How Gullible Are We?

A student at Eagle Rock Junior High won first prize at the Greater Idaho Falls Science Fair, April 26. He was attempting to show how conditioned we have become to alarmists practicing junk science and spreading fear of everything in our environment. In his project he urged people to sign a petition demanding strict control or total elimination of the chemical "dihydrogen monoxide."

And for plenty of good reasons, since:

it can cause excessive sweating and vomiting it is a major component in acid rain

it can cause severe burns in its gaseous state

accidental inhalation can kill you

it contributes to erosion

it decreases effectiveness of automobile brakes

it has been found in tumors of terminal cancer patients

He asked 50 people if they supported a ban of the chemical. Forty-three (43) said yes, six (6) were undecided, and only one (1) knew that the chemical was water. The title of his prize winning project was, "How Gullible Are We?"

He feels the conclusion is obvious.

This isn't a matter of gullibility, it's a matter of ambiguity.

>>1
This post is for gullible people who follow the writings of "think-tanks" that produce this political horseshit, such as John Stosshole.

>>3
John Stossel counts as a "think-tank?" all by himself?

>>4
Stosshole has been allied with such filth for quite a long time, and his tiresome unctuous reports when he was on 20/20 reflected that.  He became like a fucking mouthpiece for them on what was supposed to be a show with sort of investigative jounalism.

From snopes, apparently the kid isn't the original source of the japery.  I wonder who is.  "Even back then Nathan Zohner's project wasn't original, as spoof petitions about dihydrogen monoxide and other innocuous "dangers" had been circulating for years, and Nathan based his project on a bogus report that was already making the rounds of the Internet."