They say 'always travel light,' but some people understand the reverse. These people book a flight to carry their whole world for a night. Because there are no rules to packing except the weight limit of the luggage, some people go all out and try to sneak in the most absurd and unnecessary items. 

They either do it in the main luggage or purposely take the ludicrously unsuitable stuff in their capacious carry-ons on the flight. Whether these people intentionally put them, have some 'sentimental value' attached to the material, or are just trying their luck, airport security staff have come across some really 'interesting' stuff. From fake teeth to sex toys to cremated cats (yes, you read that right) to pizza, there's no limit to what a crazy human can carry within their few kilograms of luggage. And it gets weirder and more explicit. But nothing can get past the security check-ins. A Reddit user, u/Joecalone, asked a question on Reddit's r/AskReddit community, "Airport workers of Reddit, what's the weirdest item someone has tried to take through security?" The answers that followed were rib-tickling. 

Here are 20 of the most shocking and bizarre items passengers slide into their bags. Have a good laugh.

1. *smells fishy*

My uncle once had to hand inspect a case full of various sized dildos because one of the dogs smelled something funny. - u/Ryuksan2021

2. Sigh!

As an Airport Security worker, I have seen all kinds of things try to go through, chainsaws, blowtorches and the worst one was a Chloroform, a 1 litre bottle of Chloroform.. wtf.. Dildos and vibrators are a regular thing.. - u/B00dle

3. Run for your life

"I can take a chainsaw through if I empty out the gas right?" I just stared at him for a long time. - u/Jazzman92

4. Wait, what?

Former ramp agent here, we processed an "emotional support goose" apparently it acted as a soothing flight buddy for the passenger...not sure how that works! - u/RoightThen

5. Eww!!

Hey throw away for this. Cremated cat inside a leather satchel, inside a vagina of an extremely obese woman. Cremated in her fireplace, still had some fur and bones. Kid you not. - u/Thrrroowwawayairport

6. Eww times 3

My top 3 as a pilot. I saw a Hatian try to bring a dead rooster and other voodoo trinkets including knives in his carry on. Also a person put a dead dog that was badly decayed in checked luggage. I would say it was dead over a week. Hunters ground up their deer put it in cardboard boxes, ducked taped and froze it solid. They expected the mass of the frozen block to keep the meat cool and not ooze blood on to everyone else's stuff. - u/tagt8er

7. OMG!

I screened a checked bag that had a full dog leather bondage suit. Freaked me the heck out! Also one day I was doing a bag check on a strange dense metal item. It was a woman and her son, the item was some weird piece of metal. I didn't know what it was but I knew it wasn't dangerous. Anyway, She saw what it was and yelled at her son "DON'T LOOK OR YOU'LL GO BLIND" she whispered to me that it was a kegal exerciser. I re-ran the bag through the X-Ray so the operator could see what it looked like without the item in the bag and he said "what the hell was that" I told him and he had no idea what Kegals were and why someone would need to exercise them. I gave her the bag back and tried not to die laughing because of her poor sheltered child. - u/sneedo

8. Bizarre

Friend works as a flight attendant. She told me about some guy who was stopped from going on a plane because he had a suitcase full of female mannequin parts, head, body etc all taken apart. Apparently security thought he was smuggling drugs, just turned out he like mannequins. - u/CarolineCoffee

9. Quite a pull

Believe or not, a high powered magnet. I'm sure there's hundreds of stories of dildos and other gross shit, but weirdest? Yes, a magnet. This thing was so powerful that, while still in the bag, was ripping off the rollers on our conveyor and literally took 3 adult men to get off. If you put this thing around 1.5 feet from a metal object and weren't holding it properly it would fly out of your hand. This idiot who was working that day had braces and if I didn't stop him he probably would've ripped out all his teeth. Just so strange and random. We didn't let him take it with him. - u/SuperSaiyanNoob

10. But why?

A guy once passed through with two suitcases filled with egg cartons. EMPTY egg cartons. That was it. After some questioning we let him go; he refused to answer a single question and only kept asking 'Is this illegal? Why am I not free to go?" I lie awake at night wondering what his story was...  -u/Icanus

11. Hmm, no...

I process military flights and you wouldn't believe the crap people try to smuggle to and from operational theatres. Smoke grenades ("I forgot I had them!") Pen flares ("But it's not prepared to fire though") a magazine full of 5.56 rounds ("I didn't know it had to be empty") and knives of all sizes hidden behind plates in body armour. (Top tip - you may as well clench the blade between your teeth like Rambo as it's no less-subtle in a bag - it stands out like a dog's dick on a machine). In the defence of most squaddies, they're tired and bored so they often make mistakes. -u/JLBate

12. Fishy?

Seen in Bangkok airport: check-in flight staff sees something sketchy on the scanner, unzips the suitcase to find that a guy is trying to bring multiple bags of water with LIVE exotic fish in them on the flight. He was baffled as to why it would be a problem. - u/greyskymornings

13. Gulp. Gulp.

I watched a man argue about a 1/5th of vodka for 10 minutes, chug it, then promptly have a heart attack. That was certainly weird. -u/ErrorlessGnome

14. Oops!

Some bald guy tried to bring lube through. I asked what it was for and he said masturbation. I let him keep it. - u/Bdag

15. Priorities

Kitchen sinks, engine parts, but my all time favorite was the man who came off a flight from Haiti after the earthquake with a suitcase stuffed with nothing but cash and porn. No clothes. No keepsakes. No paperwork from his homeland beyond his passport... Cash and porn. - u/galebird

16. All kinds of weird stuff

I worked at the counter in HK airport for a bit over 2 years. I saw a Mongolian delegation try to take about 5 crossbows through. Saw a man come off a flight with a rifle. Ive seen people with cooler bags of breast milk. I saw a rabbi with one of these when questioned over what it was he happily whipped it out of its cover, raised it high into the air and gave it a toot which we were all in hysterics over. - u/armored-dinnerjacket

17. Oh no

Chinese guy tried to smuggle several boxes full of reptiles through with the Australia post shipments, which our airport had only started xray scanning the week before (they used to go onto the plane seperately to the passenger luggage without being checked in any way by security) - u/KypriothAU

18. LOL

I once saw a guy try passing security in a banana costume. Needless to say the guards were not pleased with him. - u/theecharon

19. Money...Money...

When I was working for USAir, TSA notified us that one of our passengers was flying with a checked bag that had around $6,000 cash. It wasn't in a bundle, or banded together, but just $50s and $100s strewn throughout the bag. The bag looked like the passenger had just thrown random belongings in it without seriously packing, and there was no organization (clothes weren't folded, etc). - u/ThrillingChase

20. So not normal

Customs worker here - seen something. Worst was trying to hide a rat in her bra I guess! - u/Dontbleedonit