Paint and bleach are (quite rightly!) banned from baggage because of their flammable qualities. Would a small tin of water colors and a small tube of hair dye be OK??

(Said it was daft - beginning to panic now - flight only a few days away ....)

Wildblueyonder: aren't watercolors water based? I don't think they would be a problem. As for the hair dye, would it be any more or less flammable than nail polish remover - which you can easily bring on board.

I wouldn't panic, have a good trip!

I am sure they are both fine. Watercolors are not harmful anyway.
Be sure to keep everything in a ziplock or something to protect the rest of the contents of your luggage!
Not daft, just pre-travel jitters

this wasn't a daft question.
A sample of a daft question would be asking if it's OK to bring your hand grenades so long as they're wrapped in bubble wrap.

You may not bring any watercolors that match the day's terrorism alert color. It confuses the screeners.

Thanks kind people - mind is now at rest on this and will pack them!
Next problem is whether to ask for a change of seats on the flight! We have seats in the middle of the wing (747) - just wondering if you can see *anything* at all, other than the wing, sat there? I really would like to see Greenland, when we fly over it.
THANKS!

Ok, I'll tell you what surprised ME about what you can't put in your checked luggage: laundry detergent. At the Air France terminal in Paris, they had a kiosk by check-in with items that are forbidden in checked baggage, and that was one of them. Why???

They don't want you monopolizing the bathrooms doing your laundry?

Hmmm...I've always traveled with a small amount of laundry detergent and never had a problem. Most recent overseas trip was about a year ago. Is this something new?

Powdery...likely to spread anthrax???

Actually, last time I caught laundry detergent rash...