Astronomy professor rides fire extinguisher-powered tricycle in class

A "badass" university professor rode a fire extinguisher-powered tricycle across a lecture theatre to show students how exciting space can be.

With a gas cylinder strapped to the blue trike, astronomy professor Grace Deming let rip on the rocket in the auditorium to the delight of her University of Maryland undergraduates.

The pint-sized professor shot across the room leaving a massive cloud of gas behind her in a lesson that would make Wile E Coyote gush.

Her student Mike Pachulski recorded the video on Tuesday and later posted it to YouTube, describing the astronomer as "pretty badass".

It's a sentiment that many of Prof Deming's former Astronomy 101 students share.

According to reviews on university ranking site Koofers, the astronomy lecturer received five-star rankings from many former pupils who attest she is an "interesting" teacher who "makes astronomy fun".

Source: Mike Pachulski - YouTube
Author: Nicholas McCallum, Approving editor: Martin Zavan