my2cent's Blog

For a class project, Kyleray Katherman who is 13 tested the bacteria content of four water fountains and one toilet to challenge a ban on students from bringing bottled water to class.   From the article, the school staff thought students were bringing in alcohol.  

For the test, Katherman swabbed the spigots of four fountains and sampling from one toilet.  He dipped the cotton swab in the bowl's center and then dragging it around the rim for a complete sample.  He took the results to the school lab put them under a light to speed up the bacteria's growth.  The petri dishes with fountain water were spilling over with bacteria. The sample from the toilet was clean.

 Katherman took his results to the school board and they quickly replaced the spigots and casing of three of the water fountains and had custodians give the spigots a thorough cleaning.  

This is a smart kid.  I now look at water fountains with a different view.