Hollywood lernin. Bombs always have big countdown timers. And they beep. And they're made by brown people.

Ergo, bomb.

I'd love this to be parody, but it seems to be the literal explanation here - with a side order of revenge for having an uppity father:

http://www.vox.com/2015/9/16/9339063/ahmed-mohamed-elhassan

Those stories about his father are awesome. I'd like to be that guy.

So you fancy being a ringer for Al-Bashir?

I bet the guy knows very well that the Sudanese politics are farce and he was just playing along maybe for the limelight or to play the controlled opposition part so Al-Bashir can claim that he wins in a free and fair elections.

I think the biggest thing that says not a bomb was that he asked permission _before_ bringing it in[1].

[1]https://twitter.com/AnneClaireCNN/status/644158607035133952

Also, that it wasn't a bomb

That's funny, I would have thought the utter lack of anything explosive would differentiate it from a bomb. :)

In England several people (including children) have been arrested, and prosecuted, (and convicted?) for terrorism offences because they owned things like The Anarchists Cookbook.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7030096.stm

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-manchester-33705944

(The explorer Sir Ranulph Twisleton-Wykeham-Fiennes while on service with the SAS used to work out how to efficiently use explosive, allowing him to keep small amounts after training exercises. He accumulated a small stock of explosive which he used to demolish an ugly damn.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ranulph_Fiennes

)

In the photo, there is something that looks like a pouch next to the transformer. If someone thought they might be looking at a bomb, they might think that the explosive is in that pouch.

Anyone have a guess what that thing actually is?

That's exactly what made it look like a bomb to the dumbass principal:

> The principal threatened to expel him if he didn’t make a written statement, he said.

> “They were like, ‘So you tried to make a bomb?’” Ahmed said.

> “I told them no, I was trying to make a clock.”

> “He said, ‘It looks like a movie bomb to me.’”

Bombs on tv ALWAYS have giant flashing 7 segment LEDs counting down to the time when the white male American hero disarms them.

He's 14 years old. He'll figure it out.