[ryanmercer]

Well, they couldn't exactly run realistic and viable computer models in the years of 1949-1969... so they took a harmless, commonly used model organism, and conducted tests.

Something science teachers do as a simple experiment now (with various substances), something Mark Rober even did on his own channel with 'Glo Germ' powder https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I5-dI74zxPg