Is Dihydrogen Monoxide another name for water? If so why do people say it is TOXIC?

Answer 1

This is typically a rhetorical technique used to ridicule the naivety of many environmentalists. The idea is that these people will perceive anything with a "chemical-sounding" name as bad and dangerous. They don't realize that the amount, concentration, or dose of the substance is critical to whether it is dangerous and fail to appreciate the costs involved with reducing the amount of a substance to zero.

When these naive people hear "dihydrogen-monoxide" they don't realize it is plain water, assuming it is a dangerous chemical. The "toxic" effects that that are attributed to d.m. further enhance the perception that "this chemical must be banned!"

To answer your questions, 1) Yes, Dihydrogen Monoxide is another name for water, and 2) People say it is toxic because it is in fact toxic in extreme situations (like when somebody drowns in a lake). Further, this is a common rhetorical technique used by opponents of extreme environmentalism that is frankly not as funny as the first time I heard it 20 years ago.

Answer 2

The standard chemical moniker "dihydrogen monoxide" for water (which is exactly what it is) was first widely popularized by Nathan Zohner, a High School student in Idaho Falls, who wanted to highlight how scientifically illiterate the vast majority of the population are. He ALMOST succeded in getting the State to put warnings on babyfood that contained this "lethal solvent", since (naturally) it will kill you if inhaled!

Think about it; water is dangerous stuff....it erodes rock, it drowns people, it will crush you to death if too much is on top of you....but these things are true of almost anything!

Answer 3

I heard about this internet hoax. It's not true - dihydrogen monoxide aka water isn't toxic. Ok, it's not really healthy to drink distilled water (only H2O molecules, nothing else), but water you buy in stores or tap water (depends on what country you come from) isn't toxic.

Answer 4

I think this stems from a Material Safety Data Sheet and parody of a safety warning regarding the danger and toxicity of water. See this link for more info:
http://urbanlegends.about.com/library/bl_ban_dhmo.htm

Water can be toxic if you drink large amounts in a short period of time, and in some extreme cases it can be fatal. This referred to as hyponatremia, or water intoxication:
http://www.hhp.ufl.edu/faculty/pbird/keepingfit/ARTICLE/toomuchwater.htm

Naturally, it is also harmful if you inhale it. There is an MSDS sheet available for water:

http://www.slipandfall.com/Water%20MSDS.htm

Answer 5

Water H2O

Answer 6

I will, on occasion, use the term dihydrous oxide when referring to water, although I have never seen it used in scientific literature. I agree with adamsn02, it is just a joke.