A great school science project

James Ganong (JGanong@webtv.net)
Tue, 27 Jul 1999 03:42:11 -0700 (PDT)

Click Here to Visit our Sponsor
Good News, Bad News, Unbelievable News

Junk Science
Longtime Advocates supporter Toby Nixon sent us the following clip, which appeared in The Federalist:
A freshman at Eagle Rock Junior High won first prize at the Greater Idaho Falls Science Fair. He was attempting to show how conditioned we have become to alarmists practicing junk science related to environmental issues. In his project, the young student urged people to sign a petition demanding strict control or total elimination of the chemical "dihydrogen monoxide."
And for plenty of good reasons, since it: can cause excessive sweating and vomiting is a major component in acid rain
can cause severe burns in its gaseous state can kill you if you accidentally inhale it contributes to erosion
decreases effectiveness of automobile brakes has been found in tumors of terminal cancer patients He asked 50 people if they supported a ban of the chemical. Forty-three said yes, six were undecided, and only one knew that dihydrogen monoxide was... water.
The title of his prize-winning project was, "How Gullible Are We?" This article appeared in the free, biweekly electronic newsletter -- The Liberator OnLine.
Copyright © 1999, Advocates for Self-Government, Last Modified, Wed May 13, 1998