Our Microwaved Water Experiment

During the spring, we tried to repeat an experiment we saw online. Snopes had dubbed the microwaved water experiment an urban legend, but we figured we could play Mythbusters and try to figure out if it actually worked. The original experiment used two plants that were given either microwave boiled or stove boiled water. The plant that received microwaved water appeared to be stunted at the end of the experiment, while the plant that received the stove boiled water flourished.

The setup:
Three identical containers, the same dirt, parsley seeds from the same packet. Spray bottles would be filled with either stove boiled or microwave boiled water. As a control, I used a third spray bottle filled with filtered water. Marina created a double blind for us by secretly filling the boiled water spray bottles. Sierra and I only knew which was the filtered water, because I also use that spray bottle to spritz the lizards.

Here is the experiment all pretty and set up.














After ten days, we had sprouts showing in the pot that used the purple spray bottle. This was very exciting because I thought the experiment had been ruined several times before those sprouts appeared. I am not very patient, so when we didn't see sprouts within a few days, I tried setting the pots in the window. This resulted in a series of issues, also known as mishaps, also known as cats. As you can see below, the issue didn't go away after the parsley began to emerge.

You have a huge window sill. You have to lay right there?

They say parsley seed goes nine times to the devil before sprouting. I can vouch for the trips my seeds took.

Our experiment ended on account of too much cat interference. If it is worth anything, the boiled water sprouted first. The microwaved water sprouted second and the filtered water never did anything. After we ended the experiment, I watered everything with tap water and every pot sprouted until the final feline tipping that put an end to all the seedlings. I need a cat-proof shelf.