Do you ever get words confused? I’ll be honest to say I am really careful when using the words “prostrate” and “prostate”. Obviously I know the difference, but I definitely don’t want to confuse the two, especially when speaking in public. Maybe for you it’s “their” and “there” or “ascent” and “assent”. Whatever the case, it’s common to misspeak or misspell at times, and since this definitely shows up in the real estate community with the abbreviated version of “Carbon Monoxide detector”, I put together some memory aids to help us get it right.
Five Ways to Remember Carbon Monoxide is “CO” instead of “CO2”
- Lungs: CO2 is “carbon dioxide” and it’s what comes out of your mouth when you breathe.
- Soda: It would be a huge problem if carbonated drinks had “CO” (carbon monoxide) instead of “CO2” (carbon dioxide).
- Killer Beer: CO2 is “carbon dioxide” and it’s used in beer to make it fizzy. If “CO” (carbon monoxide) was used instead, it could literally be “killer” beer. It’s better to drink figuratively “killer” beer.
- Math: “O2” is pronounced “DIOXIDE” since there are “two” oxygen atoms. If there is only one “O” it’s called “MONOXIDE” since there is only one oxygen atom.
- Carbon Footprint: Scientists remind us the amount of carbon dioxide (CO2) has risen dramatically over the past century. Remember, scientists and Al Gore are not talking about “CO” (carbon monoxide) emissions.
I hope you enjoyed the post. This isn’t about being anal, but helpful. On a serious note, check out a previous article I wrote to view examples on where to install carbon monoxide detectors. If you didn’t know, as of July 1, 2011, it became state law in California for carbon monoxide detectors to be installed in certain single family dwellings.
Question: Any other suggestions for how to remember CO vs CO2?
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Heather Ostrom says
April 10, 2013 at 7:50 AMOh Ryan … this is hysterical. I love it. Thank you for posting this … I know a few folks are going to have a “DOH” moment today after reading this post.
Ryan Lundquist says
April 10, 2013 at 8:00 AMThanks Heather. I appreciate it. I know it’s funny, but I hope it’ll be helpful too. It’s fairly common to see CO2 in the real estate community. An understandable mistake.
Bill McKnight says
April 10, 2013 at 3:47 PM#4 is more about chemistry than math.
Ryan Lundquist says
April 10, 2013 at 3:51 PMTrue, yet it’s also about whether there is a number or not after the “O”. Did you like Chemistry in High School, Bill? I remember dreading it and feeling thankful for having a great lab partner who knew what he was doing.
Bill McKnight says
April 10, 2013 at 4:01 PMI was fine in high school chemistry, but got lost in college because my math (calculus, etc) back then wasn’t up to par.
Ryan Lundquist says
April 10, 2013 at 4:10 PMInteresting. I was always more of a Biology and Physics guy personally.
Michele says
January 6, 2016 at 1:08 PMIt’s never too late to learn…hilariously brilliant post!! Love #5 – bahahaha!
Ryan Lundquist says
January 6, 2016 at 1:22 PMThanks Michele. Glad you liked it. That makes my day to hear. 🙂
lukman nulhakiem says
July 25, 2017 at 7:44 AMI found some people misunderstood about CO and CO2. This is very fatal.
I think using a warning sign could make this problem becomes clear. A safety slogan will work too.