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In 1997, a 14-year-old convinced 43 classmates to ban “dihydrogen monoxide”

Ellsworth Toohey
Jan 25, 2026
∙ Paid

joeymanley from Flickr - Louisville's Municipal Sense of Humor CC BY-SA 2.0

Nathan Zohner was a 14-year-old student at Eagle Rock Junior High in Idaho Falls when he conducted an experiment for his science fair project: “How Gullible Are We?” He compiled a list of alarming but technically accurate facts about a chemical called dihydrogen monoxide. It acce…

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