The Silly String Campaign

American soldiers in Iraq reportedly use Silly String to detect trip wires in buildings they are entering. The strings are light enough to reveal hidden wires and not set off the explosives. The mother of a soldier in Iraq found out about this technique and started a campaign to send as many cans of Silly String as possible to Iraq, to protect troops.

Is this information trustworthy or a hoax? Would you contribute money to this cause?

These questions require careful Web site investigation.

The party string that saves lives. This is a great example of American ingenuity and has been the subject of many blogs.

The story first came to our attention in a blog by Tammy Bruce. She describes how the string is used in the battlefield and endorses the mom's efforts who collects money to send Silly String to the troops in Iraq.

Any request for money on the Web invites careful investigation. Is this a real campaign? Is the soldier's mom a real person? Does Silly String actually save lives? Does the military official position on the use of Silly String? Does Tammy Bruce's endorsement add credibility to the campaign? These are important questions.

This investigation involves tracking down information on the soldier's mom, and locating reports about the campaign in addition to the blog we found. If this is a real campaign, lives may be saved. If it's not, where are the donations going?

Be sure to base your conclusions on facts.