The Acid Bomb!

I have had my share of cranky teachers as I am sure all of you might have had at some time or the other.
My Chemistry teacher in my tenth grade was an eccentric gentleman named Joseph K. He was particularly notorious for his habit of bringing just one match in a matchbox to light the bunsen burner for his chemistry experiments and when that one fizzled out as it inexplicably did, there was the usual frantic search for a matchbox, much to our amusement and his annoyance.
There was one memorable incident that lies etched in my memory.
The event was the annual school science exhibition when each of us students tried to outdo each other to win the coveted first prize for clever tricks that could captivate the audience of the learned gentlemen who would turn out on the great day.
Mr. Joseph, MSc ,BEd was as usual in the lead with his bag of tricks which he delegated to us students. There was a mini oxygen plant, a chlorine plant and even a miniature soap factory. The sky was the limit to the imagination of our dear Mr.Joseph, post graduate gold medallist.
I was delegated with our teacher's pet project as I was known to have a keen interest in Chemistry which the other students found drab and usually boring.
The exhibit was a crude fire extinguisher contraption that consisted of simply a test tube of hydrochloric acid floating on a dilute solution of washing soda enclosed in a plastic container. I was aware of the technological working of the contraption but did not pay much heed to the practical implications of this seemingly harmless device.
For all I knew when I was asked to turn the enclosing plastic container that held the compartmentalized acid and bicarbonate of soda combination the acid would come in contact with the soda solution causing a lot of carbon dioxide gas to be produced which would vent out through a hole punched on the top of the container onto the source of a small fire, extinguishing it in the process. That was the basic idea of the fire extinguisher and how it was supposed to work.
On the great day we were all excited and in a mild tizzy. The chief guest was a high ranking official from the collector's office.
It was decided that the demonstration of my exhibit would be a one time affair and only to be performed in the presence of the chief guest. I waited anxiously as the chief guest escorted by the school principal, who happened to be my father, wound their way through the various exhibits on the way to mine.
At last the defining moment arrived. In the presence of the honored quests I briefly described the mechanism of the fire extinguisher and proceeded to turn it upside down trying at the same time to point the vent towards a small paper fire kindled explicitly for the purpose.
What happened next dumbfounded everyone including me. The reaction that occurred took place so rapidly and vigorously that the gas produced caused a mild explosion shattering the container that held it, spraying the guests and me with corrosive acid. I looked down to see my clothes drenched with acid, the cotton of my terry cot uniform having dissolved leaving threadbare terry line. There was a minor commotion as everybody checked to see whether anyone was hurt in this scientific experiment gone terribly wrong. Fortunately nobody was.
The chief guest had the grace to ask me if I was all right, ignoring the acid stains on his shirt and coat. Once the initial uproar subsided I slinked off unnoticed to change into a pair of new uniform.
When I returned Joseph sir had the brashness to offer me the opportunity to host his soap producing exhibit. I flatly refused, realizing the lesson I had so unfortunately learnt that day, on the danger of untested theory and practical use.
Later that night during supper at home, we all had a good laugh at the follies of our dear Joseph sir.