The OG won the grand prize in the science fair!
OK, so it was just the grand prize in her class, but hell's bells, let's throw 'em in the air for the OG!
Thanks to her grandma, who is a microbiologist, we all came up with an easy experiment; testing various hand-washing methods via pressing her hand into a petri dish, and then counting the bacterial colonies after the dishes spent the night in Grandma's lab incubator at work. So, it was not only easy, it had the all-important "gross-out" factor, so very necessary to impress the average contingent of eight-year-olds.
I am so excited for her, and she is THRILLED. I got a little nervous that she wasn't doing enough, so we made double-dog sure she did all the writing and research herself, and that she helped take the pictures of the petri dishes, that sort of thing. However, I apparently needn't have worried, as her teacher clearly believed that she did do the work. (And I KNOW that her teacher quizzed her on the procedure and the findings. She is a big believer in personal responsibility, which has been a GODSEND to the OG and her scattered, disorganized way.)
Oh, and the answer? Purell doesn't do SHIT. Neither does Ivory soap. Dial is the only way to go.
And on your hands right this second? Horrific colonies of vile death.
4 comments:
It is a very impressive project! Great job, OG!
Would love to read the methodology and results.
As someone who does a lot of handwashing (and is made continually aware of the vast body of research behind it), we know that vigorous rubbing with soap (any kind) and water for at least 15 sec is the key. Sing the birthday song for a guide. In this case, one is not killing the germs so much as washing them off. Hand sanitizer is very effective in disrupting the germs cells integrity if done correctly (coat hands, rub all over, allow to dry), most people miss that last step.
Woot! WTG, OG!
Told both my girlies about the project today and they are SO excited and totally want to do it for their projects. Problem? Everybody we know is poor white trash, so no incubator growing thingy as handy as Grandma's! I'm thinking about hinting at favors to the yungins in the college lab... maybe that will work, eh?
Seriously? Purell doesn't do anything? What a fantastic marketing scheme!
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