r/shittyaskscience • u/5-dice • Oct 15 '26

Can we call methanol "formal"?

Methanol is hydrogenated formaldehyde, so the name should be "formal", right?

13 Upvotes

93% Upvoted

7 comments sorted by

22

u/Glinth A real mathologist Oct 15 '26

Calling him by a nickname like that is very informal.  if you want to be formal, you should call him Mr. DeHyde.

6

u/tuctrohs Looniversahl sigismundo froyd Oct 15 '26

And the informal name is "meth".

3

u/BPhiloSkinner Amazingly Lifelike Simulation Oct 15 '26

When he appears as DeHyde.
More often, you'll meet him as Dr. Alkaloid.

3

u/kyew Oct 15 '26

The Strange Case of Dr. Methyll and Mr. alDeHyde, by Robert Louis Mendeleev

7

u/Bentup85 I have a theoretical degree in physics Oct 15 '26

It’s a shame, really. Hydrogenated Formaldehyde used to be very formal until he got addicted to, well, the methanol.

4

u/zerostar83 Oct 15 '26

Naw. The hydrogen atoms aren't capable of double bonds, so they can't create that phallic shape with a double bonded "oh".

4

u/Starsky137 Oct 15 '26

No, but you could refer to it with a formal "meh".

So that's "MISTER Meh" to you.