‘If that’s not a knife then what is it?’: Chicago woman gets stopped by drug-sniffing dogs at O’Hare. Then a TSA agent pulls her out of line
Most travelers feel like they have a decent grasp on TSA rules. Liquids go in a quart-size bag, laptops come out, the usual. Still, there’s a wide gray area when it comes to everyday items that don’t seem dangerous, until they show up on an X-ray looking like something else.
That’s exactly what happened to one Chicago woman, whose carry-on set off alarms at O’Hare after TSA agents spotted an item that looked suspiciously like a knife.
In a TikTok storytime that has pulled in more than 30,900 views, creator Katie (@katelynelizabethhicks) walks viewers through the moment she got pulled aside, questioned, and forced to explain a skincare tool to a group of very confused TSA agents.
What Triggered The TSA Stop?
Katie starts her video by explaining that TSA pulled her bag for a search the day before, and she wanted to share the story both because it was funny and because it might serve as a warning for other travelers.
She says something already felt off at O’Hare that day.
“Something was going on yesterday in the O’Hare airport in Chicago,” she says, explaining that passengers were being sniffed by drug-detection dogs before security. “Which is crazy, because the hardest thing I’ve ever done is like an extra strength Advil.”
She didn’t think much of it until TSA flagged her bag. She says she was standing by the scanner when an agent suddenly held up a suitcase and asked whose bag it was.
“He’s got mine in the air,” she says. “And I’m like, whose bag is that? It’s mine.”
The agent then asked her to step aside.
“He goes, ‘We found something in your bag,’” she says. “And I’m like… I’m being framed.”
According to Katie, the agent pulled up the X-ray image and pointed to the object in question.
“He says, ‘You see this?’ And I’m like, ‘Yes, I do see that,’” she says. “And he goes, ‘Looks like a knife.’”
Katie immediately denied it. “I promise you, I did not bring a knife on this flight,” she says. “I promise you.”
“He says, ‘If that’s not a knife, then what is it?’” she recounts.
It Was a Skincare Tool
Katie says she knew exactly what TSA was looking at.
“I said, ‘That’s my gua sha,’” she explains. “To a white man in his 40s, gua sha means nothing. I may as well have said, ‘I do have a knife and I plan on using it on you right now.’”
The agent told her he needed to retrieve the item. “So after pulling out literally every single one of my personal items, my underwear, everything, and showing it to the entire airport,” she says, “he pulls out my gua sha.”
The tool in question is a silver facial roller with two rounded ends, designed to reduce puffiness and sculpt the face. On an X-ray, though, Katie admits it doesn’t exactly scream “self-care.”
“He says, ‘What is this? Looks like a weapon,’” she recalls.
She explains that it’s a facial tool and attempts to describe how it works.
“I said, ‘Sir, I get puffy. I’m flying. I get puffy,’” she says. “I just wanted to look snatched in Chicago.”
Eventually, the agent took the tool to other TSA staff to demonstrate that it wasn’t a weapon. Katie says they let her keep it, though the experience changed how she’ll pack going forward.
“I know this probably will not be coming with me on another flight,” she says, adding that at least now she knows it could double as home protection.
What TSA Rules Say About Sharp Objects
TSA rules can be confusing because not everything sharp is banned from carry-ons. Items like knitting needles, crochet hooks, disposable razors, safety razors without blades, nail clippers, and even some scissors are allowed.
Knives, box cutters, and anything clearly designed as a weapon are not.
That said, TSA officers have wide discretion. If an item looks suspicious on an X-ray or resembles a prohibited object, agents can pull the bag for inspection and, in some cases, confiscate the item—even if it’s technically allowed.
In other words, if it looks like a knife, expect questions.
Commenters Share Their Experiences
In the comments, travelers shared similar stories of everyday items getting flagged by TSA.
“My bag got pulled for an extension comb that has a point on the end. They said it was a weapon and threw it out,” one person wrote.
Another pointed out the inconsistency. “What blows my mind is I’m a hair stylist and can bring my shears through TSA with me… not considered a weapon… but this… THIS… is a weapon lol.”
Some agreed with TSA’s caution. “It could be a weapon, to be fair. You chose like the pointiest most aggressive one,” one commenter said.
@katelynelizabethhicks TSA thought I had a weapon??. . . #flying #airport #travel #traveltiktok #smallcontentcreators ♬ original sound – Katie Hicks
Others had their own medical items flagged. “I’ve had my bag pulled and searched because my medical eye ointment looked like a pointy knife on the X-ray,” one person wrote. “I begged them not to confiscate it because it was $30 lol.”
Another summed up the takeaway: “This is the kind of travel TSA PSA I actually needed. Gua sha stays home.”
The Mary Sue reached out to TSA and Katie via email for comment.
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