Dihydrogen Monoxide Website- One Of The World's Best Hoax Websites

It's not a secret that false information abounds on the web. The most dangerous information is the kind that's posted that can harm and instill fear in the readers. One of the known Hoax Websites is Dihydrogen Monoxide Website. This website is popular, having approximately 10K visitors monthly. Dihydrogen Monoxide Website is raising alarm about the dangers of chemical compound hiding with a molecular name which in reality only refers to plain water.

It's no secret that there's a lot of bad information on the internet. Of course, the most dangerous information is that which is posted with a hidden agenda, such as paid content masked as real content. One of the known Hoax Websites is the Dihydrogen Monoxide Website. This website is popular, having approximately 10K visitors monthly. Dihydrogen Monoxide Website is raising alarm about the dangers of chemical compound hiding with a molecular name which in reality only refers to plain water.

Why Dihydrogen Monoxide DHMO.Org Considered A Hoax Website?

The Dihydrogen Monoxide hoax involves referring to water by the unfamiliar chemical name "Dihydrogen Monoxide" (DHMO) and listing some of its alarming properties, such as the fact that it accelerates corrosion and can cause suffocation. The hoax frequently demands that dihydrogen monoxide be banned, regulated, or labeled as hazardous. It demonstrates how a lack of scientific literacy, combined with an exaggerated analysis, can lead to irrational fears.

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The hoax resurfaced in the late 1990s when a 14-year-old student, Nathan Zohner, collected anti-DHMO petitions for a science project on gullibility. Since then, the story has been used in science classrooms to promote critical thinking and discussion of the scientific method.

How Did Dihydrogen Monoxide Website DHMO.Org Start?

The Durand Express, a weekly newspaper in Durand, Michigan, reported on April Fools' Day 1983 that "dihydrogen oxide" had been discovered in the city's water pipes and warned that it was fatal if inhaled which can also produce blistering vapors. Following on-campus postings and newsgroup discussions in 1990, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette attributed the first appearance of the hoax on the internet to the so-called "Coalition to Ban Dihydrogen Monoxide," a parody organization at UC Santa Cruz.

This new version of the hoax was created by Eric Lechner, Lars Norpchen, and Matthew Kaufman while housemates at the University of California, Santa Cruz in 1989 - 1990, revised by Craig Jackson during 1994, and brought to public attention in 1997 when Nathan Zohner, a 14-year-old student, gathered petitions from the public to ban "DHMO" as the basis of his science project, titled "How Gullible Are We?"

Public Involvement With Dihydrogen Monoxide Website

• Several students distributed photocopied fliers with a dihydrogen monoxide contamination warning on the University of California, Santa Cruz campus in 1989-1990.
• Craig Jackson created a website for the Coalition to Ban DHMO in 1994.
• Dan Curtis Johnson created the Friends of Hydrogen Hydroxide website, partly as a counterpoint to the Coalition page, claiming to oppose its "subversive agenda." According to the website, hydrogen hydroxide is "environmentally safe" and "improves the functionality, growth, and health of numerous forms of life."
• Nathan Zohner, a 14-year-old student at Eagle Rock Junior High School in Idaho Falls, Idaho, gathered 43 votes out of 50 ninth-graders polled in 1997 to ban the chemical. Zohner won first place in the Greater Idaho Falls Science Fair for his survey results analysis. Journalist James K. Glassman came up with the term "Zohnerism" which means "the use of a true fact to lead a scientifically and mathematically ignorant public to a false conclusion."
• Tom Way created DHMO.org in 1998, drawing inspiration from Jackson's web page and Zohner's research, and including links to some legitimate sites such as the Environmental Protection Agency and the National Institutes of Health.
• On April 1, 1998 (April Fools' Day), a member of the Australian Parliament announced an international campaign to ban dihydrogen monoxide.

Conclusion

It is important that we as individuals, parents, and teachers be aware of the possibility that there may be news or websites like Dihydrogen Monoxide website DHMO.org on the internet that could be a hoax. Therefore, proper research is important to avoid misinformation. Thus, we hope that this article helps people to uncover the truth about the Dihydrogen Monoxide hoax.