Something learned from today's science experiment......

..... avoid the energy drink called "Full Throttle"!!!

I've been helping in our homeschool group's anatomy class for the last 3 or 4 years. We repeat basically the same experiments each year with a new group of seventh and eighth graders.  However, today's lab experiment had a slightly different twist -- and a SCARY outcome!!

We used very small worms (Lumbriculus/California Blackworm) for this experiment. First, we would put the worm (in a drop or two of water) on a small piece of parafin to keep it from scooting away, and the kids would look closely at the worms with a magnifying class to observe and count the pulse of the worms. Then in the past, we added drops of something caffeinated (Pepsi, Mountain Dew, or something similar) to the drop of water. Then we would add drops of adrenalin to the water of other worms. The kids would count pulses again and compare what happened with each added substance. Obviously, the pulse would increase with the caffeine and REALLY increase with the adrenalin.

So this year, instead of soda, the teacher brought a can of Full Throttle to use. As I walked around the room adding drops of Full Throttle to each kid's experiment, I started hearing comments from the front of the room -- "Hey, my worm died"; "Hey, mine too"; "And my worm came apart"; "Man, my worm looks like it exploded!" -- and on and on and on.

Holy cow -- by the time we got to the adrenalin, pretty much all the worms in the first part of the experiment had gone on to that great worm farm in the sky! We have NEVER had an outcome like that before...... That's kind of scary!!

I never had any desire to drink highly caffeinated drinks in the past, and now -- ABSOLUTELY NOT!! I wonder what else that stuff might be doing to our bodies. I don't think I want to be the guinea pig that will find out!!!

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