Gadling

Last week Catherine pondered the question, what does the TSA do with your confiscated goods? Well, we learned that knives and cigarette lighters, for example, are donated to the Boy Scouts (um, just kidding about the cigarette lighters, folks!). Other metals are melted down and recycled.

But not everything is given away or destroyed. Many states save the confiscated items and actually sell them online.

So, if you're wondering how to get back that Louisville Slugger you purchased at the Louisville Slugger Museum in Kentucky and thought you could take on the plane, check out Heather Eng's recent Budget Travel article, Leftover Loot. Not only does she post links to sites that sell confiscated TSA goods, but she also reports on some of the "craziest items" routinely taken from passengers. For example, travelers in Illinois apparently like to fly with nunchucks. And furry handcuffs are all the rage with passengers in Pennsylvania. Go figure.

Related Link: Buying Other People's Lost Luggage

Filed under: Airports