We’ve all heard the dreaded “don’t forget to show your work” on a complicated math test.

However, this clever student found a loophole around the dreaded “no calculator” rule for their math test, and the teacher couldn’t help but comply.

Let’s get the full story…

Slide Rule Loophole

When I was in high school 25 years ago (ouch), I had the same math teacher for both junior and senior year.

She was tough and a riot.

She liked that I was good at math; she did not like that I did not give a crap, study, or do my homework for math class.

I still got As on my tests and quizzes, which were the vast majority of our grades.

I had, in fact, done the math and realized I could go all year without doing any homework and still get an A, so long as I participated in class regularly.

This seemed to work well…

Anyway, one of the rules for our math tests was that we were normally permitted to use a freshly-wiped TI-83 calculator.

However, for some of our tests, she warned us that we were not going to be permitted to use any kind of electronic calculator for the test.

She gave us a sheet with the instructions for the test, what was being tested, etc.

I heard that, immediately spotted a loophole, and heard a challenge being issued.

Went home and asked my father — an attorney, so also a fan of malicious compliance — if he could show me how to use his scientific slide rule.

He had a great idea…

It was the same make/brand that NASA used on the Mercury and Apollo missions, so HIGHLY accurate, and he had it because he went to a prestigious tech school (think MIT-quality).

Once I had the hang of it, I happily brought it to class for the test a few days later. I sat in the front row (assigned seating) so she saw it immediately.

‘Freckles42, no calculators on this test.’

‘Miss, the sheet you gave us says no electronic calculators.’ I handed her the sheet she’d given us at the beginning of the week.

A long silence.

‘Do you know how to actually use that?’ ‘Yes’m.’

She had him prove it…

A sigh. She asked me to demonstrate with a quick equation.

I did just fine and she finally just shrugged and said I’d still have to show my work.

I would have had to anyway, but it was good to be able to confirm my answers were correct, which was the entire point for me, really.

Next test said, « No calculators besides your brains and your fingers are allowed to be used on this test. »

I’m guessing she didn’t want someone to turn up with an abacus.

Let’s see how Reddit reacted to this one…

This commenter thought the story was hilarious!

Another user loved the nostalgia of a slide rule.

This commenter points out some hypocrisy about “showing your work”.

Overall, everyone thought it was a sweet and funny story!

Clever students always win!

And yeah, teachers secretly love them.

If you liked this post, you might want to read this story about a teacher who taught the school’s administration a lesson after they made a sick kid take a final exam.