Police officers searching for bombs in the New York subway system are now equipped with bomb-residue detection wands. Or, as we like to call them, magic sticks. Officer.com (via the New York Post) has the details:

"Transit officers began training yesterday with bomb-residue detection wands - the kind that have become familiar at airports - as part of a bid to improve the NYPD's program of random searches. The wands have a cloth tip that can be rubbed on bags to tell if a bomb is in a bag, or if bomb components have come in contact with the surface."

(photo credit: Engadget)