Professor thought nobody showed up for class until he realized the hilarious reason for it

Editor's note: This article was originally published on February 17, 2023. It has since been updated.

Teachers are not infallible. Just like us, they make silly mistakes now and then. The extreme strain that teachers are under makes it difficult for them to forgive themselves. Accepting the inevitable mess they made might be difficult since they care about their students and hold themselves to a high standard. But mistakes take a variety of forms and some of them are usually funnier than others. Like so, this professor's blunder has the internet in fits of laughter. Joseph Mullins, an economics professor, was waiting for his 40 students to show up for the class. Disappointed, he sent an email to his students only to discover that he was in the wrong room as he waited.

When his brain registered the error he had made early in the morning, he scrambled to class, wide-eyed and bewildered. On Twitter, he later revealed all that had transpired and the aftermath. "Today, nobody showed up to my 8.15 am class. 0 students of about 40. Sitting in the empty room, I email them, trying to disguise my hurt feelings. 2 mins later, I get a reply: 'Professor, we think you might be in the wrong room'. So anyway, off I go to live in a hole forever," Mullins wrote. The tweet became an internet sensation in minutes, with over 634K likes and 44.9K retweets.

In a separate tweet, Mullins explained that he woke up to play "Dungeons and Dragons" at 4 AM in the morning with his friends in Australia. He also claimed that his wife was roasting him in every group chat about his little slip-up. If you thought teachers were bulletproof or nothing could affect them, you might want to change that narrative. They do a funny deed every once in a while and just like us, they will keep hearing it at family events for at least a year. Mullins had over a thousand comments where people and fellow teachers shared their own experiences while the others laughed out loud.

"This is great. Were you in the correct building? Correct floor?", asked @ChrisPhelanEcon. To this, Mullins responded: "I went to the room exactly beneath the correct one, which happens to look identical in every way." That makes sense, right? @Lalasoo said: "I think you may have to share the text of the email you wrote." Mullins replied: Something along the lines of: "I'm sitting here in an empty classroom. If no one shows up in the next 5 minutes I will leave, but I would like to start a conversation about how I can get more of you to come to class." After this incident, I am sure all of his students will love to attend his next class if he doesn't mix up the rooms this time. 

Twitter user @ColeLCollinss, highlighted how even teachers make innocent mistakes sometimes. "I would like to use this opportunity to point out how even the most highly educated and prepared human beings, make simple mistakes, that can affect many. Not that you hurt people with this or anything like that, it was completely innocent, I just think some people need to hear that even those we look up to are flopping sometimes. Thanks for sharing! I cackled so hard that my pittie ran for cover. Lmao." @KatDuncanPhoto added: "I am dying but laughing *with* you I swear! I teach an 8 am class this semester and would not at all be surprised if I did this. 8 am is not my jam."