Water is not just a part of our lives, it is our lives. You’ll find it in our bodies, our brains, our environment and �the food we eat.
Despite all this, how much do we really know about water?
You might be able to sprout facts about all the latest superfoods and drinks, but what do you know about the amazing miracle worker known as water?�Well, here are 20 facts about water to get you educated!
1. Over 70% of the planet is covered with water, but of that water there’s only a small amount we can access.
For starters, around 97% of it is salt water. What’s left of the freshwater is frozen in ice caps and glaciers that we can’t get to. This means that if you imagined that all the water in the world could fit in a 4-litre jug, only one tablespoon is water we can actually use.
2. In 2011 astronomers discovered the largest and most distant reservoir of water ever detected, in space!
Located more than 12 billion light-years away, the water is equal to 140 trillion times all the water that’s in the oceans of the world. It’s surrounding a black hole!
>3. People that live in both Africa and Asia aren’t always lucky enough to have water available to them on tap like we do in the Western world.
In fact, on average people in these countries walk 6 kilometres to collect their water every day! How far are you from water right now?
4. If you’ve ever wondered why bottled water comes with an expiration date, it turns out that there isn’t a mistake.
The date is not for the water inside the bottle, but for the bottle itself.
5. Around 70% of the human body is made up of water, but when we’re born our weight is around 80% water.
Of this the bones in the human body are about 31% water, the skin is 64% water, the kidneys are 79% water and the blood is made up of 83% water.
6. Water might appear many different colours to many people, but science is almost certain that the true colour of water is a light turquoise blue.
The reason for this is that the substance doesn’t absorb the red part of the visible light spectrum very well.
7. In most households, two-thirds of all the water used is used in the bathroom.
This includes 6 litres for the average toilet flush!
8. Water molecules are ageless, which means that you could be drinking history with every sip.
For example the water in your tap right now probably contains molecules that dinosaurs also drank. Even more interesting is the fact that any glass of water you drink might also have been drunk my Cleopatra!
9. During the Middle Ages people drank more beer than water�in many places, as the alcohol in the beer made it much safer to drink than the dirty water.
However using technology today a pint of beer takes around 170 litres of water to produce. This includes growing the plants as well as fermenting the beverage.
Have your say!