American TSA (Transportation Security Agency- the guys that check your luggage) have been getting really strict the last couple of months. Passengers on airplanes can only take a limited amount of liquids on board. Basically, this is what you can bring. One person can bring a maximum of 3 ounces of liquid on board in one tube. Guess what? A tube of toothpaste is 3 ounces.
Next I’m adding this all up…
A quick calculation;
- On any given day there are about 1.5 milion people in the air
- At least 5% of them must be carrying fluids that are too large to carry
- Knowing that the average price for a tube of paste is 3$.1.500.000 x 0.05
= 75000 tubes a day
x 3$
= 225.000$
also think of this:
- All these people are buying new toothpaste the day after they landed. Or they get a free mini tube at their hotel. In that case the hotel bought it for them. Right?
- 90% of all people that took a flight have to get back eventually, so there must be at least a small amount of people that get their toothpaste taken-away again by TSA.
- Don’t forget about the ones in the hotel, which get renewed on a daily basis.
- And the ones that lose their luggage or forget their toothpaste back at the hotel
Let’s round it off at 250.000$ each day
On a yearly basis that means 250.000 x 365 = over 90 million $ per year!
Yes, Toothpaste makes the world go round!
October 22, 2006 at 6:13 pm
What about checked luggage? I’m pretty sure that most people will avoid the unnecessary purchase with that little-known option.