Dihydrogen Monoxide

The dangers of dihydrogen monoxide include:

• Also called " Hydroxyl Acid ," the substance is a major component of Acid Rain ;


• Contributes to soil Erosion ;


• Contributes to the Greenhouse Effect ;


• Accelerates Corrosion and breakdown of electrical equipment;


• Excessive Ingestion may cause various unpleasant effects;


• Prolonged contact with Its Solid Form results in severe Tissue damage;


• Inhalation , even in small quantities, may Cause Death ;


• Its Gaseous Form may cause severe Burn s;


• It has been found in the Tumor s of terminal Cancer patients;


• Withdrawal by those addicted to the substance Causes Certain Death within 168 hours;

Nevertheless, governments and corporations continue using it widely, heedless of its grave dangers.

• In 1990 , Eric Lechner and Lars Norpchen circulated a DHMO contamination warning on the UC Santa Cruz Campus.


• In 1994 , Craig Jackson created a web page for the Coalition to Ban DHMO. The page spread widely on the net and off, including publication as an "ad" in a 1995 issue of Analog Magazine .


• In 1997 , Nathan Zohner—a 14-year-old, junior high student at Idaho Falls, Idaho — gathered 43 votes to ban the chemical, out of 50 people surveyed among his classmates. Zohner received the first prize at Greater Idaho Falls Science Fair for analysis of the results of his survey.


• In and Information Literacy .


• The Friends of Hydrogen Hydroxide was created partly as a foil on DHMO.org, to provide evidence of 'misguided' supporters of dihydrogen monoxide. This form of collaborative connivance is a classic tool of internet spoofers.


• Kate Dalgleish and Mikael Sydor—high school students from Calgary , Alberta , Canada —circulated a petition in April 2004 to ban the chemical as part of the Western Canada High School film festival. Several high school chemistry teachers and university science students signed the petition, which asked the Municipal Government to ban the 'dangerous chemical' under a fictitious Hazardous Chemical Act. Their film won the film festival.


• The idea was used for an episode of the Penn & Teller show '' Bullshit! '', in which they had self-proclaimed environmentalists sign a petition to ban DHMO.


• In March 2004 , Aliso Viejo, California almost considered banning the use of foam containers at city-sponsored events because dihydrogen monoxide is part of their production. The issue was put on the agenda of the City Council after a Paralegal found mention of DHMO online and did not realize it was a joke. The item was pulled from the agenda before it could come to a vote, but not before the city received a raft of bad publicity.


• Teams in a 2005 version of The Game circulated a petition to ban dihydrogen monoxide at Fisherman's Wharf in San Francisco, California —while dressed in Superhero costumes.


• In 2005 at " Tent State University ," a weeklong anti-war event at Rutgers University, members of the conservative publication The Rutgers Centurion gathered signatures from the protestors on a petition calling for a ban on Dihydrogen Monoxide. The petition's purpose was to prove not so much how gullible people are, as much as to condemn the notion that, "It's for the environment, so it must be good."