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For those of you whose thirst wasn’t quenched with the last Dietribes, here’s another round of water facts for you to paddle, wade, swim or float through:
• Worried about drinking your 8 glasses of water a day? Turns out it may be a myth …
• However, there is definitely the possibility of drinking too much, which results in water intoxication. In some cases it can lead to death. In fact, Andy Warhol’s estate charged that water intoxication caused by the hospital led to his fatal heart attack.
• There are some creatures who don’t need water very often at all – camels, for instance. But is it because they store water in their humps? No! The humps store fat, not water. “Camels get all the water they need from the plants they eat and thus may go six or seven months without drinking. During the summer, [...] camels drink only every five days. ”
• There are of course alternatives to the tap (Quite a few of you mentioned last week about the good or bad taste and quality of your local water; and yes, Florida water tastes the worst in my opinion … sulfur!) – check out these stats on the growing use of bottled water. Of course, states are ready to cash in on this as quickly as they can.
• The varieties of bottled water are endless – you can buy bottled Holy water, bottled water for dogs or even “plain” tonic water … which glows in the dark under a black light thanks to quinine!
• In the 1940s scientists noticed a link between tooth decay and the amount of naturally occurring fluoride in water supplies. So, In 1945, Grand Rapids, Michigan, adjusted the fluoride content of its water supply to 1.0 ppm and thus became the first city to implement community water fluoridation.
• Water can also be carbonated (as discovered by Joseph Priestly, whose other credits include discovering oxygen and inventing the rubber eraser). But there are other, stranger ways to add bubbles. In the town of San Pellegrino Terme, Italy, there is a spigot that runs all the time, providing San Pellegrino water free to the local citizens–except that free Pellegrino has no bubbles. The bubbles in San Pellegrino are extracted from volcanic springs in Tuscany, then trucked north and injected into the water from the source.
• Finally, if you want to sleep on the water but can’t afford a boat, consider a water bed (originally called a “pleasure pit” and was more of a water blob placed on the floor). In 1987, water beds accounted for 22% of all mattress sales. (Do any of your Flossers have water beds? Did your parents?)
• For anyone who’s interested in issues of US water supply and water rights, Cadillac Desert is one of the best books I’ve read on the subject. West Coast dwellers might find it especially interesting!
Hungry for more? Venture into the Dietribes archive.
‘Dietribes’ appears every other Wednesday. Food photos taken by Johanna Beyenbach You might remember that name from our post about her colorful diet.
Comments (12)
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As a Florida resident I can say all places don’t taste like sulfer. If I am going to use your logic I can state with all confidence that Indiana water tastes the worst (sulfur) due to that one drinking fountain in a small town outside South Bend.
posted by Hurricane on 11-4-2009 at 12:11 pm
I was about to rip into the statement regarding “cashing in” by charging deposits along with the linked article mentioned increased revenues based on deposits.
I was muzzled by the stats in the article explaining the revenue generated by unclaimed deposits, and also startled that it could be true. Living in Michigan (10 cent deposit), I would never dream of throwing a bottle away.
posted by Ian on 11-4-2009 at 12:33 pm
I had a waterbed when I was a teenager. However, I woke up one night covered in what I thought was sweat. Upon investigation, it was in fact the water from my bed. My retainer had fallen out of my mouth and poked a hole into the mattress. That was not something pleasant to deal with at 3 in the morning!
After that I switched back to a regular mattress. (Now though I really do miss it! Waterbeds are fun.) :-)
posted by Molly on 11-4-2009 at 12:46 pm
My sister’s kids loved her waterbed. They used to take the plug out and jump on it to make water squirt like a fountain! (She was not nearly as impressed as they were.)
posted by Hyacinth on 11-4-2009 at 1:12 pm
I always thought the best part of the waterbed was the cavern underneath if you purchased type of bedframe with underdrawers.
posted by lewen on 11-4-2009 at 1:48 pm
My parents had a waterbed when I was little. It was amazingly fun to play on, but apparently not that great for sleeping.
posted by Kelsey on 11-4-2009 at 2:39 pm
Heated waterbeds are the best. My parents had one for years. It was awesome for naps.
For some inexplicable reason, I had a waterbed as my first bed. This would have been around 1981. I distinctly remember taking posters off the wall and using the thumbtacks to poke holes in the waterbed, then blaming the cat and her sharp claws for the holes.
Later, when I got married, my husband had a tube-type waterbed. That was terrible! Any time a tube sprung a leak, you’d have to drag them out of the mattress–they were heavy–and then look, diligently, for the leak. No thanks!
posted by Carolyn on 11-4-2009 at 2:45 pm
I had a waterbed when I was little. it was horrible. The heating pad would come unplugged from time to time and you would wake up freezing. I would also wake up wedged between the matress and the frame sometimes. I remember before we got rid of it my bedroom smelled like mildew all the time. So gross, never again.
posted by Brit on 11-4-2009 at 2:56 pm
1) My sister and her husband had a water bed for a number of years until the heater went out and it wasn’t worth it to replace it. It had been patched numerous times due to the cat.
She loved to sleep on it, I on the other hand hated sleeping on it. She likes her bed supper supper soft and has a hard time sleeping on a regular mattress. She said it was perfect while she was pregnant as the bed perfectly supported her – except when she needed to get out of bed – then she needed help.
2)The house I grew up in had a well so I’m used to drinking water with “flavor”. Our well was heavy on the iron so things turned brown easily (if you left a glass of water out over night there would be a layer of rust on the bottom of the glass). I don’t like drinking bottled water because it doesn’t have a “flavor” – if I do drink bottled water it needs to be really cold or better yet, poured over tap water ice cubes!!!
3) You may not need to drink 8 glasses of water a day but when dieting it can help you feel full longer. What sometimes feels like hunger pains can actually mean your thirsty. And drinking water before eating can help you eat less overall.
posted by beth on 11-4-2009 at 3:03 pm
I’d never heard of water intoxication until a few years ago, when a radio station in California offered a Wii to the person who could drink the most water without going to the bathroom. A 28-year-old mother died trying to win a Wii for her kids. Sad. Link to the story in my name.
posted by Lynley on 11-4-2009 at 6:55 pm
My parents had a waterbed for a long time, it had something inside so it didn’t swish around much. I loved that bed!
As for the water intoxication, I have seen it been used for fraternity hazing as well. I warned my kids about it, drinking water seems harmless, but too much will kill you… hard to imagine, but true.
Being certified in IV Therapy, hypervolemia is a danger when administering fluids, it can happen in a blink of an eye… you better make sure what’s going in, IS coming out… one way or another.
posted by Nurse Monica on 11-4-2009 at 10:06 pm
The second bullet freaked me out since my younger brothers were arguing about this during supper today.
posted by Ellie on 11-4-2009 at 10:24 pm