"Cow-dung toothpaste." (Image by Pikaluk.)

Some philosophers like working in airports, so why can’t photographers live in them? Native New Yorker Taryn Simon did just that for five days in 2009 (at JFK) to compile more than a thousand photos for her book, Contraband. The volume documents a wide variety of items confiscated from passengers by Customs officials. In a piece in the Guardian by Sean O’ Hagan, there’s a partial list of some of the verboten goods:

“The seized items include various drugs (Xanax, anabolic steroids, Ritalin, khat, ketamine, hashish), counterfeit jewellery, bags, hats, sportswear, shirts, DVDs and watches as well as several kinds of plants, seeds, grass, nuts and foodstuffs. Among the more exotic confiscated substances are deer antlers, deer blood, deer penis and deer tongue, as well as cow-dung toothpaste and cow urine.”