Some state-focused think tanks, such as the Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs and Grassroot Institute of Hawaii, have high school essay competitions that focus on the principles of liberty or economics. The Mackinac Center (Mich.), however, breaks new ground with its “Scientific or Not?” essay contest. Other think tanks should consider following suit given the level of scientific illiteracy in the U.S. and the damaging policy repercussions that result from it.

Mackinac’s contest “required students in grades 6 through 12 to analyze ... a scientific fact or fallacy from a book, movie, song or other pop-culture medium.” The winning essay, submitted by a 15-year old student, pointed out, “At the bottom of the ocean, mermaids should implode from water pressure, making the movie ‘The Little Mermaid’ scientifically impossible.”

The second place winner wrote about the errors in the film “The Day After.” Perhaps because it’s summer and doomsday scenarios are serious and mermaids I can take or leave, the third place essay intrigued me most. Mackinac's quarterly magazine MichiganScience reports the student “analyzed why the Fizzy Lifting Drink featured in ‘Charlie and the Chocolate Factory’ could not have lifted the young Charlie and his grandfather into the air.” Inquiring minds click here!