# Di-hydrogen monoxide is falling from the sky!
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/di-hydrogen-monoxide-is-falling-from-the-sky/629187
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
**Created:** [July 24, 2012, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/di-hydrogen-monoxide-is-falling-from-the-sky/629187 "2012-07-24T00:24:37Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 2
### Author:  [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)
#### Post date: [July 24, 2012, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/di-hydrogen-monoxide-is-falling-from-the-sky/629187/21 "2012-07-24T17:38:55Z")
> [@cochrane](#):
>
> Di-hydrogen monoxide precipitation is in a constant state of impact with my cranium.
> [@Ludovic](#):
>
> Does this affect the chances of your visual sensory organs turning a shade of crimson?
No, since my commenting negatively about it will not bring a cessation to its precipitive state. It is all right though. I am emancipated and nothing is causing me to fret.
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### Author:  [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)
#### Post date: [July 24, 2012, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/di-hydrogen-monoxide-is-falling-from-the-sky/629187/22 "2012-07-24T17:55:11Z")
> [@Frazzled](#):
>
> I know! I showered naked in it this morning. Am I going to die?
Yes, but it may take some time for the effects to materialize.
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### Author:  [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)
#### Post date: [July 24, 2012, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/di-hydrogen-monoxide-is-falling-from-the-sky/629187/23 "2012-07-24T18:00:12Z")
> [@Sunspace](#):
>
> What kind of weird place do you _live_ in, anyways?
Why, was there something unusual about this?
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### Author:  [@foolsguinea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foolsguinea)
#### Post date: [July 24, 2012, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/di-hydrogen-monoxide-is-falling-from-the-sky/629187/24 "2012-07-24T18:26:50Z")
> [@Michael63129](#):
>
> Also, check [this](http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-1172102/Mothers-allergy-water-means-drink-bathe-wipe-away-sons-tears.html) out:
Since it’s the Daily Wail, I suspect this is a put-on. But just in case, if this were really happening, I would suspect it’s not the water giving her hives but some local trace pollutant. She could then drink Diet Coke because the Coke bottler would be getting water from a different source.
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### Author:  [@Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malleus_Incus_Stapes)
#### Post date: [July 24, 2012, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/di-hydrogen-monoxide-is-falling-from-the-sky/629187/25 "2012-07-24T19:12:21Z")
[Hydrogen Hydroxide is your friend!](http://www.armory.com/~crisper/DHMO/)
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### Author:  [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)
#### Post date: [July 24, 2012, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/di-hydrogen-monoxide-is-falling-from-the-sky/629187/26 "2012-07-24T19:46:40Z")
> [@Colophon](#):
>
> Coincidentally, this week is the first time in about three months that DHMO has stopped falling from the sky in England. In its place there is a strange blue coloration with a glowing yellow blob that hurts your eyes if you try and look at it, and which provokes an unusual sensation of “heat” on the skin. I suspect radiation. It’s scary stuff.
There’s a Douglas Adams quote posted by \*\*Guano Lad \*\*in [another thread](http://board.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=657372&page=2)that speaks to that. It’s #55.
> [@](#):
>
> Originally Posted by Douglas Adams
> Several billion trillion tons of superhot exploding hydrogen nuclei rose slowly above the horizon and managed to look small, cold and slightly damp.
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### Author:  [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)
#### Post date: [July 24, 2012, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/di-hydrogen-monoxide-is-falling-from-the-sky/629187/27 "2012-07-24T19:56:53Z")
> [@cochrane](#):
>
> Di-hydrogen monoxide precipitation is in a constant state of impact with my cranium.
> [@Ludovic](#):
>
> Does this affect the chances of your visual sensory organs turning a shade of crimson?
> [@cochrane](#):
>
> No, since my commenting negatively about it will not bring a cessation to its precipitive state. It is all right though. I am emancipated and nothing is causing me to fret.
Aaaaannnndddd… _THIS_ is why I love the dope so much.
---
### Author:  [@drewtwo99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drewtwo99)
#### Post date: [July 24, 2012, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/di-hydrogen-monoxide-is-falling-from-the-sky/629187/28 "2012-07-24T20:54:57Z")
Just to be the obligatory asshole pedant of the thread, the chemical name for water (if you must use one) is _oxidane_, not _dihydrogen monoxide_.
Continue with the frivolity.
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### Author:  [@mnemosyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mnemosyne)
#### Post date: [July 24, 2012, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/di-hydrogen-monoxide-is-falling-from-the-sky/629187/29 "2012-07-24T22:34:38Z")
> [@Bag\_of\_Mostly\_Water](#):
>
> Also note that the pH of a 1% solution (in water) is 7. I wonder if they actually took 1 mL of water and added it to 99 mL of water and measured the pH.
Pretty much. The [USP Monograph for Sterile Purified Water](http://www.pharmacopeia.cn/v29240/usp29nf24s0_m88892.html#usp29nf24s0_m88892) (also for Sterile Water for Injection) requires that 0.3mL of saturated potassium chloride (in water, natch) get added to every 100mL of water sample for testing. The allowable result is actually 5.0-7.0.
Here’s [more than you want to know](http://www.pharmacopeia.cn/v29240/usp29nf24s0_c1231.html) about the water used in pharmaceutical products.
Water is actually one of the more elaborately tested and validated products I ever worked with in the lab. It had to be verified every day, can’t be used more than 24 hours after dispensing, goes through complex deionizing and degassing procedures, etc. It’s actually a very large cost of many injectable and ophthalmic products, not to mention heavily used in manufacturing and cleaning of pretty much anything. Expensive ingredient.
**Leaffan** are you affected by the wildfires and drinking water ban?
Sorry for not being funny in this thread. I’m not in a funny mood 😛
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### Author:  [@phxjcc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/phxjcc)
#### Post date: [July 24, 2012, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/di-hydrogen-monoxide-is-falling-from-the-sky/629187/30 "2012-07-24T23:34:37Z")
If you manage to capture enough of it, you can successfully cook it. However, you _ **must** _ use the proper kitchen techniques and equipment. Here is a guide to doing so:
[http://www.iwritefunny.com/2008/03/10/cooks-illustrated-recipe-boiled-water/](http://www.iwritefunny.com/2008/03/10/cooks-illustrated-recipe-boiled-water/)
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### Author:  [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)
#### Post date: [July 25, 2012, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/di-hydrogen-monoxide-is-falling-from-the-sky/629187/31 "2012-07-25T00:01:06Z")
According to environmental scientists, _every one_ of the planet’s oceans, rivers and lakes now contains at least 50% DHMO.
(Actually, oxidane sounds a lot scarier.)
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### Author:  [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)
#### Post date: [July 25, 2012, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/di-hydrogen-monoxide-is-falling-from-the-sky/629187/32 "2012-07-25T02:33:49Z")
> [@mnemosyne](#):
>
> **Leaffan** are you affected by the wildfires and drinking water ban?
No. I’m on my own well. And frankly I’m surprised the whole aquifer hasn’t dried the fuck up by now.
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### Author:  [@Esox\_Lucius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Esox_Lucius)
#### Post date: [July 25, 2012, 4:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/di-hydrogen-monoxide-is-falling-from-the-sky/629187/33 "2012-07-25T04:54:36Z")
> [@Frazzled](#):
>
> I know! I showered naked in it this morning. Am I going to die?
I Am Not A Doctor, but I’ve heard that the antidote is an eclectic cocktail of gases known technically as AIR. Sounds radical, but if you’re lucky enough to find some, doctors advise inhaling it continuously, and you should be okay. _Disclaimer: As always, consult a physician first._
Here’s hoping you read this in time. And you’re welcome.
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### Author:  [@Precambrianmollusc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Precambrianmollusc)
#### Post date: [July 25, 2012, 5:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/di-hydrogen-monoxide-is-falling-from-the-sky/629187/34 "2012-07-25T05:07:31Z")
> [@Chimera](#):
>
> Yes, but it may take some time for the effects to materialize.
Whilst some of my educated friends like to say correlation does not imply causation, with the possibility of showering eventually leading to death I like to play it safe and I always always cover myself in butter prior to showering. This prevents excessive skin contact with the stuff. Stay hydrophobic my friends.
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### Author:  [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)
#### Post date: [July 25, 2012, 5:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/di-hydrogen-monoxide-is-falling-from-the-sky/629187/35 "2012-07-25T05:38:37Z")
I’ve always understood that DHMO is a universal solvent as well. So if it’s falling from the sky, you will definitely need face protection if you must go out in it, or your face will melt and end up looking like one of those fancy straw-covered wine bottles with the candle wax dripped down all over it.
As for the guy who (shudder) _showered nekkid in the stuff_, you are doomed. If you can stomach any further comtemplation of your fate, you need to watch The Wizard of Oz again. Pay close attention to the fate of the Wicked Witch of the West. It’s happening to you right now, even as you read this!
P. S. I’m thinking that “hydrogen hydroxide” must be a more accurate chemical name than “dihydrogen monoxide”.
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### Author:  [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)
#### Post date: [July 25, 2012, 6:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/di-hydrogen-monoxide-is-falling-from-the-sky/629187/36 "2012-07-25T06:12:44Z")
I do know that over-application of DHMO to my dog’s skin causes him to go into paroxysms of almost uncontrollable shaking from his nose to his tail until he has displaced most of the substance from his body.
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### Author:  [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)
#### Post date: [July 25, 2012, 7:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/di-hydrogen-monoxide-is-falling-from-the-sky/629187/37 "2012-07-25T07:00:25Z")
> [@Colophon](#):
>
> I suspect radiation. It’s scary stuff.
According to preliminary reports by CSIC, in coordination with CDC and WHO, the source of the “heat” appears to be electromagnetic radiation. Caution is advised: please do wear your personal protective gear, including body-and-head covering as well as polarised goggles.
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### Author:  [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)
#### Post date: [July 25, 2012, 7:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/di-hydrogen-monoxide-is-falling-from-the-sky/629187/38 "2012-07-25T07:57:10Z")
Awfully dangerous and inhospitable planet you humans chose to inhabit. Was there some rational story behind that?
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### Author:  [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)
#### Post date: [July 25, 2012, 7:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/di-hydrogen-monoxide-is-falling-from-the-sky/629187/39 "2012-07-25T07:58:00Z")
It was there, making puppy eyes at us…
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### Author:  [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)
#### Post date: [July 25, 2012, 9:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/di-hydrogen-monoxide-is-falling-from-the-sky/629187/40 "2012-07-25T09:35:05Z")
The description in the Guide said, “Mostly harmless.”
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