Yes, as a matter of fact! I have to remove my hat at passport control, though as long as I present at the desk with my hat on, a big smile and an over-the-top "G'day!" I figure its work has been done. About fifty percent of security officials will make me take off the hat when passing through a metal detector, even if I haven't set off the beep.

You don't have to land on any mysterious 'lists' to attract this kind of security grief. As an Australian whose family emigrated from Iran when I was 11 months old, I've got a benign and well-travelled Australian passport, and everybody loves laid-back Australians, right?

Well, thanks to my Iranian surname, my place of birth being listed as "Shiraz" and my vague ethnic appearance, I've:

Shamefully I'm not spared this grief upon returning home ... Australian immigration officials seem to love questioning me about every day of my extended travels whenever I come back to my own country.

Interestingly, wearing a Fedora like this seems to net me about 80% less hassle. Security officials must assume that terrorists don't like early 20th Century headgear. I discovered this by accident, but my well-worn fedora is now the second most important part of my travel kit, behind my passport.

Ally

PS: Oh, and a note to any blonde women out there: don't walk behind ethnic men in airport security lines. Most of the time when I'm blatantly racially profiled for a 'random' screening, officials will also pull out the next blonde woman in the queue behind me in vain attempt to show that they don't discriminate. It's usually quite laughable.