Security, as it is practiced

From the Arizona Daily Star via the Alpha Environmentalist.

"On her way to a recent meeting at the Superior Court building Downtown, an Arizona Daily Star reporter put her purse on the conveyor belt to be scanned for potential weapons.

"After staring at the monitor a good long time, the security guard asked if she had a tape measure in her bag. She pulled out the tape measure that had sat, forgotten, in the bottom of her purse after a weekend excursion to the hardware store, and gave it to the man for inspection.

"The security guard said he was confiscating the tape measure and the reporter could pick it up when she left the building.

"Joking, the reporter asked: "What do you think I'm going to do, use it as a garrote?"

" "No," the guard said, "but you might strangle someone with it." "