Some time ago I posted a link to thiswebsite: http://www.dhmo.org/facts.html#FACTS . For those of you that followed the
link I feel a need to justify this.
In case you don’t already know, the website is basically a joke designed to show how easy it is to scaremonger when
“sciencey” language is used; dihydrogen monoxide = H₂0 = water.
Several people have been credited with coming up with what, over time, has come to be known as “the dihydrogen monoxide hoax”, but the hoax itself only really gained prominence when a 14 year old Nathan Zohner based a school project on it entitled “How gullible are we?”. Shortly after this the hoax gained further momentum as various MP’s and United Nations representatives fell for it(http://wattsupwiththat.com/2010/12/08/cop16-attendees-fall-for-the-old-dihydrogen-monoxide-petition-as-well-as-signing-up-to-cripple-the-u-s-economy/). Nonetheless, it was only a matter of time before people began to realize what was going on and media attention died down. Somewhat sadly, in recent years the only mainstream attention that the hoax has received is on April-fools day when politicians have jokingly brought up banning it - why are politicians incapable of making jokes that are actually funny?
However, there is a serious side to all of this. I’m not suggesting that this hoax should have resulted in mass outrage regarding the fact many people are unfamiliar with an obscure chemical formulae for water that is almost never used. But, it is important to note the weight that an argument gains when vaguely “science” sounding language is employed by supposed authority figures; particularly in the eyes of politicians whose job it is to safeguard public safety and healthcare. Remember: QUESTION EVERYTING!
link I feel a need to justify this.
In case you don’t already know, the website is basically a joke designed to show how easy it is to scaremonger when
“sciencey” language is used; dihydrogen monoxide = H₂0 = water.
Several people have been credited with coming up with what, over time, has come to be known as “the dihydrogen monoxide hoax”, but the hoax itself only really gained prominence when a 14 year old Nathan Zohner based a school project on it entitled “How gullible are we?”. Shortly after this the hoax gained further momentum as various MP’s and United Nations representatives fell for it(http://wattsupwiththat.com/2010/12/08/cop16-attendees-fall-for-the-old-dihydrogen-monoxide-petition-as-well-as-signing-up-to-cripple-the-u-s-economy/). Nonetheless, it was only a matter of time before people began to realize what was going on and media attention died down. Somewhat sadly, in recent years the only mainstream attention that the hoax has received is on April-fools day when politicians have jokingly brought up banning it - why are politicians incapable of making jokes that are actually funny?
However, there is a serious side to all of this. I’m not suggesting that this hoax should have resulted in mass outrage regarding the fact many people are unfamiliar with an obscure chemical formulae for water that is almost never used. But, it is important to note the weight that an argument gains when vaguely “science” sounding language is employed by supposed authority figures; particularly in the eyes of politicians whose job it is to safeguard public safety and healthcare. Remember: QUESTION EVERYTING!