Recently, a trusted friend brought to my attention a dangerous substance many of us are exposed to on a daily basis. Obviously there are plenty of potential dangers out there, and generally I don’t think it’s a great idea to stress overly much about them. ?The best we can do is to live a generally low-stress life, eat well and heartily, engage in some fun physical movement, cultivate quality relationships and pursue goals that are personally meaningful. ?No need to freak out about the slightest exposure to GMOs, or electromagnetic fields, or any of the myriad potential threats in our modern environment.
That said, I think this one is different. Dihydrogen monoxide, or DHMO deserves our full attention. ?Here are some facts about its known, wide-ranging 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.
- Leads to corrosion and oxidation of many metals.
- Contamination of electrical systems often causes short-circuits.
- Exposure decreases effectiveness of automobile brakes.
- Found in biopsies of pre-cancerous tumors and lesions.
- Given to vicious dogs involved in recent deadly attacks.
- Often associated with killer cyclones in the U.S. Midwest and elsewhere, and in hurricanes including deadly storms in Florida, New Orleans and other areas of the southeastern U.S.
- And many more…
It is one frightening chemical, and when it comes down to it, I try to live as chemical-free a life a possible.
To those of you who want to know a bit more, yes, there are defenders of DHMO. They point out that, despite some of the above dangers, the vast majority of those exposed to DHMO do not die within a statistically significant timeframe, that it is a “natural” substance used even in organic food production, that the industry around DHMO is robust and generates thousands of jobs every year with billions in revenue, and that healthy cultures worldwide have used DHMO going back many generations. ?Additionally, they say, this substance is so ubiquitous that it’s not even worth trying to combat.
Others may argue that the DHMO opponents are myopic, focusing on perils taken out-of-context, and using fear-mongering and shoddy science to support an ultimately untenable position. They say: “Do your own research. Be hesitant about radical lifestyle alterations based on small snippets of information. Don’t be so evangelical, and keep an open mind.”
Maybe that’s true sometimes, but not here. The only resource with any credibility on this issue is the Environmental Assessment Center, with their DHMO Research Division. Beware those who would shill for the opposition. Join me in prioritizing avoidance- down with DHMO!
Hahaha… Nice one, Matt! (I heard it was only dangerous if it had fluoride in it)
Rob, you and Matt were among the first to expose the dangers of this substance and have been doing so for some time now. I applaud your prescience!
how stupid are you? its h2o aka water! and you want to ban it..
I’m thinking, Mr. Ryan, that surly this is a joke. Though, I have seen people on fb who get tripped up by the terminology. Even a green house company claimed, when asked by someone on fb, that their products are untreated by “dihydrogen monoxide”. I’m certain this is all stemmed from a prank pulled on the radio in Florida and these people are playing along. Though I find it cruel to needlessly frighten people by using terms they are unfamiliar with to refer to everyday things.
*surely*
no bitch its fucking bad dumb ho!!!
Itsa joke lol
This may be an ignorant question, but are there any steps of substance that we can take to avoid DHMO? (Other than trying to get it banned.)
Damn, I sound like I was born yesterday. I think I just recommended banning water.
Where or how are we exposed to this?
Ok, you got me, it’s water.
a very dangerious substance.
very rare as well..
So that’s two hydrogens and one oxygen…H(2)O?;)
By the way, I just wanted to tell you and Rob that life did not emerge from the ocean. That’s just a conspiracy to hide the truth that amphibians came from another planet. Admit it, most amphibians don’t look like the rest of us. They fool us into believing they came from the sea and when our guard is down, they take our women back to their planet and have sex with them in antiseptic rooms on operation tables.
i just sneak some dihydrogen monoxide onboard, its like acid for aliens!
I, for one, welcome the coming of our amphibian overlords.
you know what is in the ocean? dyhydrogen monoxide aka h2o aka water.
Thoroughly enjoyed this… Only from the comments did I realize you were talking about water. Was a little worried for a minute
Isn’t it outlawed in most European countries? ;)
Especially in combination with soap and removal of body hair…
Hahaha……
You Americans will never understand that there can great sensuality and pleasure in body odors, hehe…
I like body odor. But I also like making fun of everyone and everything whenever an opportunity arises, which trumps any personal preferences I may have. So for now I’ll say, take a damn bath French Girl!
Haha!
I do occasionally, like on my birthday, or for special holidays like Xmas, New Year Eve….
Wow, my health obsession knows no bounds. Even post orthorexia. I googled it and was going to do what I could to minimise my exposure. Yeah…. :D
No kidding! I just started dabbling with the Eat For Heat stuff again yesterday. I tried it when the book came up but I was on stimulants at the time and had no success with it. But now, WOW! Powerful stuff. I’ve been eating salt liberally for a long time but it wasn’t till recently I started cutting back on the water and that made all the difference (and avoiding stimulants, of course). The fatigue and extreme ups and downs I’ve been experiencing these last few years are much better.
It’s finicky, though. It takes a bit to kick in and it’s easy to overdo it. I had some salt, meh didn’t really feel anything so I had some more and half an hour later I felt uncomfortable (temp around 98.6). Had a few sips of water, BAM, down to like 97.4 and legs got cold. It’s really touchy. It’s tough to ignore the thirst, though. I’ve always been a very thirsty guy (which probably got me into this mess). Doesn’t help that it’s 90 degrees in my calculus class today because they AC isn’t working so I had to drink more but for the first time in months, I drank Coke instead of water. It’s hard to tell the effect because of the external temperature. The thing is, I’ve been tracking my oral temperature and it doesn’t seem to correspond well to my general feeling of warmth. For instance right now I’m in the high 97s but I feel warm and that seems to be what matters. I guess it’s one of those things you have to play with. I’m a computer programmer so I like data so it’s kind of unnatural for me to forget about the thermometer and just wing it. I’m not used to things being so simple and I always make things complicated but in this case it seems to be incredibly simple: salt to taste and drink less.
So EFH is powerful stuff. I’d been messing around with Ray Peat’s stuff for a while. I still think highly of him but getting most of my calories from OJ and skim milk makes me freeze, no matter how much carbohydrate I take in. EFH seems much more promising (so far).
Please forget I said this and be very careful about consuming too little water. Drink your liquids.
what happened to make you change your tune?
Nope! Can’t make me give up the stuff! I feel like I need it to live! I even bathe in it! You can’t make me! Exclamation point!
Coincidently, I read an article today on a blog that was actually fear mongering, and one of the commenters was trolling with this shtick. It worked, too! LOL. Totally had the original poster going for awhile…
100% of people who are exposed DHMO die. FACT!
exposed *to*
Nice one, I remember in 7th grade my science teacher brought up this very subject. Had us fooled!
What’s this April 1st!!! Shame on you.
I think ive got DHMO in my piss
[IMG]http://www.memecreator.org/static/images/memes/1712005.jpg[/IMG]
This really has no connection to this post….but I’m 39, female, just ate 5 slices of pizza and small amount of chocolate and took my temp and I’m 100?F! Woohoo, I made it! Might need some of that DMHO to cool this mama down…
It’s a nice joke, and I remember this a while back when the internet was still “young”. However, it uses omission to drive its point home. It would lose much effect if it started with:
* DHMO is essential for all life.
* A human will die without ingesting DHMO for a few days.
* Our bodies contain about 60% DHMO by weight.
* And so on…
This is in contrast to *non-essential* substances that are indeed worthless at best or even just outright toxic.
I had in mind macronutrients and hormones like insulin or substances like lactic acid. All are potentially ‘bad’ and should be heartily avoided if you look at it in just the right way and ignore contradictory evidence. Even water, as sa320e mentions above, actually does have dangers.
Yeah, I read his comment. I don’t doubt that it indeed has acute effects on some people. I have never personally experienced sudden fluctuations in my body temperature or energy levels from eating a bit of this or sipping a bit of that, however. I suppose a lot of variables are at play. I would have to go for *days* without touching coconut oil to show any drop in my body temperature. If I play around with low-carb and high-fluids for a single day, nothing happens to me. It takes a while to “reset” or experience a “difference” so-to-speak.
I still find the DHMO joke funny, and it makes a great gag to play on others who are not familiar with it. I just don’t lump DHMO is the same category as fluorides, pharmaceuticals, and certain food enhancers, since the former is essential and the latter are not.
Forgot the mention, I had a friend who suffered from cold extremities (icy cold fingers), and I mentioned coconut oil to him. He tried it for a while, it warmed his fingers up, and after he got sick of eating the stuff, his fingers became cold again after nearly a week had passed since he stopped eating the oil. There appears to be some sort of latency going on.
Ironic that the following came out the day after this.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/09/12/michelle-obama-drink-water-campaign_n_3906987.html
Tch, This is good, but Penn and Teller already did a Dihydrogen Oxide thing years ago. And besides, this time, Melissa McEwan has gotten there first with her fantastic piece on Kale.
He he, yes, I stumbled upon her site for the first time a few days ago & read the Kale article first. It was hilarious. Almost had me going a couple of times, but I just kept thinking it has to be a spoof. Here’s the link http://www.huntgatherlove.com/
maybe 180 could have some guest post since it is apparent you are out of ideas…
Why not highlight that DHMO has corporate sponsorship to support excessive consumption with a PR campaign which highlights the short-term energy boosting effects of stressing the adrenal system? http://youarewhatyoudrink.org/
Michelle Obama’s latest absurd health campaign to increase water consumption has been pissing me off all day. The new Drink Up campaign is sponsored by the American Beverage Association, International Bottled Water Association, Brita, and a number of bottled water brands. This is a completely inappropriate relationship between the private and public sector and should be called out for the corrupt nonsense it is.
Great information. Should this be illegal.
You want to ban water?