TAMPA, Fla., Feb. 16 (UPI) -- A comparison of toilet water to fast-food restaurants' ice -- how the ice had more bacteria -- grabbed a top prize for a 12-year-old in a Florida science fair.
Jasmine Roberts, 12, won a top prize in Florida's Hillsborough County's regional science fair Wednesday for her project "How Safe Is Fast-Food Restaurants' Ice?"
She compared bacteria found in ice from fast-food restaurants with toilet water from the same restaurants. Her results showed 70 percent of the time, the ice held more bacteria than the toilet water, the Tampa Bay (Fla.) Tribune reported Thursday.
Her award generated calls from Jay Leno's producers as well as reporters from The New York Times, a Canadian newspaper and all the TV network morning shows, her father told the Tribune.
Her older brother, Justus Roberts II, won best of fair in the senior division for his project, "Umbilical Cord Blood: Is It a Treatment for Strokes?"
Another student, elementary school pupil Benjamin Wheeler, won a best of fair award for his project "Turn the Tide, Save Fishes' Lives: A Study of Phosphates and Red Tide."
The top winners advance to compete at the state level.
