Well, at the very least, the UK seems to have come to their senses, ratcheting down their terror level: British travelers can now carry-on one piece of luggage, including laptops and iPods, with the only stipulation that it can’t be a liquid or a case full of dynamite.

One odd qualification is this:

To help their progress through search points, passengers are encouraged not to include items capable of containing liquids (e.g. bottles, flasks, tubes, cans, plastic containers etc.) in their cabin baggage.

So an empty bottle in your luggage (say, to fill up from the airplane’s tap to keep yourself hydrated when the stewardesses aren’t rattling the refreshment cart up the aisle) will subject you to the double pat down and possibly a deep anal rooting.

The empty plastic bottle: terrorism’s scimitar!

New UK Airline Security Measures (Thanks, Mark!)

Want more consumer news? Visit our parent organization, Consumer Reports, for the latest on scams, recalls, and other consumer issues.