heh

12/4/2004

At an assembly of 13-year-olds at St Matthew's High
  School in Moston, Manchester, England, a teacher told students an
  asteroid was on a collision course with Earth. The stunned children
  were told they would be able to leave school early to say their "final
  farewells" to family members. "Unfortunately a small number of pupils
  took the story literally," says Headteacher Kevin Hogan -- the end-of-
  the-world threat was meant as a lesson for students to "live each day
  to the full." When it became apparent that some of the children were
  crying, "the head of year visited every year-9 class and again told
  students that the story was untrue and made every effort to ensure that
  those students who had been anxious were reassured."