The TSA let me board with a lighter and an aerosol form alcohol. Didn't realize until I'd landed that they'd let me board with materials for a small-scale flamethrower. I donated the lighter to a smoker I saw at the airport and checked the other in my additional luggage before my return flight.
Along the same lines, lots of companies make sunscreen in 10x ml quantities for the associated benefits. When the agent wanted to take away my 106 ml bottle, I asked if I could squeeze 6 ml out and take it on. No dice.
Seems like a tacit admission that they believe the terrorists are somewhat incompetent. That guy sure did seem to have a lot of trouble getting his underwear lit.
I had my bases covered, I had both hairspray (yeah, yeah) as well as cologne (which to my naive knowledge is alcohol based). I didn't realize that hairspray wasn't alcohol based, but my amateur experiences with potato guns indicated it's propensity for flammability and explosiveness :).
