In 1992, at Logan airport I smuggled a live hamster on board a plane by putting him in a fanny pack underneath my clothes before walking through security. He sure did wiggle, but I couldn't afford to buy him a ticket.

Sent by Margaret Gardiner | 2:26 PM ET | 12-26-2007

In the mid-90s, I had a pretty amazing security experience while trying to (repeatedly) board planes with $60K worth of GPS equipment.

The backpack unit from this equipment was basically a transmitter that received data from the satellites and posted it to the handheld computer. To a security x-ray camera, however, the backpack looked like a box with four opaque rods (big camcorder batteries) and a mass of wires coming out of the top.

I had a different experience each time I tried boarding a plane with this equipment, my favorite of which was when the head of airport security escorted me on board and *into the cockpit*, where I showed the backpack to the pilot and he gave a verbal okay for it to be on board!

I detailed the story years ago on "stupidsecurity.com" and is told in detail here...
http://www.stupidsecurity.com/article.pl?sid=03/08/04/2336228

Sent by Ben Klaas, Minneapolis | 2:27 PM ET | 12-26-2007

It may not be overly large, but I traveled one way from Boston to Little Rock with a squirmy one-year old, a carry-on stuffed with diapers and baby "bribes" AND an hysterical, diarrea-prone cat! (I don't normally travel with my cat, but I was in the process of moving to Arkansas). I also learned on that trip that flight attendants will NOT dispose of a poopy diaper. Oh! the disgusted looks and angry stares. It was the longest flight of my life!

Sent by Caryn | 2:31 PM ET | 12-26-2007

I worked for United Air Lines at Sea-Tac International as a passenger agent. One day in about 1961 the Brothers Four musical group either tried to steal on or they didn't have time to purchase the required ticket for a Bass Fiddle, which was one-half fare, as I recall. We let them on and wired Chicago to charge them the ticket upon arrival. I am sure this was always a problem for them and other musical groups - and likely still is.

Sent by Max Burke | 2:44 PM ET | 12-26-2007

Traveling this past Thanksgiving, between Oregon and Tennessee, I needed
to wear a TENS (transdermal electric nerve
stimulator) with electrodes on my back,
and wires running from there to a
control box on my belt. The only thing
that might make me more suspicious
would be if I taped candles to my chest.

Sent by Kevin from Portland Oregon | 2:47 PM ET | 12-26-2007

Technically it's not carry-on, but I frequently travel with a mountain bike that is boxed in a specialty travel case, including various components and two sets of wheels. The worse situation I had was over the summer in 2007, trying to return home from a trip in Europe, where a ticket agent at the international airport from which I was departing declared that they had no x-ray machine large enough to scan my box. We had to unpack, further disassemble, remove parts, repack (even jump on the box to reduce it's size). Then the security agent and I had to actually push the box through the scanner. Lesson learned; even though the airlines can handle some oversized luggage, the airports' security might not. Ironically, a US team of parapalegic triathletes was returning home on the same flight. They were able to bring thier various hand-pedaled bikes and trikes onto the plane and check them at the gate as "carry on." I was glad to see that their air travel was not impeeded. And yes, my bike made it home, in many pieces and in various duct taped, bubble wrapped packages.

Sent by Erin | 2:54 PM ET | 12-26-2007

Last year we wanted to take an electric patio grill to our son. We packed the top of the grill into a box but were unable to get the stand into the box. So, I just decided to take it through the airport. It took a lot of explaining but I was finally able to take a 30" piece of metal with a stand on the bottom through security!

Sent by Ann Davison | 2:54 PM ET | 12-26-2007

The oddest things I took on a flight were two wooden cows- cut out of plywood, about 35 lbs. each, painted with little bikinis and swimsuits on them. We were coming back from a youth conference in California to Ohio and our group got them as they were cleaning up the college campus. I will never forget the cows getting tagged (after security checked them) at LAX and then rushed across the tarmac when our connecting flight in Denver and thrown on the conveyor into the plane.

Sent by Hannah | 2:56 PM ET | 12-26-2007

I had a *delightful* experience traveling with a rather bulky instrument a number of years ago. My son, then entering grade 8, plays the Euphonium. We were traveling from Michigan to Florida in search of our new home, and Tim needed to keep practicing his horn. I'm accustomed to blank looks, but this day, the ticket agent in Ft Lauderdale took one look at the case and said, "Oh, my son plays Euphonium too". Wow! Well, that young man turned out to be a most excellent friend and instructor for my son that Fall, so far from his old home.

Sent by Kami Landy | 2:58 PM ET | 12-26-2007

Flint Lock Pistol/Rifle

Back in the early 90s, my parents brought an antique flint lock rifle
and flint lock pistol right on a plane from Frankfurt Germany to Miami
Florida. They just showed the security guards that parts of the flint
mechanisms were missing- Ah, the good old days!

Sent by Conrad from Washington DC | 2:58 PM ET | 12-26-2007

Ten years ago my family moved from Iowa to Oregon and brought our then two-year-old cat. We flew in a puddle jumper from Spencer, Iowa to Denver and we were delayed in getting off the plane. The Denver airport was brand-new at the time and difficult to navigate... I believe the gate for our connecting flight was literally a mile away. As we ran to the gate we could see the plane taxiing. We asked the agent about our cat; she was already on her way to Portland! So our baggage and live animal had made it but we would have to wait another two hours. The kitty survived just fine and since has moved with us into three more homes, loyal as ever.

Sent by Rebecca | 3:05 PM ET | 12-26-2007

In 2005 I carried my sister's cremains on an airplane across the country for her memorial service in Michigan. This doesn't seem unusual except I had commissioned an artist friend of mine to make a paper mache "cat" to house her ashes. The blue cat weighs around 25-30 lbs, has huge ears, a dangling paw, and a partially upright tail. I wrapped it up carefully in huge bath towels, but one ear and part of the face were visible. The security people in Tucson didn't bat an eye. She road through the X-ray without a hitch. I carefully fit the kitty body under the seat in front of me, and tried to hide the huge head with my legs, lest the flight attendants make me try to shove her into an overhead bin.
A long layover in Atlanta forced me to haul her around the airport where I got some serious and curious looks from anyone who saw me. While standing in line for food, one woman made a polite comment about how "unusual" my package looked. I told her it was my sister....hmmm, wish I could have read her mind!
Although the cat was awkward and heavy to carry, and my arms were exhausted I was afraid to put her down anywhere. By the time I got to Michigan, none of my family could believe that I hauled my sister all the way from Arizona.
After the Memorial Service, my family felt it best to chip in and pay to have her carefully packed and shipped back to Arizona!
(I can send a picture)

Sent by Deb Whalen | 11:49 AM ET | 12-27-2007

This past September I flew from Busan, South Korea to Jacksonville, FL (including layovers at Tokyo-Narita and Detroit) with a cat. My kitty was actually *very* good for most of the trip - and the period of time when she began meowing frantically, she was drowned out by the yowling of a nearby infant. We did distress a TSA security agent who had to check my boarding pass in Detroit, but who suffered from severe allergies to cats!

Sent by Jane | 9:03 PM ET | 12-27-2007