Timing is everything. That’s why you’ve undoubtedly already heard the story of Ahmed Mohamed, the fourteen year-old who was taken from his Dallas high school in handcuffs after he showed up with a homemade clock. School officials and police (who opted not to file charges) contended that the clock could have been mistaken for a bomb. It turns out the only thing that exploded was the Internet. The story started to go viral last night, and by midday, the Potus had chimed in with a note of support and an invitation to the White House (and then the other top world leader, Mark Zuckerberg, invited him to visit Facebook). If Ahmed gets any bigger, the Kardashians may try to adopt him. This is a story of the power of social media; and it’s also evidence that when it comes to public attitudes towards something like the ridiculous arrest of a Muslim kid with a clock, times have changed.

+ WaPo: Why Ahmed Mohamed should be a topic in presidential debates.

+ Last week, Slate’s Dahlia Lithwick hit upon the larger topic: A reminder as the school year opens — The juvenile justice system eats kids for breakfast.

+ And from Wired: How to make your own homemade clock that isn’t a bomb. (For the first time I’m glad I sucked at science in high school. It may have kept me out of the joint.)