Fail: Harry Potter’s Gills, and Spell to Mend Broken Bones
Harry Potter did not have gills like this whale shark. Credit: Jaontiveros
The University of Leicester (UL) students, reported recently that groups of Natural Science students tested some magic in the Harry Potter books, and found it wanting.
They researched the scientific potential in Potter’s “eating Gillyweed to grow gills in order to breathe underwater and drinking Skele-Gro to repair broken bones.”
One group said that Potter would have drowned during his test in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, as gills only work when a mouth is open and Potter’s was closed. The published paper, for which there is unfortunately no link, is The Boy Who Lived’? Students put the science of Harry Potter’s universe to the test.
Another group, found that the only magic would allow Skele-Gro to provide the “enormous amount of energy required by the body to regenerate bones beyond Harry’s standard dietary requirements without causing any negative side effects.”
The University of Leicester peer-reviewed student, Journal for Interdisciplinary Science Topics published that group’s paper: Revealing the Magic of Skele-Gro.
