Dihydrogen Monoxide Hoax....

http://www.dhmo.org/ ... wow what a joke

 

ITS WATER.

 

Think about it, Dihydrogen monoxide (DHMO) at first i didnt immediatly recognize it either due to the wierd inproper name. Normally, its proper name would just be Dihydrogen oxide. Anyway getting back to this DHMO website, its a total hoax. Suppodely its supposed to "illustrate how ignorance of science and one-sided analysis can lead to misplaced fears among environmental activists and others" bascially meaning that it shows how these activists will take for granted that this is true, without even thinking about the scientific meaning. It dosent take a genious to know what h2o is.

 

What i found to be the funniest part was the methods that some of these people used to convice these activists of the danger of DHMO (again... water!)

 

Take a look at this...

 

Acording to them the "Dangers of Dihydrogen monoxide" include

 

1. The substance... is a major component of acid rain.

2. ... contributes to soil erosion.

3. ... accelerates corrosion and breakdown of metals and electrical equipment.

4. ... with excessive ingestion may cause various unpleasant, through generally not life-threatening, effects.

5. ... with prolonged contact with its solid form results in severe tissue damage.

6. ... may cause electrical failures and decreased effectiveness of automobile brakes.

7. ... when inhaled, even in small quantities, may cause death.

8. ... in its gaseous form may cause severe burns.

9. ... has been found in the tumors of terminal cancer patients.

10. Withdrawal by those addicted to the substance causes certain death within 168 hours.

 

 

wow... and only to add to that, A city by where i live, Aliso Viejo, almost falls for the whole hoax. The City officials were notified that in the production of foam cups, the dangerous chemical was used, and they almost bame to a conclusion of banning the chemical.

 

wow.. this is sad

That is truly sad. You nearly had me rolling on the florr there for a second That city took it seriously? I mean, it had all the attributes of water. How could you miss it? No seriously, this is hilarious. I am glad you posted this. It is verry funny. I can't believe they are doing this though, peopole against water? I mean, hows that? Are they on a water strike? I mean, if you are against water, you must have something wrong with you. Thanks for the info and the laugh. Hey you should do a follow up reply on this.

I think this might've been a joke site...but it actually is funny to see people believing in this. I think it could be because dihydrogen monoxide sounds close to carbon monoxide, and people know carbon monoxide is bad, so they readily assume that h20 is bad without having read that it's actually water. Haha. That is quite a joke.

We could add to the list that extremely high levels of consumption of hydrogen dioxide can cause kidney damage or even death. It was pretty obvious by the name what it was. I am so glad people did this because the silly ideas some people have about the environment drives me nuts. I think the name dioxide was chosen because it sounds very similar to the chemical dioxin which is found in herbicides.

... Hey you should do a follow up reply on this.

208911[/snapback]

ok

 

Here is basic overview of the most important DHMO incidents.

 

1990 - Two students attending UC Santa Cruz, Eric Lenchner and Lars Norpchen started the "DHMO Hoax" by warning those of DHMO contamination.

 

1994 - The first DHMO website was created by Craig Jackson for a newly formed Coalition to Ban DHMO. This was widely circulated throught the online community and even made its way to an ad advocating the banning of DHMO in an issue of Analog Magazine (1995).

 

A mirror to the first DHMO Website:

http://www.lhup.edu/~dsimanek/dhmo.htm

 

And if this wasent funny enough already, here is what some of the college students had to say in response to Craig Johnson's webpage, Ban Dihydrogen Monoxide:

http://www.lhup.edu/~dsimanek/dhmofoot.htm

 

I like this letter

Date: Mon, 13 Nov 1995 20:21:47 -0500 (EST)

From: O. L.

Subject: DHMO

 

Dr. S.,

        I fully agree that the evil chemical dihydrogen monoxide must be

banned in all forms.  After all I hate to bathe and who cares if over 70%

of our bodies are made from this substance.  I think we need to ship all

the Earth's dihydrogen monoxide to the moon, because there this substance

will no longer cotaminate our planet.

                        N. R.

 

(P.S.-- Just kidding!!

a very interesting article

I wonder how many fell for

it!)

1997 - A junior high student as Idaho Falls, Nathan Zohner, age 14, polled 50 people in which 43 of them voted to ban the chemical. He entered his project, "How Gullibe Are We" , in the Idaho falls science fair and recieved first place for his analysis of the hoax.

 

Furthur information: http://www.snopes.com/science/dhmo.asp

 

A related article: http://forums.xisto.com/no_longer_exists/

 

1997 - Kate Dalgleish and Mikael Sydor, two highschool students from Calgary and Alberta, created a petition to ban the chemical as part of their high school film festival project. Among those who signed included high school chemistry teachers and university science students. The petition asked the canadian municipal government to ban the substance under a act proposed as the fictitious Hazardous Chemical Act. As for their film, it won the film festival and became widely popular among the nearby high schools.

 

You can view the film here: http://forums.xisto.com/no_longer_exists/

 

1997 - A showtime series starrring Penn and Tellker, *BLEEP*!, DHMO was used in an episode, in which they environmentalists sign a petition to ban DHMO.

 

This is what introduced me into the hoax. You can see it on SWCTV 521 (an internet tv station http://forums.xisto.com/no_longer_exists/ )

 

2004 - Aliso Viejo officials almost ban DHMO, because of the use in the production of foam containers.

 

View the article here: http://www.nbcnews.com/id/4534017/

 

 

Whew... that took a while.

Mmmhhh, makes one wonder wether people would be so gullible if such a hoax were to be contrived for ethanol. That's the chemical name of drinkable alcohol. Judging by what used to happen during Prohibition back in the 1920's, most people would think twice over what the name really means.

Oh no! I'm having dangerous chemicals pumped directly into my house and automatically heated for my convenience :PI will have to call in environmental safety and all that lot that wear those flourescent jackets and ID badges.I seriously can't believe that people would fall for something like this. True, water is a chemical and can kill you, but come on!