Last weekend, my friend Brianna “Spacekatgal” Wu made headlines worldwide after security officials at Yankee Stadium turned her away from the Yankees-Red Sox game because she had her iPad with her. Undeterred, she got back in line and sneaked the iPad in anyway.

During the game, she posted about the incident on the IGN forums:

The security people told me [iPads were] not allowed and I was turned away at the gates. Why on earth would they have this policy? Terrorism concerns? I couldn’t get an answer. I snuck it in under my jacket. I bring it to Fenway all the time and they don’t care.

Smaller than most laptops, the 9.5″ iPad looks like a larger version of the 4.5″ iPhone

Yahoo! Sports soon picked up the story, as did CNN, Fox News and CNET. Even as I write this blog entry, I’m seeing new headlines about the matter pop up on Google News.

So far, Yankees officials haven’t said why iPads or laptops are banned, other than that they pose “safety and security” issues–at least, according to several vague reports. My best guess as to why the devices are really banned is that they might prove distracting to fans who want to watch the game. But having used the iPad, I don’t see how it, with its 9.5-inch screen, is all that much more distracting than a smartphone. In fact, unlike the 4.5-inch iPhone, the iPad can’t take pictures or place calls.

I scored an exclusive interview with Wu earlier today. Here’s what she had to say about the ban and the subsequent media frenzy:

Q: So exactly what happened when you got to the security gate at the stadium?
A: When I went through the gate, the security guard asked me “Is that an iPad?” I thought she was just another person curious about iPads, because they’re so new. I get this several times a day. I told her it was an iPad, and she told me it was not allowed in the stadium. I asked her, “Can you tell me why?” and she said it was because of the camera. I told her the iPad doesn’t have a camera, and she just kept saying, “It’s not allowed in.” I realized debating the point was useless.

She told me that there was a bar across the street, and I could rent a locker and put my stuff inside. Given the drunken fight I’d just witnessed on the street outside that bar, I didn’t want to do that. I decided to sneak it it. I exited the gate and put the iPad under my jacket in my husband’s backpack, and went into another gate.

I was pretty nervous about security inside the game confiscating it when I started posting about the event on the IGN board, but I quickly realized they didn’t care.

Q: Why do you think they didn’t want you to bring the iPad in with you?
A: I guess the iPad could be distracting, but no more so than I find all the drunken people at a baseball game. I’ve never seen someone pick a fight because they were using their smartphone.

I think it sucks. I’ve been to Fenway about 10 times, and it’s a really relaxed atmosphere. In contrast, the overbearing security at Yankee Stadium put me on edge a bit, and I’m not talking about the iPad policy. There were people guarding every section, inspecting tickets. It just seemed unnecessary and Big Brother-esque.

Q: This issue has stirred up quite the media circus. Do you think this will lead to Yankees officials rethinking their ban?
A: I really don’t know. I think the Yankees are the Microsoft of baseball, and aren’t especially receptive to public opinion. I doubt anything will change.

Q: Fair enough. But I can’t be the only one wondering this: Why would you even want to bring an iPad into a baseball game? Doesn’t that defeat the purpose of being there?
A: I got bored. When the Yankees play the Red Sox, it’s always a 4 hour game. I tune out in the middle.

It seems like at every game I’ve every been to, many other girls also bring things to keep themselves entertained. Kindles, a book, their smartphones. I think many people just want something to do during the lulls in the action.

Q: What kinds of things do you do to occupy yourself during these lulls?
A: I actually Facebook with my friends and tell them about the baseball games. I can usually count on a sarcastic comment or two from you, News-Geek.com, about my love for the Yankees. I sometimes post pictures from my phone. It’s just the way people my age operate, live-blogging the fun parts of our lives.

I read comic books, I read the news, I post on the IGN board, I Facebook. I have the 3G model, so there’s almost nothing I can’t do.

Q: Do you take your iPad with you everywhere you go?
A: I am never without my iPad. I also have a Macbook Air, and I carry it in my purse with me. I like to be connected, and I like to sneak in work wherever I can. Some girls carry bags with beauty products; I carry my computer.

Q: Don’t people at games or elsewhere ever get annoyed with you for distracting them with your iPad?
A:Quite the opposite. I constantly have strangers asking to use it, and asking questions. It’s a novelty, and there’s a lot of curiosity about it. One time, I had one stranger ask to demo it, and they immediately went to the Bank of America app to log into my bank account! It really freaked me out!

I’ve never had someone complain, though after reading so many hundreds of negative comments [following the incident at Yankee Stadium], I suspect some people might be rolling their eyes at me.

Q: Is there anywhere you wouldn’t take your iPad?
A: There is literally nowhere I wouldn’t bring my iPad. It’s 1.5 pounds, why be without it? It hasn’t left my side since I bought it, except when I run outside. I’d bring it to a wedding, a zombie outbreak, I’d even want to be buried with it.

Q: A wedding? Would you use it during the ceremony?
A: No, but I’d probably sneak off at some point and check my Facebook.

Q: You have some pretty strong opinions about this stuff. Do you think the Yankees owe you an apology, or at least a better explanation for why they ban iPads and laptops?
A: No, of course not. We all put up with arbitrary rules all the time. That would be incredibly entitled of me, even through I think their policy is stupid.

Q: Do you think you’ll risk smuggling your iPad into Yankee Stadium again?
A: Probably not. Knowing the policy, I might just leave it at home and surf on my iPhone instead. I don’t want to be a jerk to the team I love so much.

People have to understand: We came all the way from Boston to see this game. We were on foot all day, touring the Natural History Museum. I had my iPad with me, of course. I had no idea about this policy. I bring the iPad to Fenway all the time and they don’t care. But knowing the rule, I wouldn’t want to break it again.

Q: Are you surprised by all the media coverage?
A: I am beyond surprised by the media coverage. People have e-mailed me stories from all over the world, and in 7 different languages so far. I’ve already seen over 50 stories that mention me by name. My sneaking the iPad in has been discussed on CNBC, and ESPN. I cannot believe it.

Maybe the coverage took off because of all of the juxtaposed social issues involved. The iPad is the new, trendy status symbol, and you’re pitting it against baseball, a slow-paced, traditional game. Mix that with the Yankees, who are both the most loved and the most hated team in baseball, and you have a story with a lot of interesting angles.

But the coverage is still very strange to me. I posted this to the IGN board, to a subsection we call the Mac GB, or “General Board.” We’re a small subset of the giant forum, and a close-knit group. I’m very fond of most of the people I post with. I’ve bought and sold Macs with them, we discuss Apple news every day, we play Steam games together, we solve each others tech problems and so on.

I feel like it’s not just me who’s gotten the attention, but all my Mac friends on the Mac GB as well.

Q: Now that this story has hit media worldwide, have you found that bloggers, reporters and commenters tend to support you in your defiance of the Yankees?
A: Judging from the comments, I think most people think I’m a stupid girl who doesn’t appreciate sports and should leave her iPad at home. There must be 1,000 comments saying “Just watch the game!” The response has been incredibly negative towards me. I have never been one to worry about upsetting other people, though. I’ve found all the negativity highly amusing.

I think MatLu, my friend on the IGN board, said it best: “There’s nothing more American than seeing a stupid rule and then proceeding to immediately break it. That’s how this great country started. Bri was just doing what comes naturally to all Americans, especially for Bostonians. It’s American instinct.“ ♦

Fascinating. So what do you guys think?

Click to view a NOVA audio slide show I conducted with BPA expert Dana Dolinoy

This move came just one day after Sunoco, a gas and chemical company, announced that it is now refusing to sell BPA-containing containers meant to store food and liquids for children younger than 3. The company told investors that it cannot be certain of the chemical compound’s safety. Playtex, Gerber and four other baby-bottle manufacturers have also announced that they will stop using BPA in bottles.

The quest to ban BPA is nothing new. San Francisco lawmakers proposed barring the product in children’s producs in 2006, and while they eventually backed down, their efforts have inspired similar proposals in California, Hawaii, Washington and Oregon. Canada banned BPA nationwide in October.

But we hear mixed messages about dangerous chemicals all the time. Sometimes, one group of scientists will tell us that something we’ve been eating/drinking/standing near will kill us, while another group encourages further exposure! Remember all of the drama surrounding the cholesterol in our eggs? And don’t even get me started on this pro-corn-syrup campaign. Suffice it to say, I think it’s misleading.

So what is it about BPA that we know makes it so harmful? Last year, I interviewed Duke University scientist Dana Dolinoy about her research on the chemical and its effects. Click the image above (or here) to watch an audio slide show I created showing what her team has found so far.