1867 Hall Monitor

Ever felt that sitting indoors was stuffy? To the point where you almost wanted to faint? I certainly have. I can tell you, when you're up on stage faintness is not a good idea. And in case you've ever felt that watching a boring lecture or PowerPoint in a big public meeting makes you feel stupider than when you came in, science has just proven that's true.
Researchers from the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory tested the reasoning skills of volunteers while exposing them to different levels of carbon dioxide. Carbon dioxide, as you recall, is the gas we exhale when we exhale.
As CO2 levels increased, volunteers' strategic and reasoning skills decreased. What wasn't expected was how little CO2 it took for that to take place. The highest levels measured, 2,500 parts per million, are easily found in classrooms and meeting rooms fully compliant with current ventilation standards.
Surprisingly, even 1000 ppm, once a benchmark for good ventilation, caused a significant dip in performance. The researchers caution that energy-efficiency building standards be careful not to lock in the biggest source of indoor CO2, Human breath.
I just look back and remember all those intro level classes we took in college, when the crowded lecture hall had 500 students. All of them breathing out. No wonder so many freshmen were washed out as being stupid. Or worse, the cramped places they used to do SAT and other achievement tests. No wonder I felt faint then. And dull as a desktop.
I could be a genius if I had better lung capacity.
Then again, maybe the scientists who were in the same room measuring the levels were affected. And weren't still smart enough to get the results right.
Hey. Maybe this explains why political convention halls always produce such strange candidates.
America, ya gotta love it.