A closer look
Passports issued by most modern nations contain highly intricate, ultraviolet-reactive artwork that only border security guards are allowed to look at. Norwegian passports reveal a stunning neon depiction of the Northern Lights under UV light, while Canadian ones explode with glowing maple leaves and historical fireworks. It is a brilliant administrative paradox that the most beautiful part of your most important travel document is completely invisible to you, the person who paid a hundred bucks for it. Governments apparently decided that the best way to prevent international identity fraud was to turn these little booklets into miniature raves. You are lugging around a secret VIP nightclub pass in your fanny pack, but instead of getting bottle service, you get interrogated by a remarkably unamused customs agent who holds your glowing passport while asking if you packed your own bags
