"Di hydrogen monoxide" redirects here. For the HO molecule, see Properties of water.
Water consists of two
hydrogen atoms and one
oxygen atom.
In the
hydrogen monoxide hoax, water is called by an unfamiliar name, "hydrogen monoxide", followed by a listing of real negative effects of this chemical, in an attempt to convince people that it should be carefully regulated, labeled as hazardous, or banned. The
hoax is designed to illustrate how the lack of
scientific literacy and an exaggerated analysis can lead to misplaced fears.
[1] "Di hydrogen monoxide", shortened to "DH MO", is a name for
water that is consistent with basic rules of chemical nomenclature,
[2] but is not among the names published by
UPC[3] and is almost never used.
A popular version of the hoax was created by Eric Lechner, Lars Norpchen and Matthew Kaufman, housemates while attending
University of California, Santa Cruz in 1990,
[4] revised by Craig Jackson (also a UC Santa Cruz student) in 1994,
[5] 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?".
[6]
"Dihydrogen monoxide" may sound dangerous to those with a limited knowledge of chemistry or who hold to an ideal of a "
chemical-free" life (
chemophobia).
[6] The only familiar common usage of the term "monoxide" is in the highly toxic gas "
carbon monoxide", and the simplified term "
monoxide poisoning" is commonly used to refer to poisoning by this colourless and odorless substance.
[7]
The joke has been frequently extended over the years. For example, a
material safety data sheet—a list of information about potentially dangerous materials used in research and industry—has been created for it.
[8]