Repost: Winding up the younger pupils
One rainy day at school, 5th form I think, I was sitting indoors on my own and noticed a few first-form boys hanging around. Aha, a chance to mess with their heads.

I form two fists, and start striking my knuckles against each other in the manner of someone trying to start a fire with a flint. After a minute or two, one of them notices and says "What are you doing?"

"Trying to strike sparks off my knuckles."

"No, go on. Don't be daft. You can't do that!" Quite right, of course. But I'm the science spod and everyone knows it.

"Yes you can," I say, matter-of-factly. "Small flakes of skin are heated by friction and burn, but you've got to get the right conditions."

After a few more exchanges of plausible bullshit, I have a small circle of half-a-dozen younger boys sitting around striking their knuckles together for no reason.

And then, we hit gold. One of them starts backwards and explains: "I got one!"

I congratulated him and left, leaving them all enthused by this mythical success, and more eager than ever to waste this lunch break, and for all I know many others, learning the harsh lesson that the wages of gullibility is sore knuckles.

Reposted from the "Pathological Liars" challenge, where it was by far the most popular post of all time.
( Amish Information Systems hates misplaced, commas, Thu 12 Jan 2012, 16:13, Reply)