Stupid people fall for dihydrogen monoxide prank

[Entity]

Yes, again.

http://www.thesunlink.com/redesign/2004-04-02/local/438974.shtml

A Seattle radio station's April Fools' Day joke about Bremerton's water supply went too far Thursday morning, scrambling city and county officials to calm residents' concerns.

KIRO-FM radio, known as 100.7 The Buzz, reported that the Navy had contaminated the city's water supply with dihydrogen monoxide, the chemical name for water.

The DJs were supposedly suspended a day for this prank. How stupid are people in Bremerton? :evil:

Rob

 

[ElFenix]

is dihydrogen monoxide really the chemical name for water? we have any chemistry majors in here?

 

[MercenaryForHire]

Well, some town had to get a contract from Flake-Master Lead-Based Paint Products a generation ago.

- M4H

 

[minendo]

Originally posted by: ElFenix
is dihydrogen monoxide really the chemical name for water? we have any chemistry majors in here?

Would actually be: Dihydrogen oxide. Sometimes referred to as hydrogen oxide.

 

[SarcasticDwarf]

biology prof did this to our class...most of us fell for it



so did a biology prof with a phd

 

[Jzero]

Originally posted by: ElFenix
is dihydrogen monoxide really the chemical name for water? we have any chemistry majors in here?

It's sort of a chemical misnomer. It "works" but that kind of nomenclature isn't actually used for this purpose.

 

[Entity]

Originally posted by: ElFenix
is dihydrogen monoxide really the chemical name for water? we have any chemistry majors in here?

Yes, the name is technically correct as the chemical name for water, though dihydrogen oxide might be more commonly used. H20 is the chemical formula, while dihydrogen monoxide/oxide is acceptable as the name.

Rob

 

[Viper GTS]

I find this more disturbing than the water prank:

"I made a joke that if it (the missile) would've gone off, it would've been a part of their rebeautification program," Maynard said. "It would have leveled the place, and they could've just started from scratch."

What kind of idiot thinks a nuclear weapon is going to go off because the nose cone got punctured?

Viper GTS

 

[Thegonagle]

Originally posted by: ElFenix
is dihydrogen monoxide really the chemical name for water? we have any chemistry majors in here?

It doesn't take a chemistry major to tell you that.

 

[minendo]

Originally posted by: Entity

Originally posted by: ElFenix
is dihydrogen monoxide really the chemical name for water? we have any chemistry majors in here?

Yes, the name is technically correct as the chemical name for water, though dihydrogen oxide might be more commonly used. H20 is the chemical formula, while dihydrogen monoxide/oxide is acceptable as the name.

Rob

Actually the mon is not required, hence it is dihydrogen oxide.

 

[Entity]

Originally posted by: Viper GTS
I find this more disturbing than the water prank:

"I made a joke that if it (the missile) would've gone off, it would've been a part of their rebeautification program," Maynard said. "It would have leveled the place, and they could've just started from scratch."

What kind of idiot thinks a nuclear weapon is going to go off because the nose cone got punctured?

Viper GTS

He doesn't think that, he's just poking fun at Bremerton, the armpit of the northwest. Seriously, if it got flattened by a missile, it might look better.

Rob

 

[Thegonagle]

Oh, and this is a copy-cat prank. The first radio station to do this did so several years ago. (I can't remember what city it was though.) Those morning zoo DJs got similarly reprimanded.

And yes, it's true that the mon in monoxide is considered unnecessary, although it's not technically incorrect. I'm not 100% sure, but I don't think the di in dihydrogen is necessary either because of how predictably 2 hyrogens bond with one oxygen to form the compound water, and because [OH]- ions (1 oxygen and 1 hydrogen) already take the name hydroxide. By that token, some jokers could start the prank a new by raising the the hydrogen hydroxide alarm. (1 H+ ion plus 1 OH- ion combine to form water in many common chemical reactions.)

<-- Yeah, I'm taking chemistry right now. It's pretty fun so far, but getting more difficult as it goes more in depth.

 

[mattlear]

hehehe... I was watching Penn and Teller's Bullsh!t last nite on Showtime... they had a re-run from last season where they went to one of those environmentalist rallies and interviewed people... tree huggers, global warmers, etc.

They pulled this prank on folks at a rally. They had a woman go around collecting signatures for a petition to ban Dihydrogen Monoxide. The woman was telling people all the side effects, like "it's a chemical mixed with pesticides, causes frequent urination, increased sweat production, and it's been found in our rivers and resevoirs".

These people were signing this petition left and right. They had HUNDREDS of signatures! One lady, when the petition woman started to explain what H20 does, cut her off and said "ya, I already heard about it" and signed the petition!

Imbeciles

-Matt

 

[WhiteKnight]

Snopes