Gregory is an active Boy Scout and swims on the school team. His career goals? Gregory says, "I'm not sure, but I do well in math and science and also enjoy writing."
Gregory read that bottled sparkling water sometimes contains trace amounts of ethyl alcohol. He wondered if other packaged beverages also contained ethyl alcohol, which drink makers often use during manufacturing.
Gregory collected 45 beverages and tested each in a gas chromatograph with a flame ionizer. The machine separated the gas from the liquid, heated it, and recorded the presence of any ethyl alcohol. He found trace amounts in almost every beverage, with an average of .0238 percent ethyl alcohol weight by volume. The highest concentration of a beverage was .21 percent. A follow-up literature search convinced Gregory that this amount would not cause harm and was present from the original manufacturing process.
