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MYTH OR SCIENCE

CBC TELEVISION, THE NATURE OF THINGS

2011 | 44 mins

In Myth or Science, microbiologist Dr. Jennifer Gardy turns her expertise to a new mission - myth busting for science. To separate science fiction from science fact, she uses her own body, and unorthodox tests, to put science and health claims under the microscope and discover if they’re myth or science.

Everyday our choices are driven by “facts” from social media influencers, Tik Tok videos sometimes, even, the latest scientific studies.  But what are the methods or madness that lie behind this information?  In Myth or Science, Gardy puts these science and health claims to the test.

  • In Canada’s north she puts herself at the mercy of Dr. Gordon Geisbrecht, AKA Professor Popsicle, who submerges her in frigid water to discover whether we lose most of our body heat through our head.

  • In Florida she meets a mosquito specialist who uses her as bait to unlock the secrets of human attraction and find out whether these arthropods really like woman more than men.

  • She serves a classroom of Grader eighters ice cream in a freezer truck to uncover whether Brain Freeze only happens on a warm day.

  • And in New York City she goes head to head with a champion hotdog eater to see if eating fast causes you to gain weight.

In the process Gardy offers an unexpected and revealing perspective on the pop-science questions of the day. Using the latest tech, unexpected experiments and traditional scientific investigation, she provides a humorous and unique take on the science that affects our everyday lives and health.

 

View Credits

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Produced and Written by
Dugald Maudsley

Director
Jeff Semple

Host & Narrator
Dr. Jennifer Gardy

Host of the Nature of Things
Dr. David Suzuki

Executive Producer
Dugald Maudsley

Editor
David Murray

Director of Photography
Terry Zazulak

Sound Recordist
Michael Kennedy

Researcher
Andrew Mcintosh

Production Manager
Deborah Parks

Production Coordinator
Gillian Main

Visual Effects Designer
Mark Alberts, Electric Square

Post Production Supervisor/Online Editor
Eric Wiegand

Visual Researcher
Helena Raposo

Additional Photography
Jeff Semple

Sound Design
Grant Edmonds
The Dark Studio Sound Company

Music By
David Johanns

Publicist
David Mccaughna

Stills Photography
Michelle Thorpe

Archival Material Courtesy Of
Corbis
Footage Proviced by Exploration Production Inc.

Special Thanks
Dr. Robert Brunham and Staff at the BC Centre for Disease Control
Dr. Judy Isaac-renton and Staff at the BCCDC Public Health Microbiology & Reference Laboratory
Dr. Uli Bernier & Staff at the Mosquito & Fly Research Centre
Dr. Deliang Tang and the Staff at Columbia University
Dr. Frank Martinuzzi and Staff at the Toronto Institute Of Pharmaceutical Technology
Dr. J. Scott Smith, Kansas State University
Dr. Gordon Geisbrecht, University of Manitoba
Dr. Massimo Marcone, William Babish & The University of Guelph
Phany Captsis, Jason Donaldson, the Grade 8 Students & Staff Of Courcelette Public School
Dr. Franco Lepore, Olivier Collignon and the Universite De Montreal
Francois Cote

For Infield Fly Productions
Producer
Dugald Maudsley

Business Affairs
Gillian Main

Production Accountant
Anne Sinclair

Legal Counsel
David Steinberg

For the CBC
Executives in Charge of Production for CBC the Nature of Things
Bob Culbert, Area Executive Producer
Caroline Underwood, Senior Producer

With the Participation of
The Canadian Media Fund
The Canadian Film or Video Production Tax Credit
Ontario Media Development Corporation
Rogers Telefund
Writers Guild of Canada

Produced in Association With
The Nature of Things with David Suzuki

Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
cbc.ca/natureofthings
Copyright 2011

© 2011 1404154 Ontario Inc.


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