Now THIS is what I call a science fair project:
Benito Middle School student Jasmine Roberts examined the amount of bacteria in ice served at fast food restaurants. Her project won the science fair at the New Tampa school, and she hopes to win a top prize at the Hillsborough County Regional Science and Engineering Fair, which starts Tuesday.The 12-year-old compared the ice used in the drinks with the water from toilet bowls in the same restaurants. Jasmine said she found the results startling. "I thought there might be a little bacteria in the ice, but I never expected it to be this much," she said. "And I never thought the toilet water would be cleaner."
Her discovery: Seventy percent of the time, the ice had more bacteria than the toilet water.
And we're not talking harmless little bugs, either. She found E. coli in three of the five ice samples. I think Tampa's got a bit of a problem - and a budding epidemiologist on its hands.
Posted by kswygert at February 13, 2006 06:41 PM