7 days

«States decide what may or may not be taught in their schools, and in many spaces, particularly in the Deep South, curricula must accord with very narrow religious views. In Alabama, for instance, it is illegal to teach evolution as anything other than an ‘unproven belief’. All biology textbooks must carry a disclaimer stating ‘This textbook discusses evolution, a controversial theory some scientists present as a scientific explanation for the origin of living things.’ By law, teachers much give equal weight to the notion that Earth was created in seven days and everything on it – fossils, coal deposits, dinossaur bones – is no more than 7,500 years old. I don’t know what slogan Alabama puts on its number plates, but ‘Proud to Be Backward’ sounds apt to me.»

Notes from a big country, Bill Bryson