dihydrogen monoxide

Thus ice contracts when melting, ice being a regular and rather open structure of hydrogen and oxygen atoms, while water is a collection of dihydrogen-monoxide (H₂O), tetra-hydrogen dioxide (2H₂O), and more complex molecules.

1928, Herbert Chatley, Studies in Molecular Force, 3rd edition, Charles Griffin & Co., Limited, page 4

The Invisible Killer Dihydrogen monoxide is colorless, odorless, tasteless, and kills uncounted thousands of people every year. Most of these deaths are caused by accidental inhalation of DHMO, but the dangers of dihydrogen monoxide do not end there.

1995, John December, quoting Craig Jackson, The World Wide Web Unleashed, 2nd edition, Indianapolis, Ind.: Sams.net, →ISBN, page 450

One-by-one the warning fliers turned up in mailboxes around Wylie Heights in North Sewickley, Beaver County: It advised, there is a chemical in your water supply called dihydrogen monoxide. Tasteless and colorless, dihydrogen monoxide was blamed for a trio of ills: severe hydration, frequent urination and possible death. In fact, the flier said, dihydrogen monoxide kills thousands every year. […] Dihydrogen monoxide is the chemical name for water, and a quartet of Riverside High School students are up to their necks in the hot kind after their Internet-inspired prank made dozens of homeowners not readily acquainted with chemical terms hyper over hydro.

1997 April 19, Dennis B[rian Patrick] Roddy, “Internet-inspired prank lands 4 teens in hot water”, in Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, volume 70, number 262, Pittsburgh, Pa.: Block Communications, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 1

Many people have joined the cause to ban this substance without realizing that dihydrogen monoxide is simply water (H₂O). Their eagerness to protect the environment or their fear of seeming uninformed may be part of the problem.

2007, Michael Sullivan, III, Statistics: Informed Decisions Using Data, 2nd edition, Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Pearson Prentice Hall, →ISBN, page 39, column 2