November 10, 2004

Science Class Says Divine Stumble Formed Great Lakes

Wisconsin School District Approves Teaching of Creationism

A proposed course outline for the teaching of creationism in the Grantsburg, Wisconsin public schools says that Lake Michigan, was created in 2011 B.C. when God accidentally spilled a glass of water, according to some educators who have seen a draft.

The author of the draft outline could not be learned. One educator who has seen the draft but declined to be identified, said that the explanation offered for the water spill was that "God got up to get a glass of water that night and stubbed his toe on something and spilled the water."

The educator said the outline offered an alternative explanation for the creation of all the Great Lakes that also involved a divine accident. In this explanation, God got up in the middle of the night to investigate a strange noise and stubbed his toe on something, This caused a gash in the Atlantic Ocean coastline and caused sea water to gush through, creating the Great Lakes.

The course outline was apparently prepared after the Grantsburg school board voted to revise its science curriculum to allow the teaching of creationism. Wisconsin law directs that evolution be taught in the public schools, but lets school districts come up with their own curricula.

In Grantsburg's case, language added to the science curriculum said that "various models/theories" of evolution should be included. News media reports quoted Joni Burgin, the school district's superintendent, as saying the science curriculum "should not be totally inclusive of just one scientific theory."

Whether the creationism course outline explains how the date of the divine accident is known so precisely could not be learned.

"That's a very interesting explanation. I haven't encountered that one before," said Grant Thornburg, professor of geology at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst. "If it's correct, then God is a mighty big fellow to cut a gash with his foot big that was large enough to fill the Great Lakes. I hope he was wearing some kind of footwear that night. If not, ouch!"

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