"Plastic Myths Unwrapped" RUMOR Cups and containers made with polystyrene (PS) plastic leach toxic dihydrogen monoxide. STATUS Busted! ORIGINS Dihydrogen monoxide pranks have been around for years, appearing in student projects, e-mail hoaxes and a number of silly websites. (See examples: Dihydrogen Monoxide Research Division; Coalition to Ban Dihydrogen Monoxide.) The offshoot involving polystyrene arose when someone failed to recognize a hoax website for what it was. Fortunately, this version of the prank was fairly short lived. WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW All dihydrogen monoxide pranks share two things in common: (1) they are generally based in fact, and (2) they neglect to mention that “dihydrogen monoxide” is just another name for water. (Think about it. “Dihydrogen” indicates two hydrogen atoms, or “H2.” “Monoxide” refers to a single oxygen atom, or “O.” Put them together, and you get H2O.) If you reread the above spoof, you’ll see that the information is generally factual. For instance, dihydrogen monoxide is a real chemical compound, also known as water. Under very extreme conditions, water can cause drowning, hypothermia and other dangers. And water is used in the manufacture of polystyrene. But using water in the manufacturing process does not pose a health risk to consumers. (Now that you’re in on the prank, this should be fairly obvious.) So, how did the particular myth about the dangers of dihydrogen monoxide in polystyrene get started? In March 2004, someone came across a dihydrogen monoxide hoax on the Internet, and without first verifying the information with an authoritative source, incorporated the bit about polystyrene into a proposed city council ordinance. Fortunately, the facts came to light and the proposal was withdrawn.
Posted on: Fri, 23 Aug 2013 10:49:45 +0000
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