Students crossing the Intellectual Commons at Texas Christian University on September 28 were met with an unusual proposition, “Can you separate climate fact from climate fiction?”
CFACT Collegian Morgan Hill was there asking that question, aided by TCU’s Turning Point USA chapter, running CFACT’s Climate Myth Gumball Machine. Passersby did not get a lecture. They got a turn of the knob.
The machine was loaded with capsules containing both accepted truths and common myths about climate change. Each capsule held either a myth or a fact. Students drew one, read the statement aloud, and guessed whether it was true or false. Hill then revealed the answer, walked them through the reasoning, and used the exchange as a conversation starter. A correct guess earned a piece of candy.
The table drove the point home without words. Accompanying the machine were CFACT stickers reading “I ♥ CO₂” and “I-CO₂, Plant Food Ahead,” plus a “Caesar Didn’t Drive An SUV” design poking fun at alarmists’ willful ignorance of historic warm periods.
Students walking to and from class stopped, picked a capsule, and stayed to talk. The conversations developed beyond the initial icebreaker into energy, conservation, and other political topics.
Dozens stopped by the table, TCU students and faculty among them. Morgan reported strong positive feedback and a run of interesting conversations. The surprise, she noted, was how often students already agreed on much of what she had to say.
That’s the value of the gimmick. A gumball machine is an unexpected and interesting stop on the way to class. The guess for a chance at candy prompts the conversation, and the answer gives our campus representative a chance to explain CFACT’s position.
Participants left with a piece of candy if they got it right, or a reality check if they didn’t.