceswithcats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/danceswithcats)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2005, 6:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-cant-take-a-finger-nail-clipper-on-a-plane-but-a-bloody-chain-saw-is-ok/307382/15 "2005-06-08T06:05:12Z")
Reality check on aisle three. ---
**Author:** ![Scissorjack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c67d28/32.png) [@Scissorjack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scissorjack)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2005, 11:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-cant-take-a-finger-nail-clipper-on-a-plane-but-a-bloody-chain-saw-is-ok/307382/16 "2005-06-08T11:08:05Z")
Now _that’s_ a country song: Come hear the tale Of Greg Despres His mayhem and disorder He stabbed mah wife Cut off mah head And lit out for the border. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2005, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-cant-take-a-finger-nail-clipper-on-a-plane-but-a-bloody-chain-saw-is-ok/307382/17 "2005-06-08T13:27:03Z")
Here’s where I’m having cognitive dissonance: > [@](#): > > Bill Anthony, a spokesman for U.S. Customs and Border Protection, said the Canada-born Despres could not be detained because he is a naturalized U.S. citizen and was not wanted on any criminal charges on the day in question. > > Anthony said Despres was questioned for two hours before he was released. During that time, he said, customs agents employed “every conceivable method” to check for warrants or see if Despres had broken any laws in trying to re-enter the country. AND > [@](#): > > On the same day Despres crossed the border, he was due in a Canadian court to be sentenced on charges he assaulted and threatened to kill Fulton’s son-in-law, Frederick Mowat, last August. To quote the esteemable Jon Stewart: “WAAAAAAAAAaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhh???” Can we not get these guys a message board so they can tell each other who’s a Bad Guy? ezBoard’s free, if not very reliable! ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2005, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-cant-take-a-finger-nail-clipper-on-a-plane-but-a-bloody-chain-saw-is-ok/307382/18 "2005-06-08T13:37:09Z")
Well, he was due in court. That sounds to me like he was on bail, not wanted, so he wouldn’t be on the Canadian database of people wanted by the police. I would assume that the Court would have issued a bench warrant for his arrest when he didn’t show up that day, but that warrant then would have to be entered on the database - there’s always some lag time. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2005, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-cant-take-a-finger-nail-clipper-on-a-plane-but-a-bloody-chain-saw-is-ok/307382/19 "2005-06-08T13:43:58Z")
> [@Northern Piper](#): > > Well, he was due in court. That sounds to me like he was on bail, not wanted, so he wouldn’t be on the Canadian database of people wanted by the police. I would assume that the Court would have issued a bench warrant for his arrest when he didn’t show up that day, but that warrant then would have to be entered on the database - there’s always some lag time. Yeah, I get that. Just seems to me, in the World Ruled by WhyNot, that a simple list of people due in court for sentancing today might be nice to have to limit people panic fleeing. Probably a logistical nightmare, I know, but not undoable. A quick upload of each court’s docket for the day to a central database would do. At least that, paired with the possible bloody chain saw, might have given them a reason to detain him or tell him he couldn’t cross until the sentance was rendered or something. Yes, I’m aware that I probably posted at least 12 not legal things there relating to unlawful restraint and privacy violations. I’m just thinking out loud here. ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2005, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-cant-take-a-finger-nail-clipper-on-a-plane-but-a-bloody-chain-saw-is-ok/307382/20 "2005-06-08T14:37:09Z")
The one thing about this that gets me is that he was carrying a chainsaw that appeared to be covered in blood. > [@](#): > > Anthony conceded it “sounds stupid” that a man wielding what appeared to be a bloody chain saw could not be detained. But he added:\*\* “Our people don’t have a crime lab up there. They can’t look at a chain saw and decide if it’s blood or rust or red paint.”\*\* Bolding mine. How stupid do you have to be to not be able to tell the difference between rust, paint and blood? I imagine that anybody with an IQ over 75 could make a cursory assesment. Now, could you tell if it was human blood vs. cow blood? No, for that you would need a lab, but not to be able to tell that it was blood just boggles my mind. Has anyone ever seen any paint with the texture and consistancy of blood? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-cant-take-a-finger-nail-clipper-on-a-plane-but-a-bloody-chain-saw-is-ok/307382.md?page=2)