🚀 go-pugleaf

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10054116/

Florida's citrus crop contributes billions of dollars to the state's
economy, so when that industry is threatened, anything that might help is
considered. Back in 2001, when citrus canker was blighting the crop and
threatening to reduce that vital source of revenue, an interesting - if not
quite scientific - alternative was considered.

Katherine Harris (yes, the same Katherine Harris involved in the 2000
Florida election snafu), then Florida's secretary of state - and now a
member of the U.S. House of Representatives - ordered a study in which,
according to an article by Jim Stratton in the Orlando Sentinel,
"researchers worked with a rabbi and a cardiologist to test 'Celestial
Drops,' promoted as a canker inhibitor because of its 'improved fractal
design,' 'infinite levels of order,' and 'high energy and low entropy.'"
(Umm, say what?)

The study determined that the product tested was, basically, water that had
apparently been blessed according to the principles of Kabbalic mysticism,
"chang[ing] its molecular structure and imbu[ing] it with supernatural
healing powers." (Beam me up Scotty!)

Citrus canker is a bacterial disease that affects all citrus trees. Caused
by a bacterium, Xanthomonas axonopodis, citrus canker can be spread from
tree to tree by windborne rain, the movements of birds and other animals,
and human activity, such as improper disposal of infected trees and fruit.
The bacterium causes brown, crusted lesions with yellow haloes to appear on
the surfaces of leaves and the skin of fruit, reducing the leaves'
photosynthetic capacity and stunting the growth and preventing the
maturation of the fruit.

The only accepted means of fighting the blight is the downing of affected
trees and proper disposal of their remains.

The Florida state government is frequently bombarded with new supposed
cures and preventatives. Most of them are not tested by the state with
government funds. But in this one case, at least, it appears that an
exception was made: Six months were spent establishing testing protocols
and, finally, testing Celestial Drops. In a letter to the state government,
Wayne Dixon, the head of Florida's Bureau of Entomology, Nematology and
Plant Pathology, reported that the "product is a hoax and not based on any
credible known science." He added, "I wish to maintain our standing in the
scientific community and not allow [the developers of Celestial Drops] to
use our hard-earned credibility" to promote their product.