Florida DJ's may face felony charges over dihydrogen monoxide announcement

[Hugabear]

http://www.theatlanticwire.com/entertainment/2013/04/florida-djs-april-fools-water-joke/63798/

Florida country radio morning-show hosts Val St. John and Scott Fish are currently serving indefinite suspensions and possibly worse over a successful April Fools' Day prank. They told their listeners that "dihydrogen monoxide" was coming out of the taps throughout the Fort Myers area. Dihydrogen monoxide is water.

The popular deejays are mainly in all this trouble (potentially of a felony level) because their listeners panicked so much — about the molecular makeup of their drinking water, however unwittingly — that Lee County utility officials had to issue a county-wide statement calming the fears of chemistry challenged Floridians.

"They were joking that 'dihydrogen monoxide' was coming out of Lee County residents' taps," reports Florida's WPTV, though it also remains unclear just how much the two hosts stoked the joke, and whether they actually told people to stop drinking the "dihydrogen monoxide" coming out of their taps. The WWGR station's manager did have to issue a retraction — or at least a constant on-air admission that the gag was, in fact, a joke — even though St. John and Fish were technically correct that dihydrogen monoxide was, indeed, coming out of their taps.

Welcome to Florida...

[NightWatcher]

1. Who or what was the harm?

No harm= no foul.

Technically, they were telling the truth.

I can't believe there are still Morning Zoo wacky dj's.

[sendero]

15. Exactly..

.... people who are stupid should stop blaming everyone else for their stupidity.

It was even on April Fools day and the morons didn't get it. Pathetic.

[sadbear]

2. Country music listeners.

Color me surprised.

[lonestarnot]

7. Snort... splains it without much description further doesn't it.

[Niceguy1]

14. I bet the outcome

Would have been similar in say LA or NY on a different format station.

[kestrel91316]

3. Instant win for the defense when they point out that the DJs

spoke the truth.

[ProudToBeBlueInRhody]

9. Yeah, except if you take them literally....

....they apparently said stop drinking the water....

I think it's stupid too, but if you want to get legal, they said something was wrong with the water, and stop drinking it.

[arely staircase]

4. Who hasn't heard the H2O thing?

And who is dumber, these DJs or the people who freaked out or the a prosecutors that would indict them.

stoopid all over this story.

[Kennah]

5. Just think if they'd told their listeners, "Homo sapiens walk among us."

[Mnemosyne]

8. The listeners would've started shooting the, er, nevermind. nt

[arely staircase]

10. pedagogs are teaching in our schools

eom

[backscatter712]

6. Anyone who can't figure out what dihydrogen monoxide is deserves to be punk'd!

That's Florida for you, dumbest state in the union!

[Apophis]

11. Two DJs are in trouble because of the stupidity of the residents of Florida?

[rocktivity]

12. Isn't that how Orson Welles got started?

Disclosure: I have had some dihydrogen monoxide issues of my own.

http://www.dhmo.org/


rocktivity

[sakabatou]

13. Oh the stupid...

[progressoid]

16. OFFS.

Is it too early to start drinking?

[HappyMe]

17. Oh ffs!

This joke has been around for quite awhile.

With the google and all manner of devices, nobody thought to check this out! The stupid is astounding.