Dihydrogen Monoxide: The Silent Killer
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jmulligan
Well-Known Member
That's hilarious (and sad) because I know that I would get a panicked forward from my sister-in-law about this "terrible chemical" that might be harming us. High school chemistry, people!
MrFebtober
Well-Known Member
Penn and Teller did this exact some stunt with a bunch of idiot picketers for an epidode of Bull Sh*t some years ago. Definitely worthy of a few palm slaps to the forehead. Amazing how many signatures they got.
Well you know, that stuff is dangerous...
Mix it with the extract of Hordeum vulgare subsp. vulgare, boil it with some Humulus lupulus and add in some Saccharomyces Cerevisiae, or Saccharomyces Carlsbergensis, and consume enough of it, and lord knows what could happen...
You could end up with your face plastered around the web like this guy;
Mix it with the extract of Hordeum vulgare subsp. vulgare, boil it with some Humulus lupulus and add in some Saccharomyces Cerevisiae, or Saccharomyces Carlsbergensis, and consume enough of it, and lord knows what could happen...
You could end up with your face plastered around the web like this guy;
jmulligan
Well-Known Member
LOL. Watch out, next there will be a Foundation and rallies on their behalf.
I remember that the high school I went to was so bad that they used that stuff in their eye-wash bottles!!!
blacklab
Well-Known Member
that's hilarious! Reminds me of some of the Jaywalking segments on Leno.
"Who fought in the Civil War"?
"Ummm...that was the British, right?'
"Who fought in the Civil War"?
"Ummm...that was the British, right?'
kornkob
Resident Crazy Uncle
I've never really seen that as 'being dumb'. Obscuring the real meaning of what you are saying behind technical language or technical sounding jargon is common. Getting people to agree with someone that carries themselves like an expert and uses language that makes them sound like an expert is frequently done. I'd be willing to guess that everyone here has been bamboozled by someone at one point or another and never realized it.
These 'water petition' don't really 'prove' anything about the relative intelligence of the participants. It just proves that, particularly when it costs you nothing, people are willing to take what people say at face value.
These 'water petition' don't really 'prove' anything about the relative intelligence of the participants. It just proves that, particularly when it costs you nothing, people are willing to take what people say at face value.
BrewWench
Well-Known Member
I remember that the high school I went to was so bad that they used that stuff in their eye-wash bottles!!!
LOL!
I bet you can get people to sign a petition to "Save the trilobites! Their coral reef habitat is being destroyed!"
MrFebtober
Well-Known Member
Well done, good sir! <golf claps>
OP
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Evan!
Well-Known Member
It's called gullibility. And actually, I think it does prove something here: that the rest of the stuff that this particular organization (their 'Green Party') should be taken with a grain of salt given their relative gullibility on this particular issue---it ruins their credibility. So it's not just a case of obfuscating or obscuring the real meaning through technical jargon.
MrFebtober
Well-Known Member
It's a bit more than that, IMHO. It's beyond someone convincing a person of some non-existant threat through fancy language. These people are putting their signatures on paper for a cause they instantly believe in without even a second thought. You're right that it does not indicate lack of intelligence directly, but it is a bit troubling and revealing to see people commit, in writing, to something based on one brief sales pitch and seemingly without using any critical thinking skills at all. At the very least it illustrates how meaningly signed petitions are.
blacklab
Well-Known Member
What it proved is that those guys are a bunch of reactionary boobs who don't check their facts, AND make 'scientific' sounding pronouncements when they have no scientific background. I think that was the point.
kornkob
Resident Crazy Uncle
There's no difference between that one and any number of other petitions, chain letters or oft repeated 'facts' that are complete bunk.
People frequently take things at face value, particularly when it costs them nothing to do so. This includes people of every political persuasion.
Petitions are pretty meaningless. Once someone with a petition has gotten your attention, what percentage of the time do you say "I can't agree with that, I'm not going to sign" versus when you just sign to get out of there? Most people want to avoid confrontation, so they'll just sign without thinking too much, to escape from the situation or just because they don't want to get into a debate. You can get plenty of signatures for pretty any issue as long as you have enough people with clipboards (and it helps if they're cute ).
).
kornkob
Resident Crazy Uncle
Petitions are pretty meaningless. Once someone with a petition has gotten your attention, what percentage of the time do you say "I can't agree with that, I'm not going to sign" versus when you just sign to get out of there? Most people want to avoid confrontation, so they'll just sign without thinking too much, to escape from the situation or just because they don't want to get into a debate. You can get plenty of signatures for pretty any issue as long as you have enough people with clipboards (and it helps if they're cute
That's another aspect I hadn't considered before.
And all they are doing is trolling a location of people who are predisposed to hearing the type of banter that they are speaking about.
Like going to a breast cancer fund raiser and getting signatures on a petition to end women's suffrage. Cover the meaning with some doublespeak and you'll get intelligent, well meaning people signing it.
Or getting a bunch of republican politicians to pledge support for Hugo N Frye, the unrecognized hero of the Republican party. Again-- letters of support from well meaning people for a pile of nonsense.
Beerthoven
Well-Known Member
I see a difference between duping people on the street into signing a petition to ban dihydrogen monoxide and the leader of a political party 'absolutely supporting' a ban.
The average person on the street just will not make the connection between a very technical sounding term like 'dihydrogen monoxide' and H20 (water) and so will not see through the ruse. I think this is understandable, though regrettable, and can be forgiven.
It's appalling, however, when a political leader falls for this. Its shows a basic lack of due diligence and fact checking. It certainly casts doubt over all their other pronouncements.
The average person on the street just will not make the connection between a very technical sounding term like 'dihydrogen monoxide' and H20 (water) and so will not see through the ruse. I think this is understandable, though regrettable, and can be forgiven.
It's appalling, however, when a political leader falls for this. Its shows a basic lack of due diligence and fact checking. It certainly casts doubt over all their other pronouncements.
blacklab
Well-Known Member
Don't see your point as it relates to the article here. The gene guys sent the H2O info to the Green types to prove that they're reactionary, uninformed idiots. I don't care either way, and I have no political bent in this issue, but to me it looks like they proved their point.
brauhaus
Well-Known Member
funny, I read the title and thought this was a thread about the scientific names for things vs. what people commonly call things...
JohnBarleycorn
Well-Known Member
How about the 911 operator that told a man to take a shower to rinse off the chlorine gas from a rail car accident . Now thats stupid
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Evan!
Well-Known Member
This thread was fun before it got serious.
Good link Evan! I found it funny.
Leave it up to Korn-"Dr. Phil"-kob to turn it into a serious subject
MrFebtober
Well-Known Member
Leave it up to Korn-"Dr. Phil"-kob to turn it into a serious subject
ouch, that was a stinger!
kornkob
Resident Crazy Uncle
Except in the greater context of this thread that's NOT what was being discussed.
