# 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:** 41
**Author:** ![xenophon41](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xenophon41/32/253_2.png) [@xenophon41](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xenophon41)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2015, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-this-is-totally-going-to-kill-bring-your-clock-to-school-day/731454/801 "2015-09-24T14:42:13Z")
> [@SlackerInc](#): > > I was not specifically aware of that initiative, but it doesn’t surprise me and I like it. > > However, in this case I think if he had a better sense of what this “invention” really was, he’d see its potential to [backfire.](http://insider.foxnews.com/2015/09/21/judge-napolitano-potential-fraud-case-if-ahmed-mohameds-clock-was-purposeful-hoax) (And no, I don’t frequent that site: this is the top trending topic on Facebook right now.) Uh… you really think Obama’s surprised or chagrined when Fox “News” airs criticisms from random conservative dipshits? ---
**Author:** ![SlackerInc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slackerinc/32/275_2.png) [@SlackerInc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlackerInc)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2015, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-this-is-totally-going-to-kill-bring-your-clock-to-school-day/731454/802 "2015-09-24T14:47:20Z")
I assume that he prefers not to provide FOX News any ammunition to give their accusations traction. But you’ll notice here that the gist is not really anti-Obama but criticizing this family for defrauding the president and Mark Zuckerberg and so on. ---
**Author:** ![hotflungwok](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/edb3f5/32.png) [@hotflungwok](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hotflungwok)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2015, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-this-is-totally-going-to-kill-bring-your-clock-to-school-day/731454/803 "2015-09-24T14:50:50Z")
> [@SlackerInc](#): > > I assume that he prefers not to provide FOX News any ammunition to give their accusations traction. But you’ll notice here that the gist is not really anti-Obama but criticizing this family for defrauding the president and Mark Zuckerberg and so on. Wait, now it’s fraud? How exactly did this boy defraud the president and Mark Zuckerberg? ---
**Author:** ![xenophon41](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xenophon41/32/253_2.png) [@xenophon41](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xenophon41)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2015, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-this-is-totally-going-to-kill-bring-your-clock-to-school-day/731454/804 "2015-09-24T14:57:05Z")
> [@SlackerInc](#): > > I assume that he prefers not to provide FOX News any ammunition to give their accusations traction. But you’ll notice here that the gist is not really anti-Obama but criticizing this family for defrauding the president and Mark Zuckerberg and so on. I assume Obama likes to give his rhetorical opponents as much rope as they want. And the ‘fraud’ angle is hardly a “backfire” as you described it. Napolitano’s an idiot, if you hadn’t noticed this before. His concern is on the **canned mayhem** or **doorhinge** level of speculation; it’s recreational shit flinging. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2015, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-this-is-totally-going-to-kill-bring-your-clock-to-school-day/731454/805 "2015-09-24T15:00:54Z")
> [@hotflungwok](#): > > Wait, now it’s fraud? How exactly did this boy defraud the president and Mark Zuckerberg? Obama only saw the picture when he was shopping for “Authentic Homemade Electronic Clocks” on Etsy. If the master plan here was to embarrass the school with a hoax bomb but then protect the kid by saying it was just an electronics project, I’m pretty disappointed in how they half-assed it. I mean, they could have dropped $30 on a Raspberry Pi and gotten a scarier looking “[hoax bomb](https://blog.adafruit.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/clock-web.jpg)” with the added deflection that it really was home built. Look at it – that thing is just _screaming_ “Cut the yellow wire!” “WHICH yellow wire?!!” I guess they spent all their effort into socially manipulating the school and police into arresting Ahmed but not pressing it too hard. Got to thread that needle just right, no time to shop on Amazon. ---
**Author:** ![doorhinge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a5b964/32.png) [@doorhinge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doorhinge)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2015, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-this-is-totally-going-to-kill-bring-your-clock-to-school-day/731454/806 "2015-09-24T15:14:38Z")
> [@doorhinge](#): > > …This 14yr old certainly didn’t act like some kind of hero. Or a genius. What he did was simply stupid. > [@andros](#): > > No one says he did. Don’t make stupid shit up. > No one says he did. Don’t make stupid shit up. > Kids are idiots. What the fuck is your excuse? (posts shortened) Hahahaha. Which part do you think I make up? The part where I said, “This 14yr old certainly didn’t act like some kind of hero”? Or was it the part where I said, “Or a genius”? Or maybe it’s the part where I said, “What he did was simply stupid”? I didn’t “make stupid shit up”. You did. Thanks for playing. Better luck next time. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![doorhinge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a5b964/32.png) [@doorhinge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doorhinge)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2015, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-this-is-totally-going-to-kill-bring-your-clock-to-school-day/731454/807 "2015-09-24T15:25:14Z")
> [@xenophon41](#): > > I assume Obama likes to give his rhetorical opponents as much rope as they want. And the ‘fraud’ angle is hardly a “backfire” as you described it. Napolitano’s an idiot, if you hadn’t noticed this before. His concern is on the **canned mayhem** or **doorhinge** level of speculation; it’s recreational shit flinging. “Speculation”? The kid removed the case from a clock, placed the inner workings into a briefcase, and took it to school. The 1st teacher suggested that the kid not show this fire hazard/electric-shock producing/potential bomb-detonating device to anyone else. The kid was too stupid to follow simple instructions. It’s a good thing that the kid didn’t draw a picture of a handgun. Obama might have ordered his AG to send the two-dimensional firearm to a Mexican drug cartel as fast and furiously as she could. :rolleyes: ---
**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 24, 2015, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-this-is-totally-going-to-kill-bring-your-clock-to-school-day/731454/808 "2015-09-24T15:27:33Z")
> [@SlackerInc](#): > > Does anyone think Obama would have sent that tweet if he had seen the video of how the clock was “made”? > > ETA: It’s not like he couldn’t have taken a stand against putting a nonviolent 14 year old in handcuffs, without making it appear he was actually impressed with such a shitty “invention”. The whole argument that it was a “shitty” invention is a concession on the “hoax bomb” theory. You lost on that one, so all you have left is, it wasn’t a hoax bomb, but it still was a shitty clock. Weak sauce. ---
**Author:** ![andros](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e480ec/32.png) [@andros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/andros)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2015, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-this-is-totally-going-to-kill-bring-your-clock-to-school-day/731454/809 "2015-09-24T15:42:43Z")
> [@doorhinge](#): > > Hahahaha. Which part do you think I make up? The part where I said, “This 14yr old certainly didn’t act like some kind of hero”? Or was it the part where I said, “Or a genius”? Or maybe it’s the part where I said, “What he did was simply stupid”? Surprisingly, that’s actually a reasonable point. When you used the words “hero” and “genius,” I \*inferred \*that you were suggesting that someone–anyone–had called the kid either of those. I mean, in context that seemed a safe inference. But you may not have meant to imply such a thing. Bizarrely enough, I think I may have overestimated your cleverness. Apologies. ---
**Author:** ![xenophon41](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xenophon41/32/253_2.png) [@xenophon41](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xenophon41)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2015, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-this-is-totally-going-to-kill-bring-your-clock-to-school-day/731454/810 "2015-09-24T15:43:45Z")
> [@doorhinge](#): > > :rolleyes: **SlackerInc** please see quoted post (follow the link; I only included the stuff that wasn’t gibberish). Recreational shit flinging. (Although the implicit attachment of responsibility for a GW Bush-era ATF sting operation to Obama is an additional turdnugget beyond that served by the Hon. Judge FoxPundit. _Lagniappe_ I guess.) ---
**Author:** ![doorhinge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a5b964/32.png) [@doorhinge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doorhinge)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2015, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-this-is-totally-going-to-kill-bring-your-clock-to-school-day/731454/811 "2015-09-24T15:47:31Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > The whole argument that it was a “shitty” invention is a concession on the “hoax bomb” theory. You lost on that one, so all you have left is, it wasn’t a hoax bomb, but it still was a shitty clock. Weak sauce. This seems to be another of Obama’s “I don’t know the facts but…” scenarios. \*COOL CLOCK. Unfortunately, the exposed electrical connections makes your case-less clock a fire, and shock hazard. Would you like to bring it to the WH and start a fire, or scare the crap out of the Secret Service? - the Prez\* ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2015, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-this-is-totally-going-to-kill-bring-your-clock-to-school-day/731454/812 "2015-09-24T15:48:42Z")
Well, you’re half right. ---
**Author:** ![xenophon41](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xenophon41/32/253_2.png) [@xenophon41](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xenophon41)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2015, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-this-is-totally-going-to-kill-bring-your-clock-to-school-day/731454/813 "2015-09-24T15:50:51Z")
> [@andros](#): > > Bizarrely enough, I think I may have overestimated your cleverness. Apologies. Don’t kick yourself. It’s hard to estimate values at such a low level. ---
**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 24, 2015, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-this-is-totally-going-to-kill-bring-your-clock-to-school-day/731454/814 "2015-09-24T15:51:34Z")
> [@doorhinge](#): > > This seems to be another of Obama’s “I don’t know the facts but…” scenarios. > > \*COOL CLOCK. Unfortunately, the exposed electrical connections makes your case-less clock a fire, and shock hazard. Would you like to bring it to the WH and start a fire, or scare the crap out of the Secret Service? > > - the Prez\* A fire hazard?? A shock hazard?? From a nine volt battery?? You should know how foolish that makes you look. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2015, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-this-is-totally-going-to-kill-bring-your-clock-to-school-day/731454/815 "2015-09-24T15:51:46Z")
So much for Obama’s plans to lick the clock. ---
**Author:** ![SlackerInc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slackerinc/32/275_2.png) [@SlackerInc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlackerInc)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2015, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-this-is-totally-going-to-kill-bring-your-clock-to-school-day/731454/816 "2015-09-24T15:59:38Z")
> [@xenophon41](#): > > I assume Obama likes to give his rhetorical opponents as much rope as they want. And the ‘fraud’ angle is hardly a “backfire” as you described it. Napolitano’s an idiot, if you hadn’t noticed this before. His concern is on the **canned mayhem** or **doorhinge** level of speculation; it’s recreational shit flinging. I haven’t noticed it because I’ve never heard of the guy. As I said, I only found that link because it was the top trending topic on Facebook. I understand the impulse to circle the progressive wagons, and it doesn’t help when idiotic shitflingers spout gibberish about it. And honestly, if I thought President Obama or any prominent Democrat was somehow implicated in this, I would probably be in favor of backing away from raising questions about it. But as long as I feel comfortable that they can if necessary just say “oops, we gave the kid the benefit of the doubt”, I’m not going to help sweep it under the rug just because that’s what my “team” is doing. ETA: > [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > A fire hazard?? A shock hazard?? From a nine volt battery?? You should know how foolish that makes you look. It had a plug, and someone who sounded like he knew his shit said it was a shock hazard if plugged in. ---
**Author:** ![steronz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steronz/32/11765_2.png) [@steronz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/steronz)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2015, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-this-is-totally-going-to-kill-bring-your-clock-to-school-day/731454/817 "2015-09-24T15:59:52Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > A fire hazard?? A shock hazard?? From a nine volt battery?? You should know how foolish that makes you look. \ There’s no evidence that there ever was a 9V battery. It’s widely reported that he plugged it in during English class, and that’s why it beeped. I don’t know where that report came from, but considering we see a normal 120V plug on it, and we don’t see a 9V battery, I think it’s fair to reason that the 120V plug is at least a plausible way to provide the clock power. And the 120V wires are just wrapped in electrical tape, the transformer is dangling by its wires and unsecured, and the power cable has no clean way to exit the case. Were the clock to be plugged in and the aluminum lid slammed shut, it would almost certainly short out. So yeah, from a safety perspective, it gets a big ol’ fail. There’s really no way around it. Carry on. ---
**Author:** ![Morgenstern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Morgenstern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgenstern)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2015, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-this-is-totally-going-to-kill-bring-your-clock-to-school-day/731454/818 "2015-09-24T16:01:08Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > A fire hazard?? A shock hazard?? From a nine volt battery?? You should know how foolish that makes you look. You’re talking to **doorhinge**. You’ll have to give him some vowels and a few free guesses if you want an answer. ---
**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 24, 2015, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-this-is-totally-going-to-kill-bring-your-clock-to-school-day/731454/819 "2015-09-24T16:06:45Z")
> [@SlackerInc](#): > > I haven’t noticed it because I’ve never heard of the guy. As I said, I only found that link because it was the top trending topic on Facebook. > > I understand the impulse to circle the progressive wagons, and it doesn’t help when idiotic shitflingers spout gibberish about it. And honestly, if I thought President Obama or any prominent Democrat was somehow implicated in this, I would probably be in favor of backing away from raising questions about it. But as long as I feel comfortable that they can if necessary just say “oops, we gave the kid the benefit of the doubt”, I’m not going to help sweep it under the rug just because that’s what my “team” is doing. > > ETA: > > It had a plug, and someone who sounded like he knew his shit said it was a shock hazard if plugged in. Do bombs typically have to be plugged in? Even “hoax” bombs? ---
**Author:** ![Grumman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/43a26b/32.png) [@Grumman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grumman)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2015, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-this-is-totally-going-to-kill-bring-your-clock-to-school-day/731454/820 "2015-09-24T16:07:38Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > A fire hazard?? A shock hazard?? From a nine volt battery?? You should know how foolish that makes you look. The clock has a NEMA plug to allow it to be connected to a 110V wall socket - the battery is meant as a backup for blackouts. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-this-is-totally-going-to-kill-bring-your-clock-to-school-day/731454.md?page=40) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-this-is-totally-going-to-kill-bring-your-clock-to-school-day/731454.md?page=42)