• Question: what is the most dangerous chemical ever?(:

    Asked by kimanddil to Christine, Edd, Jess, Nicolas, Zara on 13 Jun 2011.
    • Photo: Christine Switzer

      Christine Switzer answered on 13 Jun 2011:

      Have you seen the information on this website: http://www.dhmo.org/ ? That dihydrogen monoxide is crazy stuff!

      Do you know DHMO by any other names?

      Technically, there are many other chemicals out there that people think are more dangerous but I think DHMO has claimed more lives.

    • Photo: Jessica Chu

      Jessica Chu answered on 13 Jun 2011:

      Chemicals produced biologically -Tetanospasmin is a very dangerous toxin that is toxic to neurons (nerve cells) and it can cause the death of nerve cells at very low concentration. It is produced by bacterium called Clostridium tetani. It can kill ~ half of the cells in a mouse at 0.000, 000, 0001 g / mL.
      More can be found on http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tetanus

      Otherwise cyanide is very dangerous!
      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyanide

      I think even though these chemicals are very dangerous, most of us don’t come into contact with them and more people are killed by water e.g. flooding, tsunami and drowning!

    • Photo: Nicolas Biber

      Nicolas Biber answered on 13 Jun 2011:

      I agree DHMO is a killer, and can you believe you can find it in most ready-made meals?!

      Other than that I would also consider radioactive materials. They are not necessarily highly dangerous, but the remain dangerous for an incredibly long time, while other dangerous chemicals can be destroyed.

    • Photo: Edward Codling

      Edward Codling answered on 13 Jun 2011:

      Alcohol?

      Or tobacco (although this is not really a chemical)?

      Both are probably responsible for more deaths than any of the more dangerous chemicals mentioned above….

    • Photo: Zara Gladman

      Zara Gladman answered on 13 Jun 2011:

      Aha, I was about to say the same as Edd!! 🙂 I don’t know much about chemistry but alcohol, tobacco and drugs like heroin cause many deaths.

Comments

  • Photo: Christine

    Christine commented on :

    Weh hey! I just figured out the Like button. 🙂

    On a more serious note, the study behind the DHMO website is a good lesson on the dangers of the public not understanding science. An interesting science project would be to do a follow-up survey in your school or in your neighbourhood to see if people buy into the hype or question what DHMO really is.