# California town almost bans dihydrogen monoxide
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/california-town-almost-bans-dihydrogen-monoxide/234985
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
**Created:** [March 18, 2004, 4:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/california-town-almost-bans-dihydrogen-monoxide/234985 "2004-03-18T04:44:46Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@ultrafilter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ultrafilter)
#### Post date: [March 18, 2004, 4:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/california-town-almost-bans-dihydrogen-monoxide/234985/1 "2004-03-18T04:44:46Z")
You knew someone would fall for it in a big way sooner or later.
> [@\[MSNBC](#):
>
> ([http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4534017/](http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4534017/))]ALISO VIEJO, Calif. - City officials were so concerned about the potentially dangerous properties of dihydrogen monoxide that they considered banning foam cups after they learned the chemical was used in their production.
>
> Then they learned, to their chagrin, that dihydrogen monoxide — H2O for short — is the scientific term for water.
It just had to be in California, didn’t it?
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### Author:  [@ultrafilter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ultrafilter)
#### Post date: [March 18, 2004, 4:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/california-town-almost-bans-dihydrogen-monoxide/234985/2 "2004-03-18T04:50:23Z")
Geez, that used to work. Try [this](http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4534017).
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### Author:  [@jackelope](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jackelope)
#### Post date: [March 18, 2004, 4:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/california-town-almost-bans-dihydrogen-monoxide/234985/3 "2004-03-18T04:57:36Z")
Awesome story. Nothing like a little hysterical panic to get the underinformed in a law-makin’ mood.
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### Author:  [@Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airman_Doors_USAF)
#### Post date: [March 18, 2004, 5:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/california-town-almost-bans-dihydrogen-monoxide/234985/4 "2004-03-18T05:02:24Z")
That’s right up there with when some state congress (allegedly) passed a resolution commending Albert DiSalvo for his great advances in “population control”.
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### Author:  [@Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airman_Doors_USAF)
#### Post date: [March 18, 2004, 5:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/california-town-almost-bans-dihydrogen-monoxide/234985/5 "2004-03-18T05:08:32Z")
[It was Texas](http://www.snopes.com/legal/desalvo.htm). I should’ve known. :rolleyes:
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### Author:  [@Celyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Celyn)
#### Post date: [March 18, 2004, 5:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/california-town-almost-bans-dihydrogen-monoxide/234985/6 "2004-03-18T05:22:02Z")
eheheheh! : ) 0h Fantastic. I confess my first thought on seeing the thread title was along the lines of “oh, not that again - we have all seen it by now”, but it seems that some lawmakers have not. Oh boy!
Hmm, Celyn’s local council is a bit stupiid too. Hmmm, I wonder. 🙂
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### Author:  [@Bernard\_Marx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bernard_Marx)
#### Post date: [March 18, 2004, 6:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/california-town-almost-bans-dihydrogen-monoxide/234985/7 "2004-03-18T06:12:18Z")
It’s been a long time since I did any chemistry, but shouldn’t the chemical name for water be _hydrogen hydroxide_ ?
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### Author:  [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)
#### Post date: [March 18, 2004, 7:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/california-town-almost-bans-dihydrogen-monoxide/234985/8 "2004-03-18T07:33:54Z")
> [@Bernard Marx](#):
>
> It’s been a long time since I did any chemistry, but shouldn’t the chemical name for water be _hydrogen hydroxide_ ?
No. When there are multiple atoms of a single element in a basal molecule, the number of atoms is always specified as part of the word denoting that particular element. If the element is named first, you add a prefix; if the element is named last, you alter the suffix (-ide, -ate, -ite, and so forth).
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### Author:  [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)
#### Post date: [March 18, 2004, 8:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/california-town-almost-bans-dihydrogen-monoxide/234985/9 "2004-03-18T08:18:31Z")
> [@Airman Doors](#):
>
> That’s right up there with when some state congress (allegedly) passed a resolution commending Albert DiSalvo for his great advances in “population control”.
I remember it as “his work in the community to end the suffering of the elderly.”
😃
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### Author:  [@Bernard\_Marx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bernard_Marx)
#### Post date: [March 18, 2004, 10:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/california-town-almost-bans-dihydrogen-monoxide/234985/10 "2004-03-18T10:42:43Z")
_originally posted by Really Not All That Bright_
> [@](#):
>
> No. When there are multiple atoms of a single element in a basal molecule, the number of atoms is always specified as part of the word denoting that particular element. If the element is named first, you add a prefix; if the element is named last, you alter the suffix (-ide, -ate, -ite, and so forth).
OK. That’s logical, but doesn’t seem to make sense when you consider such compounds as Na2CO3 which I would pronounce sodium carbonate but you say should be disodium carbonate.
Also, NaCl and BaCl2 are both chlorides even though they have a different number of chlorine atoms per covalent unit. I think the -ide, -ite, -ate bit refers to the number of oxygen atoms (sulphate SO4, sulphite SO3, sulphite S).
I haven’t done any chemistry for seven years so feel free to shoot my arguments full of holes
---
### Author:  [@js\_africanus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/js_africanus)
#### Post date: [March 18, 2004, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/california-town-almost-bans-dihydrogen-monoxide/234985/11 "2004-03-18T13:40:21Z")
Anybody know the site that the paralegal cited? I’m only gettin’ hits about the news story.
Regardless, here is a related Snopes item:
> **[Is Dihydrogen Monoxide Dangerous?](https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/dangers-dihydrogen-monoxide/)**
>
> The dihydrogen monoxide hoax shows that even the most innocuous of substances can be made to sound like a dangerous threat to human life.
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### Author:  [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)
#### Post date: [March 18, 2004, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/california-town-almost-bans-dihydrogen-monoxide/234985/12 "2004-03-18T13:55:27Z")
I find [this](http://www.dhmo.org/facts.html) site a little disturbing.
Nothing to indicate it’s a joke site.
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### Author:  [@DeadlyAccurate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DeadlyAccurate)
#### Post date: [March 18, 2004, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/california-town-almost-bans-dihydrogen-monoxide/234985/13 "2004-03-18T14:09:47Z")
> [@ivylass](#):
>
> I find [this](http://www.dhmo.org/facts.html) site a little disturbing.
>
> Nothing to indicate it’s a joke site.
It’s a joke site. From the site:
> [@](#):
>
> A recently noted medical phenomenon involves small amounts of DHMO leaking or oozing from the corners of the eyes as a direct result of causes such as foreign particulate irritation, allergic reactions including anaphylactic shock, and sometimes severe chemical depression.
Also note that they always refer to it as DHMO rather than H2O to keep from giving away the joke.
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### Author:  [@OtakuLoki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OtakuLoki)
#### Post date: [March 18, 2004, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/california-town-almost-bans-dihydrogen-monoxide/234985/14 "2004-03-18T14:11:23Z")
> [@Bernard Marx](#):
>
> It’s been a long time since I did any chemistry, but shouldn’t the chemical name for water be _hydrogen hydroxide_ ?
Actually, no. When dealing with a common compound that has a commonly known name, the _proper_ scientific name is always the common name, such as: Water, or Ammonia. Not dihydrogen oxide, nor trihydrogen nitride.
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### Author:  [@CandidGamera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CandidGamera)
#### Post date: [March 18, 2004, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/california-town-almost-bans-dihydrogen-monoxide/234985/15 "2004-03-18T14:18:06Z")
> [@Bernard Marx](#):
>
> _originally posted by Really Not All That Bright_
>
> OK. That’s logical, but doesn’t seem to make sense when you consider such compounds as Na2CO3 which I would pronounce sodium carbonate but you say should be disodium carbonate.
>
> Also, NaCl and BaCl2 are both chlorides even though they have a different number of chlorine atoms per covalent unit. I think the -ide, -ite, -ate bit refers to the number of oxygen atoms (sulphate SO4, sulphite SO3, sulphite S).
>
> I haven’t done any chemistry for seven years so feel free to shoot my arguments full of holes
The naming rules vary based on whether the compound is molecular or ionic.
Molecules like water follow the rule about quantity … dihydrogen monoxide.
Ionic compounds like table salt don’t … sodium chloride.
Incidentally, with molecules, the first compound listed, if there’s only one occurrence of it in the compound, may be said without the prefix ‘mono-’.
CO[sub]2[/sub], for instance, is ‘Carbon Dioxide’ not ‘Monocarbon Dioxide.’
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### Author:  [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)
#### Post date: [March 18, 2004, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/california-town-almost-bans-dihydrogen-monoxide/234985/16 "2004-03-18T14:18:25Z")
> [@Airman Doors](#):
>
> [It was Texas](http://www.snopes.com/legal/desalvo.htm). I should’ve known. :rolleyes:
And just what the hell is that supposed to mean, Yankee? 😉
From the story:
> [@](#):
>
> Although we would hope our elected representatives would pay enough attention to their jobs not to pass resolutions commending serial killers, Moore’s stunt wasn’t as outrageous as it seems. Federal and state legislators see a steady stream of resolutions that have no legal impact and are offered mostly as public relations measures on behalf of one group or another. Poring over each and every one would take an inordinate amount of a legislator’s time (especially in states like Texas where the legislature was often in session for only a few brief periods each year, creating a large number of bills and resolutions to be voted upon in a very short time.) If your fellow legislator introduces a resolution to honor this person or that group, you’re expected to rubber stamp it as a gesture of good will; after all, he’ll return the favor when you need to boost your popularity with your constituents by extending similar honors to some of them. This may not be an ideal system, but little in politics is.
Quite frankly, I really enjoyed the way Representative Moore discharged his duty by showing up a flaw in the system. Snipes like yours are uncalled for and in bad taste. Usually, I’m in agreement with your conservative ways (being fairly conservative myself), but LAY OFF THE TEXAS BASHING! Didn’t we learn anything from all that North vs South shit last year?
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### Author:  [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)
#### Post date: [March 18, 2004, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/california-town-almost-bans-dihydrogen-monoxide/234985/17 "2004-03-18T15:18:26Z")
True story.
I had a neighbour a few years ago who wrote a letter to Sen. Diane Feinstein (D-CA) warning her about the dangers of DHMO. He received an urgent-sounding reply that the Senator agrees that DHMO is a dangerous chemical and would look into banning it. He replied to the letter saying that it was a joke. DHMO is water. I don’t remember what the final outcome was (I think there was another letter or two), although he said he’d lost a lot of respect for Sen. Feinstein.
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### Author:  [@OtakuLoki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OtakuLoki)
#### Post date: [March 18, 2004, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/california-town-almost-bans-dihydrogen-monoxide/234985/18 "2004-03-18T15:36:26Z")
Frankly there are a lot of people conditioned to have this sort of knee-jerk reaction to any kind of ‘study’ about a dangerous chemical. A couple of years ago a PIRG student was going door to door in my neighborhood looking to get signatures for a plan to require a hazardous materials inventory to be kept at all schools, complete with all pertinent safety instructions, and to be made available to anyone who asked for it. When I asked how this was in any signifigant way different from the current requirements for MSDS’s I flummoxed the poor chap. (I play with PIRG students the way some people play with JW’s) The thing that bothered me was knowing that 90% of the people that were contacted about that would have no idea about the MSDS requirements. Or that the program being promoted was essentially redundant and, IMNSHO, set up to provide for more civil service jobs.
Add this mindset to a general lack of scientific knowledge (especially in the legal profession.) the fact that more than one career has been made manufacturing crises and then ‘correcting’ them, and you get things like the news story in the OP. (Can anyone name Ralph Nader?)
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### Author:  [@js\_africanus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/js_africanus)
#### Post date: [March 18, 2004, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/california-town-almost-bans-dihydrogen-monoxide/234985/19 "2004-03-18T15:54:18Z")
> [@ivylass](#):
>
> I find [this](http://www.dhmo.org/facts.html) site a little disturbing.
>
> Nothing to indicate it’s a joke site.
And some say that Art is dead. That site is great.
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### Author:  [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)
#### Post date: [March 18, 2004, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/california-town-almost-bans-dihydrogen-monoxide/234985/20 "2004-03-18T16:00:58Z")
> [@DeadlyAccurate](#):
>
> It’s a joke site.
>
> Also note that they always refer to it as DHMO rather than H2O to keep from giving away the joke.
Not to mention the fact that there is no such entity as the United States Environmental Assessment Center.
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