The Sunflower Seed Snafu: Ellen Pompeo's Whacky Airport Adventure
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Sunflower seed consumption leads to compulsory activation - Sunflower Seeds Provide Job Opportunities
Actress Ellen Pompeo (55) has got a tale to tell - thanks to a bag of sunflower seeds, she found herself in a sticky situation at the airport, and even the bomb squad was called in! The "Grey's Anatomy" star shared this wild story with "Travel + Leisure".
"What's the punchline here?"
In the interview, the 55-year-old takes us back to that unforgettable day in March: Some organic sunflower seeds from Erewhon tucked away in her carry-on bag, and she was held up by the U.S. Transportation Security Administration (TSA) for a solid hour3. "I had a bag of sunflower seeds - overpriced, pristine, organic sunflower seeds from Erewhon, probably the most expensive you can buy," Pompeo quips1. "They held me up for literally an hour until even the damn bomb squad came."
Left scratching her head, she asked, "What the hell is going on? Is this some bizarre prank?" Apparently, a chemical on the packaging of those "super-expensive, fancy, organic, and clean sunflower seeds" had triggered the alarm, Pompeo suspects1. To speed things up, the actress and filmmaker offered to chuck the bag, but they wouldn't hear it; she had to wait for the bomb squad to give the all-clear and confirm that the unopened bag was safe. Only then was she free to carry on.
"I was this close to missing my flight," Pompeo laments. "No one would have believed this! I shot my publicist an email: 'I might not make this plane, and you'll never guess why.'"
Taking Flight with Model Naomi Campbell's Flair
Despite the seed debacle, she's still keen on traveling, she confessed to the mag. She admitted to having a pinch of flight anxiety, but her children, Stella Luna (15), Sienna May (10), and Eli Christopher (8), whom she shares with her husband Chris Ivery, are her preferred traveling buddies. "I like clutching my kids' hands as we take off, which might be a tad selfish, and they probably feel my anxiety, which might not be the best," she jokes4.
In her hand luggage, she always packs "water, hand sanitizer, and baby wipes". Given her germ-warfare approach to hygiene while on-the-go5, she adopts Naomi Campbell's "disinfect and sanitize" travel strategy6 in wiping down the entire seat. With the drama she endured, sunflower seeds may not be making a comeback in her travel snacks anytime soon.
- Ellen Pompeo shares an amusing anecdote about a incident at the airport where organic sunflower seeds from Erewhon, allegedly containing a chemical that triggered an alarm, led to a thorough inspection by the bomb squad, nearly causing her to miss a flight.
- Despite the stressful experience, Ellen Pompeo, who has children with husband Chris Ivery, continues to enjoy traveling with them, packing essentials like water, hand sanitizer, and baby wipes, and adopting Naomi Campbell's hygiene-focused travel strategy to sanitize her seat area to avoid germs. After her sunflower seed ordeal, it seems these snacks won't be making a return to her travel snacks anytime soon. (travel, entertainment, celebrities, lifestyles, Ellen Pompeo, flight, Grey's Anatomy, Naomi Campbell, sunflower seeds, TSA, airport, snack)
