In high school, a history class classmate thought the capital of Indiana was called "Downtown." Also (same girl) was suprised to find that Washington D.C. was near the East Coast. "I thought it was over in the middle somewhere, like in Kansas or something."
Mr. Raymond, who taught chemistry in my Junior year, was in rare form many times. More than once he asked a student, "Did your parents ever have any children that lived?" Another time, when a student complained that her low grade on a test wasn't fair, he replied quickly, "Fair is a word dreamed up by elementary school teachers to keep the little kids from getting hurt on the playground."
Of course, this same chemistry teacher refused to teach the class the formula for black powder because his high school teacher had made the mistake. He and his buddy made some and put it to the test... An old school bus that had been used as a concession stand during football games. His punishment? He and his buddy had to repaint the entire bus garage at their school.
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