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Did You Know #9: School Science Fair

CafeMom Team
posted to General Discussion in CafeMom Back to School
on Aug. 21, 2008 at 6:29 PM

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In 1997, 14-year-old Nathan Zohner, a student at Eagle Rock Junior High School in Idaho Falls, won first prize in a local science fair with a project titled "How Gullible Are We?" He presented a report to his fellow students about the dangers of a substance called "dihydrogen monoxide" and then asked for their opinions. Out of 50 students, 43 thought it should be banned, 6 were undecided, and 1 correctly recognized that "dihydrogen monoxide" is just another name for H₂O--in other words, water.

Zohner did not invent the concept of "dihydrogen monoxide," however. Tongue-in-cheek reports about its alleged dangers have been circulating for years, especially on the Internet. A college professor has even created an entire Web site about it (www.dhmo.org) to make a point about the importance of critical thinking.

/// The CafeMom Team