Highschool Kid Proves You Can't Beat Breathalyzer

You can’t beat the breathalyzer. If you doubt that, it’s time to study the science fair exhibit of 17-year-old Jessica Johnson of Meteghan, who wants you to know that something like gargling with mouthwash will not fool a police machine when it measures alcohol consumption.

Johnson, a student at St. Mary’s Bay Academy outside Weymouth, won first place among entries by grade 11 and 12 students at the recent Tri-County Regional Science Fair. Her entry, which also took second prize overall, earned her a spot at the national science fair next month in Saguenay, Que.

Johnson’s ‘Beat the Breathalyzer’ entry was one of 10 submitted by SMBA students to the science fair March 23 at the Yarmouth campus of Nova Scotia Community College.

Runner-up in the grades 11-12 category was fellow SMBA student Julia Martin, whose entry looked at plant growth.

Johnson said her entry was motivated by a remark of a friend’s mother who said the results of a breathalyzer were not infallible.

“I want to know if you could mess with the results,” said Johnson, and with the help of a constable at the Meteghan RCMP detachment, she tested a breathalyzer with products that contained alcohol, looking for the colour revealed by the alcohol found in drinks.

“She proved visually that none of the substances would achieve the colour change,” said science teacher Jennifer Thibault, who is advising Jessica and helping as she polishes her display for exhibit at the Canada-Wide Science Fair in Saguenay.

SMBA was the only Municipality of Digby high school to enter the fair, which this year had more than 100 participants, with entries that looked at subjects as varied as crime scene investigation, which cereal has the most iron, musical plants and why everyone’s heart doesn’t beat the same.

The overall winning entry was entered by Travis LeBlanc, a grade 7-8 student at Maple Grove School in Yarmouth County, whose entry looked at cleaners versus bacteria. In third place was Collin Dares of Lockeport Regional High School, a grade 9-10 student whose exhibit was entitled ‘Mousebot’.

The top three winners shared cash prizes, and qualified for the national science fair, where they will be sent by Tri-County Regional School Board, accompanied by a teacher who has served on the board’s science lead team.

(Source – The Digby Courier)

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