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“Dihydrogen monoxide” joke gets DJs suspended

arstechnica.com

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Re: “Dihydrogen monoxide” joke gets DJs suspended

#81

Post by numo16 »

drdaeman wrote: post #76
jamesrcole wrote: post #68

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> H2O is probably the most widely known chemical formula ... Ask those same 19 people what dihydrogen monoxide is ... the answer will be "I don't know but it sounds nasty" ... Yes it's true - half of the population is below average intelligence I'd go further. It's really easy to think the meaning of "dihydrogen monoxide" is obvious if you already know how to parse terms written in that language . But it's far from o…

I don't know about education in US, but I suspect basic chemistry is a part of compulsory education program. Or I'm wrong?

When I was in high school (graduated in 2006), we were only required to take chemistry OR biology, but not required to take both. Those in my class who were afraid of math (most of them) took biology, while the rest of us enjoyed our chemistry fun.

Re: “Dihydrogen monoxide” joke gets DJs suspended

#82

Post by velodrome »

mschuster91 wrote: post #48
spindritf wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> What's cigarettes for us, is alcohol and firearms in the USA, especially the firearms part Since we're on topic of science and ignorance, no it's not. >> Using cross-sectional time-series data for U.S. counties from 1977 to 1992, we find that allowing citizens to carry concealed weapons deters violent crimes and it appears to produce no increase in accidental deaths.[1] This whole thread denouncing ignorance is ful…

What about the gang-related murders and gun violence in the "black" regions of cities? The multiple school shootings which happen EVERY YEAR in the US? And still nothing, absolutely NOTHING happens on the weapons control laws? I can't even remember when the last gun-related school shooting was here in Germany.

This is just a symptom of what is actually wrong with our society. It has nothing to do with skin color. We have a lack of opportunity for young people coming from a poor background. People do fall between the cracks...

Also, let's be fair. Germany is not one to talk about gun violence. Last I remember, Germany was an aggressor in both World War I and World War II. Both wars accounted for roughly a 100+ million dead or wounded. Could you explain how "weapons control laws" could have prevented these wars? Don't get me wrong, I am for gun control...but really, it is not going to help until we fix other, more immediate socio-economic issues.

Re: “Dihydrogen monoxide” joke gets DJs suspended

#83

Post by deodorel »

thomasjames wrote: post #70
deodorel wrote: post #61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This article just won a Godwin point: basically if only the rich whites are taken into account, the American school is better than the Canadian one ... sure, that's a nice way to evaluate an education system ...

Yup, you must be right, there are only rich white people in America. I was commenting that although the vast majority of European countries and also Canada tend to have single-digit percentages of visible minorities compared to 34% of the United States, they are often quick to accuse the U.S. of racism, or fail to understand the implications of a truly multicultural society. Germany has 6% of its population with ance…

Well, the problem with minorities in US, Germany and everywhere else, is that usually they are immigrant, poor, living in bad neighborhoods, so yeah, they will pretty much score lower at school, have much more crime, etc. But not because they are Mexican, Gipsy, Turkish, but because they are poor immigrants.

Re: “Dihydrogen monoxide” joke gets DJs suspended

#84

Post by illuminate »

mikecarroll wrote: post #19

The big issue here is not that "the public can't even understand a basic chemical formula"--it's that so many people are willing to take something they hear in a morning radio show at face value (and panickedly call up the local utility, rather than search online for verification).

The demographic of listeners for wacky radio morning zoo prankster DJs are probably not the smartest.

Re: “Dihydrogen monoxide” joke gets DJs suspended

#85

Post by thomasjames »

deodorel wrote: post #83
thomasjames wrote: post #70

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yup, you must be right, there are only rich white people in America. I was commenting that although the vast majority of European countries and also Canada tend to have single-digit percentages of visible minorities compared to 34% of the United States, they are often quick to accuse the U.S. of racism, or fail to understand the implications of a truly multicultural society. Germany has 6% of its population with ance…

Well, the problem with minorities in US, Germany and everywhere else, is that usually they are immigrant, poor, living in bad neighborhoods, so yeah, they will pretty much score lower at school, have much more crime, etc. But not because they are Mexican, Gipsy, Turkish, but because they are poor immigrants.

Right... so the article was pointing out that there are fewer of them in most European countries...

Re: “Dihydrogen monoxide” joke gets DJs suspended

#86

Post by illuminate »

mschuster91 wrote: post #2

As an European, all I can say is "Fuckin' stupid American rednecks". Jeez, do the US have at least A BIT chemistry lessons in their education system?

I'm sure you have no television/radio shows listened to by primarily morons. Anywhere in Europe.

Re: “Dihydrogen monoxide” joke gets DJs suspended

#87

Post by jamesrcole »

drdaeman wrote: post #76
jamesrcole wrote: post #68

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> H2O is probably the most widely known chemical formula ... Ask those same 19 people what dihydrogen monoxide is ... the answer will be "I don't know but it sounds nasty" ... Yes it's true - half of the population is below average intelligence I'd go further. It's really easy to think the meaning of "dihydrogen monoxide" is obvious if you already know how to parse terms written in that language . But it's far from o…

I don't know about education in US, but I suspect basic chemistry is a part of compulsory education program. Or I'm wrong?

I can't recall about here in Australia - I did Chemistry as an elective in the final 2 years of high-school, but I can't recall if everyone did that kind of thing in chemistry in earlier years or not.

...but you also have to remember that high-school was a long time ago for a lot of people, and facts like what the prefix "di" means is hardly something most people are going to need to keep in their heads, so are likely to fade over time.

Re: “Dihydrogen monoxide” joke gets DJs suspended

#88

Post by youngerdryas »

mschuster91 wrote: post #78
youngerdryas wrote: post #75

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Fine your satisfied with Europe, that doesn't mean you have to be an ass.

It's not my fault that the USA in general doesn't care about their external image. I'm just pointing out what the rest of the world thinks about the USA.

Maybe think for yourself next time.

Re: “Dihydrogen monoxide” joke gets DJs suspended

#90

Post by PommeDeTerre »

chris_wot wrote: post #89
PommeDeTerre wrote: post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Nationalities are not races.

You're missing my larger point. The original comment was bigoted. I'm not a fan of bigotry.

So you're bigoted against those who exhibit bigotry?
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