# 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:** 44
**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, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-this-is-totally-going-to-kill-bring-your-clock-to-school-day/731454/861 "2015-09-24T21:42:16Z")
> [@doorhinge](#): > > Ahmed “the clock-making teen” Mohamed says it was plugged in. > > ['I Felt Like a Terrorist' | Al Jazeera America](http://america.aljazeera.com/watch/shows/Ali-Velshi-On-Target/2015/9/i-felt-like-a-terrorist.html) So how many bombs, or “hoax” bombs, have 110v plugs? Without a really fucking long extension cord, that would place some serious limitations on its usefulness. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2015, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-this-is-totally-going-to-kill-bring-your-clock-to-school-day/731454/862 "2015-09-24T21:46:01Z")
> [@Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](#): > > I certainly did notice your “if” and then noticed you followed it up with a few more lines of rant about how bad it is for Obama to do stuff like this. > > In this context, your “if” carries about as much exculpatory weight as the question mark at the end of a Fox chyron. “Is Obama a bloodthirsy Muslim terrorist?” Especially when the if in question is really very easily checked out. I admit, I should have checked. But I thought, at the time of my posting, that it was still unconfirmed, and I was waiting for follow up. Hence the “if”. I let my biases show. Not an anti-Obama bias, but an anti-politician bias. I assume they all do things that follow the prevailing wind, so I wouldn’t have been surprised of _a_ President tweeted without the facts. Turns out this one didn’t. (though, truly, it isn’t really a “nice clock”.) ---
**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, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-this-is-totally-going-to-kill-bring-your-clock-to-school-day/731454/863 "2015-09-24T21:51:41Z")
> [@SlackerInc](#): > > He plugged it in?!? Oh my. > > A person could have fun going back through many assertions made in this thread that are now blown to pieces. If a person wanted to. Like what? Like all those people who claimed that 14 year old kids aren’t dumb? All of those people? I know you have an ax to grind and all, but the general consensus in this thread has been that the kid made stupid choices. I mean except for that one guy who thinks he’s some sort of criminal political activist mastermind… ---
**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, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-this-is-totally-going-to-kill-bring-your-clock-to-school-day/731454/864 "2015-09-24T22:10:54Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > So how many bombs, or “hoax” bombs, have 110v plugs? Without a really fucking long extension cord, that would place some serious limitations on its usefulness. It’s usefulness would depend on how a mass-murdering monster chose to use their timing device. The Aurora monster who had shot up a movie theater had filled his apartment with IED’s. What length of extension cord would he have required? 6 foot? 50 foot? Two 25 footers? Do you believe that the need for 110vac somehow disqualifies a bomb-timing device from being considered a true bomb? ---
**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, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-this-is-totally-going-to-kill-bring-your-clock-to-school-day/731454/865 "2015-09-24T22:13:17Z")
> [@doorhinge](#): > > Do you believe that the need for 110vac somehow disqualifies a bomb-timing device from being considered a true bomb? That you don’t says more about your desperate logic than mine. ---
**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, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-this-is-totally-going-to-kill-bring-your-clock-to-school-day/731454/866 "2015-09-24T22:20:44Z")
> [@xenophon41](#): > > …And if my son had been brown skinned and named “Ahmed Mohamed” I’d for damn sure know why he was treated that way. (post shortened) Would it be because he was too stupid to follow simple instructions? A teacher had told him to keep his Nobel-prize winning project in his backpack. But noooooooo, the child genius had to take his timing device out of his backpack, and plug it into the wall. He’s lucky he didn’t electrocute himself, or another student. ---
**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, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-this-is-totally-going-to-kill-bring-your-clock-to-school-day/731454/867 "2015-09-24T22:42:15Z")
> [@doorhinge](#): > > (post shortened) > > Would it be because he was too stupid to follow simple instructions? > > A teacher had told him to keep his Nobel-prize winning project in his backpack. But noooooooo, the child genius had to take his timing device out of his backpack, and plug it into the wall. He’s lucky he didn’t electrocute himself, or another student. He’s 14. I hate to break this to anyone who doesn’t know, but 14 year old boys \*sometimes don’t follow \*simple instructions. By the time the nerve impulses get from the inner ear to the conscious part of his brain, they’ve been filtered through the 14 year old id and corrected into something more satisfying. “Keep it in your backpack” probably sounded like “all the other kids and teachers would love to see this thing!” It’s why he should’ve gotten school discipline. Doesn’t explain why he was interrogated and perp-walked out of the school into juvenile detention. Also, he’s not really that lucky as far as the electrocution goes. The device is _not_ safe -it’s a legitimate shock hazard (and a hazard to the circuit it’s plugged into because it’s likely to short to ground if the transformer leads contact the case), but let’s not overstate the risk. Also too: “Nobel-prize winning project” and “child genius” are strange descriptions that no one else in this thread or social media seems to be using. Are you sure you’re thinking of the right device and kid? Are you confused? ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2015, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-this-is-totally-going-to-kill-bring-your-clock-to-school-day/731454/868 "2015-09-24T22:52:39Z")
If you look at the photo, he has the primary leads of the transformer electrically taped to the power cord, so the “shock and fire” hazard is no greater than any number of hillbilly repairs I’ve seen. ---
**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, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-this-is-totally-going-to-kill-bring-your-clock-to-school-day/731454/869 "2015-09-24T23:04:16Z")
Is there any aesthetic or functional improvement achieved by dumping this clock into a pencil case? What did he “invent”? And are the other kids invited to the White House event legitimate science fair winners and so on? Is it going to be good for Ahmed’s self-esteem to mingle with them? ---
**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, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-this-is-totally-going-to-kill-bring-your-clock-to-school-day/731454/870 "2015-09-24T23:07:18Z")
> [@SlackerInc](#): > > Is there any aesthetic or functional improvement achieved by dumping this clock into a pencil case? What did he “invent”? What difference does it make? ---
**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, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-this-is-totally-going-to-kill-bring-your-clock-to-school-day/731454/871 "2015-09-24T23:08:29Z")
Anyone but **doorhinge** calling a 14 year old stupid, I’d say they were punching down. ---
**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, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-this-is-totally-going-to-kill-bring-your-clock-to-school-day/731454/872 "2015-09-24T23:09:09Z")
> [@beowulff](#): > > If you look at the photo, he has the primary leads of the transformer electrically taped to the power cord, so the “shock and fire” hazard is no greater than any number of hillbilly repairs I’ve seen. Which, you gotta admit, have damaged or killed any number of hillbillies. But yeah, an electrically taped connection is insulated better than an uncovered one. I can’t make out the tape on the photos I’ve seen, though. ---
**Author:** ![erysichthon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d07c76/32.png) [@erysichthon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/erysichthon)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2015, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-this-is-totally-going-to-kill-bring-your-clock-to-school-day/731454/873 "2015-09-25T00:19:48Z")
> [@SlackerInc](#): > > Is there any aesthetic or functional improvement achieved by dumping this clock into a pencil case? That’s a good point about the lack of aesthetic improvement. Obviously, if he had zip-tied the loose wires together and securely mounted everything in a nice brushed-aluminum housing, [like this](http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-cYKCg5tCEIQ/Tf-P_waklJI/AAAAAAAABQQ/dt_a88HwOaw/s1600/goldfinger+atomic+bomb.jpg), all of that “movie bomb” nonsense would have been avoided. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2015, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-this-is-totally-going-to-kill-bring-your-clock-to-school-day/731454/874 "2015-09-25T00:58:38Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > I don’t know, but I find **BigT** ’s knowledge of bomb-making practices concerning. I know you’re joking, but this is how really stupid bullshit starts. So, for the record, I know as much about bomb making as most people–pretty much nothing. My whole point is that you don’t have to know anything about bombs to know that a visible clock on a bomb would be counterproductive. It’s just something that’s obvious with a little thought, for the reasons I said. It’s not some huge leap that the things in TV or movies don’t actually look like the real thing. Do you also think that real bombs have a red wire and blue wire, and you have to figure out which one to cut? What’s more, I do have the entire Internet as my disposal, so, once I thought of it, I was easily able to look it up–seeing that it’s a [storytelling trope](http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/IncrediblyObviousBomb) and [unrealistic](https://www.quora.com/Do-real-life-bombs-have-big-LED-displays-indicating-how-much-time-is-left-until-they-detonate). It just makes no sense for a real DIY bomb to have a visible LED timer. It only makes sense if you were trying to trick people into thinking it was a bomb. And, yet, we have no indication that A.M. did this, and every indication that he told everyone that it was just a clock. ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2015, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-this-is-totally-going-to-kill-bring-your-clock-to-school-day/731454/875 "2015-09-25T01:45:46Z")
> [@doorhinge](#): > > (post shortened) > > Would it be because he was too stupid to follow simple instructions? > > A teacher had told him to keep his Nobel-prize winning project in his backpack. But noooooooo, the child genius had to take his timing device out of his backpack, and plug it into the wall. He’s lucky he didn’t electrocute himself, or another student. Which has absolutely nothing to do with calling the police, questioning him without letting him call his parents or a lawyer, taking him to juvenile jail, with false accusations of either a bomb or a hoax, or any of the other issues with which people are actually upset. Every time you post you make one more dumb comment trying to steer away from the actual discussion. ---
**Author:** ![FXMastermind](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fxmastermind/32/7289_2.png) [@FXMastermind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FXMastermind)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2015, 12:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-this-is-totally-going-to-kill-bring-your-clock-to-school-day/731454/876 "2015-09-25T12:29:21Z")
> [@tomndebb](#): > > Which has absolutely nothing to do with calling the police, questioning him without letting him call his parents or a lawyer, taking him to juvenile jail, with false accusations of either a bomb or a hoax, or any of the other issues with which people are actually upset. People get upset, even if there is no bomb. Just creating a situation where people might think there is a bomb is a serious crime. [You can get arrested for it.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Us2kv0kzYxM)[Or beat up over it.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ydz8iHB2RbM) (it’s funny until somebody starts kicking your ass and calls the cops) The real question, for many, is would the same thing happen to a white 14 year old, if they did the exact same thing? But that ignores the central issue. Of making people think you might have a bomb of some sort. ---
**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 25, 2015, 12:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-this-is-totally-going-to-kill-bring-your-clock-to-school-day/731454/877 "2015-09-25T12:34:26Z")
> [@FXMastermind](#): > > But that ignores the central issue. Of making people think you might have a bomb of some sort. Yes. Whenever I have a clock but want to convince someone I have a bomb, I show them the clock and tell them it’s a clock. When they agree that it’s a clock, well that’s when I know I’ve hoaxed 'em real good! ---
**Author:** ![FXMastermind](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fxmastermind/32/7289_2.png) [@FXMastermind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FXMastermind)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2015, 12:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-this-is-totally-going-to-kill-bring-your-clock-to-school-day/731454/878 "2015-09-25T12:39:42Z")
You just made something up, which is called a lie. You never do that. ---
**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 25, 2015, 12:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-this-is-totally-going-to-kill-bring-your-clock-to-school-day/731454/879 "2015-09-25T12:44:47Z")
Ooh, you found me out… I don’t _really_ try and convince people I have bombs; good on you for deducing the truth about me! But I did just describe the way you seem to think Ahmed went about conducting a bomb hoax. Which either makes him or you very stupid. See if you can deduce which one of those two options I think is more likely. ---
**Author:** ![FXMastermind](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fxmastermind/32/7289_2.png) [@FXMastermind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FXMastermind)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2015, 12:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-this-is-totally-going-to-kill-bring-your-clock-to-school-day/731454/880 "2015-09-25T12:51:32Z")
I have no idea what the 14 year old actually did, other than the one fact that he brought a digital clock to school, in a pencil case, and somehow he set off the alarm during a class. The rest seems to be in dispute. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-this-is-totally-going-to-kill-bring-your-clock-to-school-day/731454.md?page=43) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-this-is-totally-going-to-kill-bring-your-clock-to-school-day/731454.md?page=45)