“Moody Institute of Science Educational Film Division Presents”, Eastman Color, “The Wonder Of Water”, “From The Wonder World Weries”,

“Attention is drawn to the interesting chemical structure of water and then to its amazing life-sustaining properties.”

“Four boys enter Uncle Bob’s shop for a drink of water. To stimulate their appreciation for this common, ordinary substance he asks if they know what water really is. To explain the chemical formula H20 suggested by one of the boys, Uncle Bob preforms some simple experiments in his back room ‘lab.’ Then they discuss the precipitation cycle and the way water helps grow our food, generates the power that lights our homes, and the importance of water as a natural resource. Finally, Uncle Bob points out some of the many and varied ways in which water serves our everyday needs and its vital role in maintaining life. The boys leave with their thirst quenced and a much deeper appreciation of ‘just plain H20′”

“This time, the subject is the properties of water. As with most of the Moody films, we have kindly fix-it man Bob, who just happens to keep labratory equipment in his backroom. Some neighborhood kids come in asking for some water after playing baseball. Bob asks them what water is made of, and the kids are stumped. This leads to the classic electrolysis experiment, where an electric current is run through water to seperate it into hydrogen and oxygen, complete with setting the hydrogen aflame. This segment is most like a Mr. Wizard segment, with Bob asking questions and the kids responding. The kids are either genuinely responding off the cuff, or they are excellent actors, as the responses are very natural and they are keenly interested and surprised by the results. Exactly how oxygen and hydrogen combine is not explained, probably because this was aimed more at middle/junior high school kids. At the end, there is a rather sketchy explaination of the water cycle, but this is also the part that is couched in a subtle but definate religious undertone. The emphasis is how God created water for our use (and keeping with most modernist science films of the period, water’s use for power generation and irrigation is underscored) and how it is a wonder.”