Mike Elgan wonders if the next ban on things taken on a commercial flight are batteries in laptops:
Laptops are the best thing that ever happened to airline travel. They enable you to catch up on your work, play games or watch a movie while you are traveling.
Better still, many airlines are now installing costly equipment that enables you to access the Internet during flights. Most of these systems use your laptop’s built-in Wi-Fi to connect.
Unfortunately, this laptops-in-the-sky nirvana probably won’t last. The problem: Laptop batteries can explode catastrophically. It’s happened before, and it will happen again. It’s only a matter of time before it happens in-flight.
The FAA forbids you to use your iPod during takeoff — do you think it won’t ban laptop batteries?
Another reason to drive, if you can…
Positive Infinity 