# RO: This is totally going to kill Bring Your Clock to School Day **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [September 16, 2015, 8:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-this-is-totally-going-to-kill-bring-your-clock-to-school-day/731454 "2015-09-16T08:35:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2015, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-this-is-totally-going-to-kill-bring-your-clock-to-school-day/731454/21 "2015-09-16T13:56:24Z")
> [@AK84](#): > > Whats the issue with Irvine? > [@beowulff](#): > > People are idiots. > [@beowulff](#): > > Texas! All you need to know. ---
**Author:** ![Clothahump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Clothahump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clothahump)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2015, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-this-is-totally-going-to-kill-bring-your-clock-to-school-day/731454/22 "2015-09-16T14:01:03Z")
> [@mhendo](#): > > All you need to know. Really stupid post, **mhendo.** Just so you know. ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2015, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-this-is-totally-going-to-kill-bring-your-clock-to-school-day/731454/23 "2015-09-16T14:06:19Z")
> [@Clothahump](#): > > Really stupid post, **mhendo.** Just so you know. Posted by **Clothahump**. All you need to know. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Budget\_Player\_Cadet](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/budget_player_cadet/32/205_2.png) [@Budget\_Player\_Cadet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Budget_Player_Cadet)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2015, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-this-is-totally-going-to-kill-bring-your-clock-to-school-day/731454/24 "2015-09-16T14:11:47Z")
> [@Clothahump](#): > > Really stupid post, **mhendo.** Just so you know. _sproing_ ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2015, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-this-is-totally-going-to-kill-bring-your-clock-to-school-day/731454/25 "2015-09-16T14:15:17Z")
> [@Darth\_Panda](#): > > eta: in other news, Flavor Flav is losing his shit. That ship sailed about two decades ago. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Lowry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e95f7d/32.png) [@Sam\_Lowry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Lowry)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2015, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-this-is-totally-going-to-kill-bring-your-clock-to-school-day/731454/26 "2015-09-16T14:29:55Z")
> [@Kolak\_of\_Twilo](#): > > From the article “It looks like a movie bomb to me.” > Idiots. > [@DinoR](#): > > Of course the teachers reaction to what they think might be a bomb is taking it to the office. :smack: Exactly! If they honestly thought it was a bomb, there are procedures to follow. Everyone would have been evacuated, and a bomb squad would be called in to check it. Apparently, they might charge him with making a “hoax bomb”, like he was trying to make something that would look like a bomb to scare people: > [@](#): > > “We have no information that he claimed it was a bomb,” McLellan said. “He kept maintaining it was a clock, but there was no broader explanation.” I don’t know what broader explanation that they would be wanting. I imagine that even if the kid explained everything about how the clock works, and why he made it, and how he made it, and the history of clocks and robotics, that nothing would be good enough. I really hope that the national attention means that he won’t get charged, and that he’s able to find some resources outside of school that can help him with his inventions and where he can show them off to people who won’t automatically think he’s trying to make bombs. ---
**Author:** ![KarlGauss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/karlgauss/32/3713_2.png) [@KarlGauss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGauss)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2015, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-this-is-totally-going-to-kill-bring-your-clock-to-school-day/731454/27 "2015-09-16T14:35:08Z")
> [@Sam\_Lowry](#): > > I really hope that the national attention means that he won’t get charged, and that he’s able to find some resources outside of school that can help him with his inventions and where he can show them off to people who won’t automatically think he’s trying to make bombs. [Resources on the way](https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1ws7e8WyQvrsLfhSFvdGot3n9NWKfY3XLPBgbHaZDy3k/viewform?c=0&w=1). ---
**Author:** ![D\_Odds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/d_odds/32/2882_2.png) [@D\_Odds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Odds)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2015, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-this-is-totally-going-to-kill-bring-your-clock-to-school-day/731454/28 "2015-09-16T14:39:26Z")
> [@kambuckta](#): > > Just very poor timing really. Whilst I understand the alarm of the authorities, they could have held off for some time until the situation had been brought before the school council and all the minutes of that meeting were available. The only fucking ‘alarm’ was on the clock (which went off in a class and started this whole debacle). There is simply no reasonable explanation for: - calling the police - handcuffing Ahmed Mohammed - suspending Ahmed Mohammed There are lots of unreasonable (pronounced “shitty”) explanations, like people saying “I understand the alarm”, or (paraphrasing) “he told us it was a clock, but we don’t think that was the full story”. ---
**Author:** ![D\_Odds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/d_odds/32/2882_2.png) [@D\_Odds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Odds)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2015, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-this-is-totally-going-to-kill-bring-your-clock-to-school-day/731454/29 "2015-09-16T14:45:21Z")
> [@El\_Kabong](#): > > Let’s give a big hand (and a little hand) to **kambukta** for that post. > [@running\_coach](#): > > Second that. While it is possible to build a digital clock with hands, Occam’s Razor says it likely had a number readout. This article and the one on NPR just mention a digital display, not how the time was displayed. Just sayin’… 🆒 ETA: Reading it a third time, there is a possibility I was whooshed by **kambuckta** ’s post (alarm; minutes), but I’m not sure, and I’m unfamiliar with his/her other posts and positions. ---
**Author:** ![storyteller0910](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecae2f/32.png) [@storyteller0910](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/storyteller0910)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2015, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-this-is-totally-going-to-kill-bring-your-clock-to-school-day/731454/30 "2015-09-16T14:46:10Z")
> [@D\_Odds](#): > > The only fucking ‘alarm’ was on the clock (which went off in a class and started this whole debacle). There is simply no reasonable explanation for: > > - calling the police > - handcuffing Ahmed Mohammed > - suspending Ahmed Mohammed > > There are lots of unreasonable (pronounced “shitty”) explanations, like people saying “I understand the alarm”, or (paraphrasing) “he told us it was a clock, but we don’t think that was the full story”. DUCK! Whew, that was a close one; just missed you. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2015, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-this-is-totally-going-to-kill-bring-your-clock-to-school-day/731454/31 "2015-09-16T14:50:01Z")
Maybe school administrators need a graphic aid to tell hoax bombs from [real bombs](https://writingforactors.files.wordpress.com/2012/02/boris.jpg). ---
**Author:** ![Morgenstern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Morgenstern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgenstern)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2015, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-this-is-totally-going-to-kill-bring-your-clock-to-school-day/731454/32 "2015-09-16T14:50:02Z")
> [@Punoqllads](#): > > High school kid who fixes go-karts and builds radios brings his homemade clock to school to impress his teachers. Engineering teacher is impressed but recommends he not show it to anyone else in school. But it beeps in English class, and the teacher there makes him take it out of his bag. The English teacher says it looks like a bomb, but kid tells her it’s a clock. Teacher keeps the clock. > > … One would think a teacher who really thought it was a bomb would evacuate the classroom as fast as s/he could. Keeping the clock and taking it to the office is a degree of stupidity that really makes me question the ability of this person to sit in a classroom. That sort of tells me that even the teacher knew it wasn’t dangerous. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2015, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-this-is-totally-going-to-kill-bring-your-clock-to-school-day/731454/33 "2015-09-16T14:56:46Z")
> [@kambuckta](#): > > Just very poor timing really. Whilst I understand the alarm of the authorities, they could have held off for some time until the situation had been brought before the school council and all the minutes of that meeting were available. Perhaps they felt a certain pressure to save face. But, c’mon, guys, dial it down! ---
**Author:** ![D\_Odds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/d_odds/32/2882_2.png) [@D\_Odds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Odds)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2015, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-this-is-totally-going-to-kill-bring-your-clock-to-school-day/731454/34 "2015-09-16T15:03:31Z")
> [@storyteller0910](#): > > DUCK! > > Whew, that was a close one; just missed you. Yeah, I think so (as I was typing when you posted). If I was indeed whooshed (and it is seeming more likely to be so), I apologize to **kambuckta** for my knee-jerk reaction. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2015, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-this-is-totally-going-to-kill-bring-your-clock-to-school-day/731454/35 "2015-09-16T15:04:57Z")
> [@KarlGauss](#): > > [Resources on the way](https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1ws7e8WyQvrsLfhSFvdGot3n9NWKfY3XLPBgbHaZDy3k/viewform?c=0&w=1). Thanks for posting that link; I sent some good thoughts his way. Between this story and the story in the controversial encounters with cops thread about a guy getting shot because the police thought his cell phone was a gun, I’m not at all sure it’s safe to go anywhere with anything in my hands. Is there anything that cops don’t automatically perceive as a threat? ---
**Author:** ![D\_Odds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/d_odds/32/2882_2.png) [@D\_Odds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Odds)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2015, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-this-is-totally-going-to-kill-bring-your-clock-to-school-day/731454/36 "2015-09-16T15:07:39Z")
Donuts? ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2015, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-this-is-totally-going-to-kill-bring-your-clock-to-school-day/731454/37 "2015-09-16T15:28:19Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > Is there anything that cops don’t automatically perceive as a threat? [Depends](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TAWiIvOh9xo). What color are you? ---
**Author:** ![Enderw24](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ba9def/32.png) [@Enderw24](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enderw24)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2015, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-this-is-totally-going-to-kill-bring-your-clock-to-school-day/731454/38 "2015-09-16T15:28:26Z")
Let’s ignore the stupidity. Let’s even ignore the questioning a minor with no parents or counselors present. Here’s what gets me about this story. You have a teacher who took the clock away in 2nd period. Ahmed is pulled out of class by officers in 6th period. He’s brought to the principal’s (or vice principal’s) office, given a lengthy interrogation and ultimately arrested. Now, if the administrators are to be believed, they either thought it was a bomb or were at least uncertain as to what it was. Where is the clock during all of this? Why was a bomb squad not called? Why was the school not evacuated? Are there any policies in place in this school district for dealing with an imminent threat like a bomb scare? If not, why not? If so, were any of them followed in this instance? ---
**Author:** ![Merneith](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/57b2e6/32.png) [@Merneith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merneith)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2015, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-this-is-totally-going-to-kill-bring-your-clock-to-school-day/731454/39 "2015-09-16T15:34:37Z")
This was my favorite bit from the article: > [@](#): > > They led Ahmed into a room where four other police officers waited. He said an officer he’d never seen before leaned back in his chair and remarked: “Yup. That’s who I thought it was.” I hope Ahmed gets his future college tuition paid for out of this. ---
**Author:** ![lazybratsche](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ba8739/32.png) [@lazybratsche](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lazybratsche)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2015, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-this-is-totally-going-to-kill-bring-your-clock-to-school-day/731454/40 "2015-09-16T15:41:41Z")
The kicker? The kid was [wearing a NASA t-shirt](https://i.imgur.com/PMgDR7m.jpg) when he was arrested. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-this-is-totally-going-to-kill-bring-your-clock-to-school-day/731454.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-this-is-totally-going-to-kill-bring-your-clock-to-school-day/731454.md?page=3)