An elementary student's science fair project inspired a bill to combat germs on grocery carts.
Rep. Earl Jones, a Greensboro Democrat, said he first learned of the variety of bacteria on shopping cart handles in 2007 when he read about a science project by Nicole Shaw, then a student at Jones Elementary in his district.
Nicole thought of the project, "Sick Shopping Carts," when she saw a baby chewing the handle of a grocery cart.
""It was like a light bulb went off in my head. I figured there were a lot of germs on grocery carts," she told the Greensboro News-Record.
So she and her mother bought a kit and swabbed carts at four locations. Her discovery of the bacteria won at science fairs from the school through the state level and was featured on "Good Morning America."
She said she hoped to campaign for a bill called "Before You Hold Tight, Don't Forget to Wipe," to require stores provide sanitary wipes.
Though the bill failed this afternoon, Jones said he's not giving up.
"I plan to run it next year and the year after that," he said. "Sometimes legislation takes a couple years before it passes, especially in the House."
