In what has to be one of the stupidest, and most dangerous, airport souvenir stories of all time, an American tourist was arrested in Vienna trying to take a World War II artillery shell—live—home in her carry-on.
It’s not that she was sneaky about it, either. The 24-year-old found the bomb while hiking in the Dachstein mountains in Lower Austria. In Austria, it is still not uncommon to find such grim reminders of two World Wars. At the airport, she declared it as a souvenir to customs officers who promptly called police.
Although part of the baggage area was closed off and the bomb squad called, there were apparently no delays in arrivals or departures, except for the young woman who had to stay behind to pay a four-figure fine.
Doh !