But everything is a chemical, including dihydrogen monoxide (that's another way of saying water).
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Dihydrogen monoxide is a name for the water molecule, which is composed of two hydrogen atoms and one oxygen atom. The dihydrogen monoxide parody involves calling water by an unfamiliar chemical name, most often "dihydrogen monoxide" (DHMO), and listing some of water's effects in a particularly alarming manner, such as accelerating corrosion (rust) and causing suffocation (drowning). The parody often calls for dihydrogen monoxide to be banned, regulated, or labeled as dangerous. It plays into chemophobia and demonstrates how a lack of scientific literacy and an exaggerated analysis can lead to misplaced fears.
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In August 2007, as a result of emails from ACT on Campus members based loosely around the well-known dihydrogen monoxide hoax, she sent a letter to Associate Health Minister Jim Anderton, asking if there were any plans to ban "dihydrogen monoxide", apparently not realizing that it is water.Stuff 2007-09-13 (Media story).Dean 2007a. In September 2007, the Social Tonics Association of New Zealand (STANZ) called for Dean to step down from speaking on drug issues after she demonstrated "a lack of credibility in calling for the ban of dihydrogen monoxide (water)".
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Under nomenclature used to name chemical compounds, Dihydrogen monoxide is the scientific name for water, though it is almost never used.
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Another name is dihydrogen monoxide, which is a rarely used name of water, and mostly used in the dihydrogen monoxide parody. Other systematic names for water include hydroxic acid, hydroxylic acid, and hydrogen hydroxide, using acid and base names. None of these exotic names are used widely. The polarized form of the water molecule, , is also called hydron hydroxide by IUPAC nomenclature.
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Lime is a general name for materials combining calcium with carbonates, oxides or hydroxides; the name comes from a root "sticking or adhering"; its earliest use was as mortar for construction. Water has several systematic names, including oxidane (the IUPAC name), hydrogen oxide, and dihydrogen monoxide (DHMO). The latter was the basis of the dihydrogen monoxide hoax, a document that was circulated warning readers of the dangers of the chemical (for example, it is fatal if inhaled).. .
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Carbon dioxide is written CO2; sulfur tetrafluoride is written SF4. A few compounds, however, have common names that prevail. H2O, for example, is usually called water rather than dihydrogen monoxide, and NH3 is preferentially called ammonia rather than nitrogen trihydride.
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Inorganic molecular compounds are named with a prefix (see list above) before each element. The more electronegative element is written last and with an -ide suffix. For example, H2O (water) can be called dihydrogen monoxide. Organic molecules do not follow this rule.
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Hexagonal water, also known as structured water, is a term used in a marketing scam that claims the ability to create a certain configuration of water that is better for the body. The term "hexagonal water" refers to a cluster of water molecules forming a hexagonal shape that supposedly enhances nutrient absorption, removes metabolic wastes, and enhances cellular communication, among other things. Similar to the dihydrogen monoxide hoax, the scam takes advantage of the consumer's limited knowledge of chemistry, physics, and physiology.
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McGaha started her career as a 16-year-old performer and stand up comedian at Houston's Comedy Workshop. Her big break was co-hosting 65 episodes of MTV's Loveline. In addition to hosting, Kris did sketch work on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Later, and guest-starred on Curb Your Enthusiasm. She also appeared on many hidden camera shows like Invasion of Hidden Cameras, Spy TV and most notably as the Petitioner of the Dihydrogen Monoxide Hoax on Penn & Teller: Bullshit!.
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One well-known example is the dihydrogen monoxide hoax, describing the supposedly dangerous characteristics of ordinary water by labelling the substance with its esoteric chemical name. Some forms of technobabble have the goal of intentionally convincing the reader that the science explained is true even though it may not be. One such example is Alan Sokal's "Transgressing the Boundaries: Towards a Transformative Hermeneutics of Quantum Gravity" (1996), in which Sokal submitted a seemingly real, but nonsensical, paper to the Journal Social Text in order to show that a supposedly serious journal in postmodern theory would accept a meaningless paper if it used sufficiently impenetrable language.
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Brainard's successor as the chemistry teacher is Professor Henry Crawford, played by Harry Anderson and his girlfriend is Ellen Whitney, played by Mary Page Keller, who is the English teacher. Professor Crawford has much of the same absent-minded attitude as Brainard, although he invented a computer program named "Albert", an avatar of Albert Einstein, to help him stay on top of his responsibilities and remember appointments. Through happen-stance, Crawford rediscovers the formula for flubber. Albert warns that flubber will react to dihydrogen monoxide, then accesses Brainard's files and recommends Henry recreate the famous flying Model T. One scene that was tribute to the original movie was Henry's use of the flying car to fly atop the car of a rival suitor for Ellen, then bumping his roof.
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The water molecule has the chemical formula H2O, meaning the molecule is composed of two hydrogen atoms and one oxygen atom. Literally, the term "dihydrogen monoxide" means "two hydrogen, one oxygen": the prefix di- in dihydrogen means "two", the prefix mono- in monoxide means "one", and "oxide" designates oxygen in a compound (due to the two o's that would happen in 'monooxide' the o's are fused together to form monoxide). Using chemical nomenclature, various names for water are in common use within the scientific community: hydrogen oxide; hydrogen hydroxide, which characterises it as an alkali; and several designating it as an acid, such as hydric acid, hydroxic acid, hydroxyl acid, hydrohydroxic acid, and hydroxilic acid. (The term used in the original text, hydroxyl acid, is a non-standard name.) Under the 2005 revisions of IUPAC nomenclature of inorganic chemistry, there is no single correct name for every compound.
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A 1983 April Fools' Day edition of the Durand Express, a weekly newspaper in Durand, Michigan, reported that "dihydrogen oxide" had been found in the city's water pipes, and warned that it was fatal if inhaled, and could produce blistering vapors. The first appearance of the parody on the Internet was attributed by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette to the "Coalition to Ban Dihydrogen Monoxide", a parody organization at UC Santa Cruz following on-campus postings and newsgroup discussions in 1990. This new version of the parody was created by housemates while attending the University of California, Santa Cruz, in 1989-1990, revised by Craig Jackson in 1994, and brought to widespread public attention in 1997 when Nathan Zohner, a 14-year-old student, gathered petitions to ban "DHMO" as the basis of his science project, titled "How Gullible Are We?" Jackson's original site included the following warning: A mock material safety data sheet has also been created for H2O.
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