The TSA sent an unclassified bulletin to federal air marshals and TSA screeners on July 20th to be on the lookout for “ordinary items that look like improvised explosive device components.”

It seems that over the past year, there has been an increase in the number of seizures of “ordinary items that look like improvised explosive device components.” Examples:

The four seizures were described this way:San Diego, July 7. A U.S. person — either a citizen or a foreigner legally here — checked baggage containing two ice packs covered in duct tape. The ice packs had clay inside them rather than the normal blue gel. Milwaukee, June 4. A U.S. person’s carryon baggage contained wire coil wrapped around a possible initiator, an electrical switch, batteries, three tubes and two blocks of cheese. The bulletin said block cheese has a consistency similar to some explosives. Houston, Nov. 8, 2006. A U.S. person’s checked baggage contained a plastic bag with a 9-volt battery, wires, a block of brown clay-like minerals and pipes. Baltimore, Sept. 16, 2006. A couple’s checked baggage contained a plastic bag with a block of processed cheese taped to another plastic bag holding a cellular phone charger.

The obvious question that the AP article referenced above does not answer: what happened to the four people who had these odd items taken from them?