H2O: Dangerous Chemical!

[Pelon1]

A student at Eagle Rock Junior High won first prize at the Greater Idaho Falls Science Fair, April 26. He was attempting to show how conditioned we have become to alarmists practicing junk science and spreading fear of everything in our environment. In his project he urged people to sign a petition demanding strict control or total elimination of the chemical "dihydrogen monoxide."
And for plenty of good reasons, since:
it can cause excessive sweating and vomiting
it is a major component in acid rain
it can cause severe burns in its gaseous state
accidental inhalation can kill you
it contributes to erosion
it decreases effectiveness of automobile brakes
it has been found in tumors of terminal cancer patients
He asked 50 people if they supported a ban of the chemical.
Forty-three (43) said yes,
six (6) were undecided,
and only one (1) knew that the chemical was water.
The title of his prize winning project was, "How Gullible Are We?"
He feels the conclusion is obvious.

[moabfool]

He just stole it from a website.

http://dhmo.org/

Each year, Dihydrogen Monoxide is a known causative component in many thousands of deaths and is a major contributor to millions upon millions of dollars in damage to property and the environment. Some of the known perils of Dihydrogen Monoxide are:

• Death due to accidental inhalation of DHMO, even in small quantities.
• Prolonged exposure to solid DHMO causes severe tissue damage.
• Excessive ingestion produces a number of unpleasant though not typically life-threatening side-effects.
• DHMO is a major component of acid rain.
• Gaseous DHMO can cause severe burns.
• Contributes to soil erosion.
• Leads to corrosion and oxidation of many metals.
• Contamination of electrical systems often causes short-circuits.
• Exposure decreases effectiveness of automobile brakes.
• Found in biopsies of pre-cancerous tumors and lesions.
• Given to vicious dogs involved in recent deadly attacks.
• Often associated with killer cyclones in the U.S. Midwest and elsewhere, and in hurricanes including deadly storms in Florida, New Orleans and other areas of the southeastern U.S.
• Thermal variations in DHMO are a suspected contributor to the El Nino weather effect.

Despite the known dangers of DHMO, it continues to be used daily by industry, government, and even in private homes across the U.S. and worldwide. Some of the well-known uses of Dihydrogen Monoxide are:

• as an industrial solvent and coolant,
• in nuclear power plants,
• by the U.S. Navy in the propulsion systems of some older vessels,
• by elite athletes to improve performance,
• in the production of Styrofoam,
• in biological and chemical weapons manufacture,
• in the development of genetically engineering crops and animals,
• as a spray-on fire suppressant and retardant,
• in so-called "family planning" or "reproductive health" clinics,
• as a major ingredient in many home-brewed bombs,
• as a byproduct of hydrocarbon combustion in furnaces and air conditioning compressor operation,
• in cult rituals,
• by the Church of Scientology on their members and their members' families (although surprisingly, many members recently have contacted DHMO.org to vehemently deny such use),
• by both the KKK and the NAACP during rallies and marches,
• by members of Congress who are under investigation for financial corruption and inappropriate IM behavior,
• by the clientele at a number of bath houses in New York City and San Francisco,
• historically, in Hitler's death camps in Nazi Germany, and in prisons in Turkey, Serbia, Croatia, Libya, Iraq and Iran,
• in World War II prison camps in Japan, and in prisons in China, for various forms of torture,
• during many recent religious and ethnic wars in the Middle East,
• by many terrorist organizations including al Quaeda,
• in community swimming pools to maintain chemical balance,
• in day care centers, purportedly for sanitary purposes,
• by software engineers, including those producing DICOM programmer APIs and other DICOM software tools including DICOM routers,
• by popular computer science professors,
• by the semi-divine King Bhumibol of Thailand and his many devoted young working girls in Bangkok,
• by the British Chiropractic Association and the purveyors of the bogus treatments that the BCA promotes,
• by commodities giant Trafigura in their well-publicized and widely-known toxic-waste dumping activities in Ivory Coast,
• in animal research laboratories, and
• in pesticide production and distribution.

What you may find surprising are some of the products and places where DHMO is used, but which for one reason or another, are not normally made part of public presentations on the dangers to the lives of our family members and friends. Among these startling uses are:

• as an additive to food products, including jarred baby food and baby formula, and even in many soups, carbonated beverages and supposedly "all-natural" fruit juices
• in cough medicines and other liquid pharmaceuticals,
• in spray-on oven cleaners,
• in shampoos, shaving creams, deodorants and numerous other bathroom products,
• in bathtub bubble products marketed to children,
• as a preservative in grocery store fresh produce sections,
• in the production of beer by all the major beer distributors,
• in the coffee available at major coffee houses in the US and abroad,
• in Formula One race cars, although its use is regulated by the Formula One Racing Commission, and
• as a target of ongoing NASA planetary and stellar research.

[tanya]

It just shows how stupid and uneducated people are.. not how gullible.

[Bo_Beck]

What kind of "Knot" is this and if you absolutely had no other choice would you trust it as a knot to tie two ropes of equal diameter together so that you could rappel out of a canyon? (no back-up knots allowed on this knot)

[accadacca]

What kind of "Knot" is this and if you absolutely had no other choice would you trust it as a knot to tie two ropes of equal diameter together so that you could rappel out of a canyon? (no back-up knots allowed on this knot)

I don't remember what that knot is called. If I had no other choice I would rappel from it. This must be a trick question.

[Bo_Beck]

I don't remember what that knot is called. If I had no other choice I would rappel from it. This must be a trick question.

I suppose my point would be that many people would jump to the conclusion that a "square" knot or "reef" bend should hold 2 ropes together under tension, but would fail to inspect to see if it really is a "square" knot? Sort of like not checking out the chemical name for water? Most folks just know H2O. Take a look at the full picture and maybe you'll change your mind?

[accadacca]

Ah ha! I had originally thought that the rope was full length on both sides. What a n00b!!

[jman]

Ah ha! I had originally thought that the rope was full length on both sides. What a n00b!!

Well to quote Tanya, you are "too stupid and uneducated" then. Haha

[accadacca]

Well to quote Tanya, you are "too stupid and uneducated" then. Haha

There might be some truth to that.

[tanya]

Ropes are another story. lol

What was going though my brain is that this project shows that for the most part we don't care when told things are harmful to us.

it can cause excessive sweating and vomiting
it is a major component in acid rain
it can cause severe burns in its gaseous state
accidental inhalation can kill you
it contributes to erosion
it decreases effectiveness of automobile brakes
it has been found in tumors of terminal cancer patients

Sounds bad, yes, but we are use to hearing such things all the time and never look into it. We tend to either believe it all or none of it.


We are told that products are very harmful to us each day and we continue to use them and don't care. We think that it's bogus, will never hurt us or anyone we care about, that there is so much out there that harms us why bother to care, etc... We have a whole list of excuses why we don't care.

A few really educated themselves and learn the truth about things. They care about it. Thus they are not stupid and uneducated (about the things they care enough to learn about)

Does this make sense?

[jman]

Ropes are another story. lol

What was going though my brain is that this project shows that for the most part we don't care when told things are harmful to us.

it can cause excessive sweating and vomiting
it is a major component in acid rain
it can cause severe burns in its gaseous state
accidental inhalation can kill you
it contributes to erosion
it decreases effectiveness of automobile brakes
it has been found in tumors of terminal cancer patients

Sounds bad, yes, but we are use to hearing such things all the time and never look into it. We tend to either believe it all or none of it.


We are told that products are very harmful to us each day and we continue to use them and don't care. We think that it's bogus, will never hurt us or anyone we care about, that there is so much out there that harms us why bother to care, etc... We have a whole list of excuses why we don't care.

A few really educated themselves and learn the truth about things. They care about it. Thus they are not stupid and uneducated (about the things they care enough to learn about)

Does this make sense?

Of course. I knew what you meant - just giving ya a hard time Tanya.

[tanya]

I tend to think everyone reads my mind.

[Deathcricket]

I loved it when Penn and Teller did this, let me see if I can dig up the video....

[Bo_Beck]

It just shows how stupid and uneducated people are.. not how gullible.

You are certainly right Tanya. I've made my blunders (stupidity) and a fair share at that! My point made below was more directed towards "mindgames", sort of like; "What is Janes dogs name? Spot!" "Say spot 5 times as fast as you can!' Now what do you do when you come to a green light?" Just not taking the time to think out the correct answer a large percentage of folks immediately respond "stop".

I went to snopes and found out that the dihydrogen monoxide thing was indeed true! Wow.....yes we are certainly not thinking clearly oftentimes when it comes to warnings. Good point Tanya.

[tanya]

I am stupid and uneducated about ropes. I like to let you do that and take photos.

It's all about choices. I choose to let you do ropes while I take pictures.


What human does not make blunders and do stupid things. That is how we learn and grow. The wisest and most educated perhaps have made the most because they are out in the world testing it and themselves. If only to be born perfect!



(Cant watch the video at the moment. Teens have taken my speakers for the week to watch basektball on their laptops)

[moabfool]

(Moabfool raises hand) IT'S A SQUARE KNOT! and no, I wouldn't rappel on it. Oh, wait, somebody already answered the question.

I remember when I first got the e-mail years ago, I started reading about all the terrible things DHMO was responsible for causing. I thought, "Wow! Something really needs to be done. This stuff is bad news!" Then I thought, "What is dihydrogen monoxide? What would the chemical name look like? Dihydrogen...thats two hydrogen atoms, or H<2>...monoxide...that's one O. H<2>O?" At that point I did a face slap and drag. Then I promptly forwarded it to all my friends just to see how many suckers I could get to bite. The ones who got the joke got a laugh, and the ones who didn't get the joke got laughed at.

[Bo_Beck]

(Moabfool raises hand) IT'S A SQUARE KNOT! and no, I wouldn't rappel on it. Oh, wait, somebody already answered the question.

I'm not laughing, but you'd better take a much closer look at the second picture once again. It is not a "square knot" at all Moab Fool! Look very closely at how the two working ends of the line exit on opposite sides of the body of the line. Give a slight tug on this "sex knot" and it capsizes and pulls free.

[Bo_Beck]

I'm not laughing, but you'd better take a much closer look at the second picture once again. It is not a "square knot" at all Moab Fool! Look very closely at how the two working ends of the line exit on opposite sides of the body of the line. Give a slight tug on this "sex knot" and it capsizes and pulls free.

It'd be interesting to know how many of you came up with the answer "Square Knot" even after getting to look at the whole picture? Do we jump to conclusions without critical analysis? I'd say it's a lot more common than we'd like to admit.

[trackrunner]

It'd be interesting to know how many of you came up with the answer "Square Knot" even after getting to look at the whole picture? Do we jump to conclusions without critical analysis? I'd say it's a lot more common than we'd like to admit.

I guessed it was a theif knot.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thief_knot

[moabfool]

It'd be interesting to know how many of you came up with the answer "Square Knot" even after getting to look at the whole picture? Do we jump to conclusions without critical analysis? I'd say it's a lot more common than we'd like to admit.

1 - You got me. I'll pay much better attention to the knots others tie in the future.
2 - If I had tied it it would be a square knot
3 - I wouldn't rappel on a square knot. There are so many other knots that are more secure, and some are easier to tie.

I guessed it was a theif knot.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thief_knot

I never knew the square knot was also known as the reef knot.