I am always urging my students to be cautious and informed about causes, issues, etc, before becoming engaged in them.  I recently played an April fool’s day prank on my seniors that illustrated how much trust they placed in me for information.  I drew up a fictional petition addressed to our county executive to ban Dihydrogen Monoxide (DHMO or H2O)…..yes water!!!  I thought of this after I heard about John Stossel ( http://stossel.blogs.foxbusiness.com/  ) encouraging people in New York City to sign a similar petition.  You can view http://www.dhmo.org to find out more about this so-called “toxin”.  I have pasted below some of the common dangers and uses of DHMO (ha ha).  Talk about sensationalism and yellow journalism!

Dangers

• Death due to accidental inhalation of DHMO, even in small quantities
• Prolonged exposure to solid DHMO causes severe tissue damage
• Excessive ingestion produces a number of unpleasant though not typically life-threatening side-effects
• DHMO is a major component of acid rain
• Gaseous DHMO can cause severe burns
• Contributes to soil erosion

Can be used

• as an industrial solvent and coolant
• in nuclear power plants
• by the U.S. Navy in the propulsion systems of some older vessels
• by elite athletes to improve performance
• in the production of Styrofoam
• in biological and chemical weapons manufacture
• in the development of genetically engineering crops and animals
• as a spray-on fire suppressant and retardant
• in so-called "family planning" or "reproductive health" clinics
• as a major ingredient in many home-brewed bombs( http://www.dhmo.org/facts.html#FACTS )

Over 95% of my students signed this petition.  The next day I showed them a video of Penn and Teller pulling this same prank at an environmental rally….( http://clipmarks.com/clipmark/9C9FFF36-5A89-43B8-BC79-B21330C4466B ).  When I asked why they would want to ban something they knew nothing about, most of them said if I wanted it banned, it must be bad.  They also stated that anything with monoxide in it must be bad (ex. carbon monoxide).   It was a valuable lesson on why questioning others and becoming informed about an issue is an important aspect of citizenship.   

After we were done discussing the prank and laughing about it several students began questioning if this ever really happens in the news.  I thought to myself….. lesson complete!!

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Be sure to check out the “idea of the week” at www.energizetheclassroom.com .

-Paul Richmond

 E.T.C.