For an English assignment, he tested the bacteria content at four water fountains and one toilet to challenge a ban on students from bringing bottled water to class. It seems some were using them to sneak in alcohol.
Guess which was cleaner?
Katherman, 13, used Q-tips and petri dishes, swabbing the spigots of four fountains and sampling one toilet, dunking the cotton in the bowl's center and then dragging it around the rim for a complete sample.
The petri dishes with fountain water were swarming with bacteria. The sample from the toilet was clean, probably because the toilets are doused with cleansing chemicals daily.
"I wanted to see the looks on their faces," Katherman said.
Administrators quickly replaced the spigots and casing at three of the water fountains and custodians gave them all a thorough cleaning, but the ban on water bottles remains.
Scott Edmondson, the school's principal, added, "You'd be surprised how clean the water is in a toilet."
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