A 26-year-old man has issued an unusually specific — but completely serious — warning to fellow travelers after what he described as the “most humiliating experience” of his life at airport security.
The man, who goes by the Reddit username Jozie99, recently recounted the incident in vivid detail, hoping to save others from the same red-faced fate.
And no, it wasn’t about forgetting his ID or accidentally packing full-size shampoo. This mishap had nothing to do with liquids, lighters, or laptops. It was all about… an untimely erection.
Goodbye Kiss Turns Into a TSA Nightmare
The trouble started shortly after the man said goodbye to his long-distance girlfriend at Reno-Tahoe International Airport on a Tuesday morning.
The emotional farewell in her car turned into some passionate PDA, which — unfortunately for him — had lingering physical effects.
“This happened to me yesterday, Tuesday morning at the Reno-Tahoe security,” he wrote. “I had flown to visit my girlfriend and when she dropped me off we were kissing, making out, you know, in her car before I left. I had a SLIGHT chub still — dudes know what I mean by this.”
He continued: “I was scared, it was going away but too slowly, of course the one time there is no line.”
The Scanner Sees Everything
Thinking everything would return to normal by the time he reached the scanner, the man proceeded like it was any other morning. But the Transportation Security Administration’s advanced body scanners had other plans.
“I put my hands up and did the scanner, I look at the screen, and THERE IS A HUGE RED CIRCLE around my private area,” he wrote. “I nearly passed out.”
What followed was the kind of sequence no traveler wants: a double pat down, a call for a supervisor, and a painfully awkward explanation.
“He pat me down again and I said lowly, ‘I was just with my girl my bad man’ and he said you’re good to go,” the man said. “It was the most humiliating experience I have ever had in my life. I thank God I will never see those guys again (they were good dudes) and pray no cameras were recording me or anything.”
The traveler added that while he often gets checked due to a subcutaneous defibrillator in his chest, this time was an entirely new level of embarrassment.
“It Was Going Away… But Too Slowly”
“I’m 26, usually my erections subside quickly but this was just an awful timing,” he explained. “The more I thought and worried about it before, the slower it went away.”
He concluded his Reddit post with a heartfelt PSA for other men who might find themselves similarly aroused and airport-bound: “This is not a joke, I’m trying to warn other dudes if they are ever in this situation.”
Internet Reacts With Sympathy — and Jokes
While his story left him mortified, Redditors had no shortage of empathy—and comedic relief. One person responded: “Your schlong is so majestic it set off the security scanners at the airport, I’d wear that with a badge of honor my friend.”
Another joked: “Could have been worse. You could have not been with your girl beforehand.”
A third chimed in with a fitting new nickname for TSA’s advanced scanning tech: “I call those scanners ‘electronic pecker checkers.’”
Despite the internet having a laugh, the message remains clear: if you're heading to the airport, maybe keep the romance to a minimum — at least until after security.
And while we're on the subject of airport scanners, this Redditor wasn't the only person left in surprise by just how much they can see. In fact, some people have dubbed them "virtual strip searches".