This is a sticky situation that began with a podcaster named Patrick Neve heading to the airport in Pittsburgh for a flight.  But after he removed his shoes and his belt… the TSA confiscated the jar of peanut butter in his carry-on.

The TSA agent to grabbed his jar of Jif and said “sorry … no liquids …gels or aerosols in your carry-on.

Patrick’s response… which of the things do you think peanut butter is?

So let’s consider this.  Because 10 million people have now read Patrick's tweet… and the thread has become a national encounter group for the multitudes who feel they’ve been done wrong by those humorless TSA agents.

Ironically… the New York Times reports on Twitter… the TSA does a lot of funny… tongue in cheek tweeting to burnish its image.   About the peanut butter… the agency tweeted “You may not be nuts about it - heh heh… but the TSA considers your Peanut Butter a liquid.  

No surprise.  This is the same government that declared the ketchup in kids’ meals a vegetable.  But this interchange brought out thousands of people including a nurse who had her peanut butter confiscated.  But they let the IV needles in the same bag go through without question.

The TSA definition of a liquid is a substance that takes on the shape of its container.  If you can spill it, spread it, pump it, or pour it… the limit is 3-point-4 ounces.  And they don’t keep your peanut butter...  It gets tossed out. The TSA has a zero-tolerance policy about agents with sticky fingers.