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From: phoogenb@liberty.uc.wlu.edu (Peter Hoogenboom)
Subject: Re: Eskimo vocabulary hoax
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Date: Tue, 19 Mar 1996 21:54:46 GMT
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Jean-Pierre Chanod (chanod@xerox.fr) wrote:
: On 11 Mar 1996 00:17:57 GMT, Carl Weidling <cpw@rahul.net> wrote:
: : 
: :      Personally, I'm of the opinion that English has no word for H2O, and

: Wrong.  Try this: dihydrogen monoxide.

I always heard hydrogen hydroxide.  This isn't much of an English word,
though, in the way "water" and "ice" are.  (Yes, I know that it IS,
strictly speaking, an English phrase.)  I would argue that any chemical
name of H20 is as contrived as the chemical formula. 

: It is well known that dihydrogen monoxide has three states, and common 
: names for it are "Ice" for solid, "water" for liquid, and "water vapor" or
: "fog" for gas.

Fog is actually liquid water suspended in the air.  Water vapor is not so 
readily visible.  Your sentence would be better if it ended "...and 
'water vapor' or 'water vapour' for gas."

Peter

--
Peter Hoogenboom                        phoogenb@wlu.edu
Department of Music, DuPont 208         hoogenboom.p@fs.sciences.wlu.edu
Washington and Lee University           phoogenboom@wesleyan.edu
Lexington, VA 24450                     (540) 463-8697
