Alert Reader Jason strikes again! About a week ago, the L.A. Times covered the following story.
Simple elixir called a ‘miracle liquid’
It turns out to be less miraculous than it might seem. What you have here is the electrochemical generation of dilute bleach and dilute hydrochloric acid. This is a process that has been done industrially for a century, and now you can do it at home. Or you could just buy a bottle of bleach and a bottle of vinegar.
-Peter