Tales From the Vault - City Threatens to Ban "Dangerous" Water
In 2004, an advisor to the Californian city of Aliso Viejo stumbled across a spoof scientific website that warned of the dangers of dihydrogen monoxide - a colourless, odourless substance known to be used as an industrial solvent and coolant, in nuclear plants, and even by a number of terrorist organisations.
The site went on to warn the public about indicators of an overdose of dihydrogen monoxide - including nausea, vomiting, a bloated feeling and excessive urination - and added that dihydrogen monoxide can be deadly if accidentally inhaled. The advisor relayed these disturbing findings to the city council, blissfully unaware that dihydrogen monoxide was better known as H2O or water.
The city council was so concerned about the potentially dangerous properties of dihydrogen monoxide that it considered banning foam cups after learning that the chemical was used in their production. It went so far as to announce that foam cups were made with a substance that could "threaten human health and safety". When the hoax was finally revealed, there were red faces all round. "It's embarrassing." admitted the city manager. "We had a paralegal who did bad research."
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