Calif. Officials Nearly Fall for H2O Hoax

[hyphenate]

Calif. Officials Nearly Fall for H2O Hoax

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's embarrassing," said City Manager David J. Norman. "We had a paralegal who did bad research."

The paralegal apparently fell victim to one of the many official looking Web sites that have been put up by pranksters to describe dihydrogen monoxide as "an odorless, tasteless chemical" that can be deadly if accidentally inhaled.

As a result, the City Council of this Orange County suburb had been scheduled to vote next week on a proposed law that would have banned the use of foam containers at city-sponsored events. Among the reasons given for the ban were that they were made with a substance that could "threaten human health and safety."


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[President_G_W_Bush]

1. I urge Congress to draft an amendment banning this scourge!

[slackmaster]

2. Hydroxyl acid is a much more insidious threat

The stuff is used for just about everything. It's even in childrens' ice cream!

[Az]

3. This is an oldie

I think I even saw this one circulating in preinternet days.