A 35-year-old Iraqi man set off metal detectors at LAX, and was found to have wires hanging out of his anus. Once removed, it became apparent that they were attached to a magnet stuffed inside his rectum. Link. Erstwhile bomb, medical device, or just a weird goddamned magnet up a guy's butt? This Reuters article doesn't provide the answer. (thanks, Taylor B)
UPDATE: The Daily Breeze, a local paper covering the LAX/Harbor area in Los Angeles, solves the mystery. Sort of. Snip:
Al-Maliki told investigators the objects have therapeutic properties, and that he had forgotten to remove them before reaching the security checkpoint. They were described as a magnet wrapped with a piece of gum in a napkin and then coiled with wire; and some kind of round, polished stone. "I believe we're about as confused as you until we finish the investigation," said Ethel McGuire, the assistant special agent in charge of the FBI's Los Angeles office.
Link. (via blogging.la)
Reader comment: Ashley Niblock says,
Sadly I didn't get a close-up of the guy, but here's a picture of the scene outside LAX this morning when I arrived on an early flight to see the HazMat team inside and bomb squad outside, just in case you wanted a picture. Link.
Hey Ashley, did they call in the bum squad, too?
