"bomb" news and stories

Todd Coleman, the food editor of Saveur magazine, caused a 3-hour shutdown and evacuation of the Tallahassee, Florida airport yesterday. His bag, which contained honey, an oyster shell, seasoning rub and various recording equipment, apparently sparked security concerns, with the police department and bomb squad believing that the combination of organic and inorganic matter looked as though it could be a homemade bomb. Coleman was detained by security, but released once a robot had inspected the bag's contents.

Coleman was in town writing a piece on food in Apalachicola. The honey was a jar of local Tupelo honey and the spice rub was Bad Byron's Butt Rub, so think twice before packing them on your next trip.

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A McCain potato-processing factory in England had to be evacuated when workers discovered a grenade amongst the potatoes as they were washing the spuds. The factory, which is the largest in Europe, imports many of its potatoes from other countries. It is not uncommon for debris from the first and second world wars to turn up amongst the spuds from Belgium and France, but in the past week the workers not only discovered the grenade, but a shell tip, as well. Following both discoveries, workers vacated the plant while the bomb squad came in and detonated the devices.

Worker safety is of paramount importance, and a company spokesman said that they would have to speak with their suppliers about checking the shipments more thoroughly, as "it is obviously not an efficient use of [the] staff's time if we have to keep evacuating the premises."

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A bomb squad in Fremont, California, recently destroyed a suspect box of chocolate for fear that might have been some sort of explosive. The package, which arrived at the Scios building (right), apparently had a suspicious return address. This was enough to bring out the bomb squad and evacuate not only the Scios building, but two neighboring buildings. After the package was dismantled in a nearby field, officials realized that it was a small box of chocolates. This is obviously not the simile that Forrest Gump had in mind.

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