‘Help! I’ve fallen, and I can’t get up!’ That commercial plays a lot, which is irksome because I don’t feel I fall into that demographic group! Anyway, Life Alert says that their system can save you from ‘CO gas’. I saw a commercial from a different company/product that mentions carbon monoxide in it. So why would Life Alert have to specify ‘dangerous gas with initials!’ instead of just saying ‘carbon monoxide’?
I bet if Jay Leno did a Jaywalking segment and asked “what is carbon monoxide?” most of the answers would be something along the lines of “I dunno, a chemical” or “that stuff you put in your laundry to get stains out” or “that blue paper that people used to make copies with.”
Well it’s similar to saying CO₂ instead of carbon dioxide.
Those are chemical symbols and not merely “initials”.
That’s true. It’s the addition of ‘gas’ at the end that makes it sound weird.
Why? At room temperature CO is a gas. Whats weird about that?
Maybe because adding “gas” makes the threat seem that much more insidious. No longer is it merely some environmental contaminant; now it’s psychologically closer to nerve gas.
Impartial, scientifically sound risk analyses don’t move product, don’t y’know?
Well, it is insidious, being colorless, odorless, and tasteless. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that several thousand people go to hospital emergency rooms every year to be treated for carbon monoxide poisoning.
I’m not doubting that it’s a potential danger, but that elderly people might not recognize it as such without the ample warnings and “gas of doom!” claims (what Alley Dweller said).