Water is a very limited, but vital resource for living organisms. But besides this, H2O is also an extremely interesting substance with unique properties. Some of them actually surprise. We decided not only to recall the importance of water resources and the need to treat them carefully, but also to share curious facts about this simple and simultaneously mysterious substance.
Consequently, aqua can be called the most amazing substance on our planet. It not only covers about 70% of the entire earth’s surface, but also forms ¾ of a human body. There are many mysteries related to H2O, which most of us cannot even guess.
A person can not live without H2O more than a week. Nevertheless, we continue to do everything to reduce the amount of aqua on Earth.
1. First of all everyone knows that water covers 70% of the territory of our planet. At the same time, only 3% of this quantity is fresh, that is, suitable for drinking. But unfortunately we cannot use most of it, since it is in glaciers.
2. Hot water freezes faster than cold water. This phenomenon is called the Mpemba Effect, and experts have proved this statement experimentally, but scientists do not know why this is so.
3. H2O, without impurities, can rather remain in a liquid state and not freeze up to – 108 Fahrenheit (- 42 Celsius). The fact is that ice begins to form around particles of impurities contained in the water.
4. Furthermore Aqua has memory. Hydrogen bond unites H2O molecules in groups, called clusters, and they in turn form clathrates. Structured water is water with an orderly organization of clusters. As water clusters get rebuilding from any impact, it turns out that water records all the information surrounding it. This effect scientists call “water memory.”
5. A sufficient amount of H2O is necessary for heart health. Observations showed that people who drank 6 glasses of water a day have had a healthier heart than people who drank only 2 glasses of it.
Dehydration occurs even if the body lost an amount of water equal to 2% of the body weight. Dehydration in more than 10% of the human weight becomes life-threatening. Loss of H2O in 12% of weight can not be restored without doctors.
7. Throughout the life a human being drinks about 9,415 gallons of water (or 35 tons). After oxygen, H2O is the most essential substance for us.
8. One billion people can’t get safe water. Every sixth inhabitant of the Earth dreams of drinking enough water at least once, but does not have such an opportunity.
9. The purest H2O in the world is in Finland. Then goes Canada and New Zealand in this rating, according to UNESCO data from 2003. Aqua in the United States is not of the best quality.
10. Every continent now has its own “dead” river, which has become unsuitable for any use at all because of pollution. For example, one of the branches of the Ganges in Bangladesh, the Buryanga River, is officially recognized as dead. A bay in the mouth of the Mississippi is almost dead too. The most polluted river in the world is the Citarum on the island of Java, in Indonesia.
11. By 2050, the acidity of the waters of the world’s oceans will increase by 150%, which will lead to irreversible changes in marine ecosystems, according to the UN report at a conference on climate change in Copenhagen.
An interesting fact: hot water is more effective in extinguishing fires than cold one.
13. The volume of aqua in the mantle of the earth is ten times the volume of water located on the surface of the planet.
14. The most expensive water is in Los Angeles. A liter with an exclusive liquid, decorated with Swarovski crystals, costs $ 90.
15. Aqua only passes through the visible spectrum of sunlight, it absorbs infrared rays and radiation.
16. H2O is one of the few substances that increases in volume during the transition from the liquid state to the solid.
17. Aqua absolutely cannot be compressed, but at the same time it changes density when temperature changes.
Especially relevant information: long-term use of distilled water leads to a deficiency of mineral salts in the body, and to multiple functioning disruptions.
19. In addition, increased use of structured water (from 65% to 85%) prolongs a human’s life by about 15-20 years, stimulates the regeneration of tissues and all functional processes.
20. Furthermore H2O is the only substance on Earth that can be simultaneously in three states: gaseous, liquid and solid.
21. The Nile is the only river whose source starts at the equator, and the current comes from it.
22. Excessive liquid consumption during a short period can cause water intoxication. Such a reaction occurs in the body when H2O reduces the level of sodium in the blood and thereby creates a aqua imbalance in the brain.
23. Every year the sun evaporates from the Earth a trillion tons of H2O.
24. It turns out, that aqua not only brings life, but it can also take it away. Medical experts proved that water resources transmit more than 80% of diseases. Every year, 25 million people die from such diseases on our planet.
25. Salt water has a bit different temperature limits when its state changes: it freezes at -35 degrees Fahrenheit (-1.8 degrees Celsius), and begins to melt at + 36 degrees Fahrenheit (+2.3 degrees Celsius).
26. Only one animal species can run on H2O. These are lizards belonging to the genus Basilisks (Basiliscus). They are able to move on the water surface due to very frequent impacts of the hind legs.
27. If glaciers suddenly melted on our planet, about 1/8 of the entire land would be flooded with water, and the level in the world’s oceans would rise by 213 feet (65 meters)!
28. It turns out that H2O can burn. There is a place in Azerbaijan where aqua contains a large amount of methane. Hence it will light up at the same moment as you bring a match to it.
Interesting fact! Ice exists not only on our planet. There are confirmed data on the presence of ice on other planets of the Solar System and in the nuclei of all comets. Similarly, the entire Europa (one of the moons of the planet Jupiter) is covered with ice.
30. The average American uses about 21 gallons of H2O a day (or 80-100 liters). Flushing the toilet actually takes the most amount of this aqua (about 74%). Laundry takes about about 21%; kitchen routine takes about 5% of the most important liquid in the whole world. A family of three people use the water tap 74 times a day. For comparison, in medieval times a human used only 1.3 gallon (5 liters) of aqua per day.
32. In the capital of Kenya – Nairobi – water costs 10 times more than in the city of New York.
33. H2O is necessary for humans in the fight against excess weight. During the diet, you have to drink at least 0.5 gallon (2 liters) of water in order to facilitate the removal of harmful wastes. A glass of water, drunk before meals, dulls the feeling of hunger and fills the stomach, which reduces appetite at least twice.
The importance of aqua in our life is difficult to overestimate. A human being can’t spend a single day without this amazing substance. Take care of the water and stay healthy!
