CHEMICAL WARNING?! We're often accosted on social media with frightening claims about different chemicals on social media. We're wary of unfamiliar and complex sounding words, and we often think these are unnatural and need be avoided. The reality is that everything in life* is chemical - including us! Unfamiliar chemical names don't implicitly mean something is bad, and facts out of context can mislead us. The dihydrogen monoxide story is a classic one, with examples dating back to 1983. It's a good illustration of why we ought to be wary about scary claims online, and mindful that grifers sell their wares with chemophobia and appeal to nature fallacies, exploiting us in the process. Be honest - did you fall for the dihydrogen monoxide hoax? You're in good company if so - most of us do *Only light itself is arguably not chemical! If you want to know more about why we fall for such myths, I've written about it in my book "The Irrational Ape" (US title - "Good thinking") which you can get anywhere they sells books.