Student Wins Science Fair by a Foot

Fifth-grader John Dobbins won first prize in the Manley Elementary science fair with a project that stunk up the joint.

John’s “What Makes My Feet Stink” entry beat 70 others.

“It caught the judge’s eye and nose,” science teacher Tonya Murphy said.

Dobbins filled a jar with gelatin, added bacteria that he swabbed from his feet and sat back to watch it grow.

One whiff of the finished product proved his hypothesis that hungry microbes are responsible for one of the most unfortunate side effects of walking upright.