At 09:07 AM 3/15/04, Kevin Tarr wrote:
City falls victim to Internet hoax, considers banning items made with water
http://www.sacbee.com/state_wire/story/8518740p-9447551c.html
ALISO VIEJO, Calif. (AP) - City officials were so concerned about the
potentially dangerous properties of dihydrogen monoxide that they
considered banning foam cups after they learned the chemical was used in
their production.
At least they didn't require that the label of every bottle of bottled
water include that statement This product contains a chemical known to the
State of California to be dangerous to human health and safety.
Then they learned that dihydrogen monoxide - H2O for short - is the
scientific term for water.
It's embarrassing, said City Manager David J. Norman. We had a
paralegal who did bad research.
One hopes this will lead to them looking closer at the minimum
qualifications for job position of paralegal.
The paralegal apparently fell victim to one of the many official looking
Web sites that have been put up by pranksters to describe dihydrogen
monoxide as an odorless, tasteless chemical that can be deadly if
accidentally inhaled.
Which is entirely accurate. For that matter, so are both of its component
gases, as well as is nitrogen, which is found in the air everywhere,
including even California cities with stringent air quality regulations.
As a result, the City Council of this Orange County suburb had been
scheduled to vote next week on a proposed law that would have banned the
use of foam containers at city-sponsored events. Among the reasons given
for the ban were that they were made with a substance that could threaten
human health and safety.
The measure has been pulled from the agenda, although Norman said the city
may still eventually ban foam cups.
Our main concern is with the Aliso Creek watershed, Norman said. If you
get Styrofoam into the water and it breaks apart, it's virtually
impossible to clean up.
Kevin T. - VRWC
I had to check the date to make sure
Either they are starting early this year, or you found a perennial.
-- Ronn! :)
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