Dan Lewis’s conversation-starting email newsletter “Now I Know” looks back on a morning radio hoax that kicked up a storm.
“The Dangerous-Sounding Threat of DHMO”
by Dan Lewis
Now I Know
September 14, 2016
St. John and Fish were, at the time, morning hours radio hosts for a Florida radio station. On April 1st of that year “” and yes, that date should have been a clue “” the duo decided to issue a public service announcement, telling listeners that dihydrogen monoxide was coming out of water taps in the area.
The reaction from what would hope was a small, small minority the listeners was fierce and nearly immediate. Enough people were fooled by the PSA that the county water board began fielding calls, and at 8:30 AM that day “” about three-and-a-half hours into what should have been a five-hour radio show “” St. John and Fish were taken off the air. The county issued a statement telling residents that the water was entirely safe and that this was just a joke gone bad (although without explaining the science), and the radio station, per the Atlantic, spent the rest of the day informing listeners of the same.
But beyond that, no big deal, right? Wrong “” at least, according to the state”™s Department of Health. Its spokesperson told the press that calling in “a false water quality issue” could be considered a felony in the state. The station, perhaps fearing liability, suspended the pair of DJs indefinitely. And listeners seemed OK with the punishment: according to USA Today, a (hardly scientific, but why should we get science involved here?) poll on the radio station”™s website had a large majority “” 77% “” hoping that the two would never be welcomed back on the air. Read more.