When they aren't finding vibrators and leaving encouraging notes, TSA comes away with a respectable amount of money-by accident. Back in 2010, they recovered over $409,000 in loose change left at checkpoints by rushing travelers. The breakdown goes like this: $376,408 is US currency, and the remaining $32,605 in assorted foreign coins. Damn.
So guess which airport collected the most loose change? JFK International in New York, with an impressive $46,918. Imagine nearly finding the median US household income in an airport throughout the course of a year. Effin' crazy, right?
The other burning question is where does that money go? Congress gave TSA the green light to use it for their "general security operations," but a TSA spokeswoman says it's "unknown from to year to year." In other words, right back in someone's pocket, while ours are getting gate raped.
[via Gothamist]
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