This Teacher Is A Breath Of Fresh Air

When I was in secondary school, we had a young science teacher who was very popular but also sometimes a bit absent-minded. One day, he was teaching about chlorine and, of course, making chlorine gas in the fume cupboard. Having produced enough to make it look suitably impressive, he turned to the class, who was watching in rapt attention.

Teacher: “Now, this is a gas that was used as a weapon in the First World War. It must therefore be treated with great care. Most importantly, you must never do… this!”

He put his head inside the fume cupboard and inhaled deeply. Yes, he gassed himself. He staggered back, coughing and spluttering, and spent the rest of the day — thankfully a nice sunny summer’s day — sitting outside in the school grounds, breathing clean air.