Alcohol, he said, is the most costly and most dangerous drug in America, with tobacco coming in a close second.

And he noted that middle school is the most common time for people to start experimenting with both.

"Smart people make good decisions," Aravich told them.

Students posed some questions to Aravich, including why football players get concussions if they have on helmets.

He said those are closed-head injuries and compared them to shaking a raw egg without breaking the shell.

He also was quick to answer a question that elicited chuckles from the Livingston staff.

"Is it true that a male only uses part of his brain?" Harley Beddard asked, revealing a statement she'd heard from her mother.

"No," Aravich said, taking no offense. "It turns out we use 100 percent of our brain whether we're male or female."

Student Majestic Stewart doesn't see brain surgery in his career plans after reeling at the experience of handling the soft tissue.

"It was nasty," he said.

But he, like Kamber Jackson, got the point.

Kamber said she isn't a bike rider yet but will carry the message home after seeing the damage that can be caused by a fall.

"I think I'm going to get my daddy to get a bike helmet now so he can be safe because I don't want his brain to look like that," she said.

Pamela Gould: 540/735-1972
Email: pgould@freelancestar.com