Microsoft exec Kim Cameron describes the experience of being sent through a GE "puffer" machine at an airport because he'd changed his return itinerary and so tripped the TSA's "secondary screening" switch. The puffer is generally described as a gentle experience of having air blown over you to dislodge any particles of black powder/explosive in your clothes, while the machine plays recorded instructions for you, but Kim had an altogether different experience:
I really hated the GE product. It is tiny, and closes around you. I felt seriously claustrophobic. Then it shot bursts of air at me so hard it actually hurt.
I had been told there would be "puffs of air", but these were not, by any definition, puffs.
"Puffs" make me think of cigar smoke. Or "Puff the magic dragon". Puffs of wind. But these were hurricane strength blasts.
Meanwhile the machine barks orders like a concentration camp commandant. Where did they get the voice? It speaks in a chilling metallic imperative borrowed from a really bad science fiction movie. In fact it was barely believable that adults would unleash this contraption on anyone.
Update: Brendan sez, "My experience with the puffer has been one of nothing more than
annoyance at the amount of time it takes and its height (I'm 6' 7"
and have to stoop a little to walk in). You walk in, a recorded
(not unpleasant) voice asks you to wait, glass (and completely
transparent) saloon-style doors that don't even seal or cover from
floor to ceiling close in front of and behind you, and a series of
jets of air puff your clothing before you can go on your way. The
device is the GE 'EntryScan' model that Ms. Cameron describes, so
we are indeed comparing apples to apples.
"The system isn't perfect – it's by its nature somewhat closed, so a
severe claustrophobe or very large person might feel uncomfortable
inside. However, like I said, the design of the doors seems to be
intented to mitigate the feel of enclosure, and I fit all 79 inches
of my height inside fairly comfortably. Also, the jets of air are
firm enough to dislodge particles, but they've never hurt me at
all. I think that you would have to have severely sensitive
epidermis to feel hurt by them."
