No, this article is NOT funny at all. Around the world, people are not only dealing with problems of economic globalization, but also with global warming and climate changes. We used to have people freaking out over Black Gold (oil), but now the same guys are becoming more concerned about Blue Gold (drinking water).
Considering that the human body can survive for days without solid food but not without water for two or three days (severe dehydration), solutions are urgently needed to produce sufficient amounts of drinking water sustainably. We already face 1.6 million deaths each year due to thirst, something many of us are guilty of taking for granted. Not only that, up to 1.6 billion people or a sixth of the world’s population have no access to clean water at all. Are we living in the 21st century or what?
The main purpose of this article is to highlight the issue of water scarcity (as described above) and also to foster a greater sense of appreciation for the availability of fresh water among readers. And for that, I would like to present the following 20 interesting facts about water. I’m sure you can find more, but check them out and take them as a mini test of your knowledge.
1) H2O is the chemical symbol for water. Each water molecule contains two hydrogen atoms (H) bonded to a single oxygen atom (O).
two) As a resource, water is renewable and available at all times through solar energy, allowing it to evaporate from the oceans and land, before being redistributed around the world.
3) Water is the ONLY substance that occurs naturally on Earth in three forms: liquid, gas, and solid. Frozen water is 9% lighter than its liquid form, and therefore ice floats on water.
4) More than 70% of the Earth’s surface is covered by water. Of this water, 97% is in the oceans, making it salty and undrinkable. The remaining 3% is fresh water. Only 0.3% is found in rivers and lakes. The rest is frozen.
5) The top three uses of water are for: agriculture (67%), industry (19%), and municipal/residential (9%).
6) Over 100 years, a water molecule would have spent about 98 years in the ocean, 20 months as ice, about 2 weeks in lakes and rivers, and less than a week in the atmosphere.
7) Asia’s rivers are the most polluted in the world, containing three times more bacteria from human waste than the global average and 20 times more lead than rivers in industrialized countries.
8) Two thirds of the human body is water. Human bones are 25% water.
9) Humans it can go a month without food but will die after a week without water.
10) Water leaves the human body five minutes after consumption, when you exhale water vapor, perspire or have a leak.
eleven) The World Health Organization estimates that a person needs 19 liters of water to meet their daily needs, such as drinking, showering and cleaning.
12) Water makes up 75% of the average chicken and 80% of an elephant.
13) On average, front load washers use 80 liters and top load washers use 170 liters of water per wash.
14) Washing a cup under an open tap consumes about a liter of water.
fifteen) About nine liters of water are used to flush the toilet. You will save about four liters if you use a half flush.
sixteen) To produce a fast food lunch of a hamburger, fries and a soft drink, around 6,800 liters of water are needed. The water is used to grow potatoes, grain for bread and cattle feed, as well as to produce beverages.
17) According to the UK Environment Agency, one drip per second wastes 1,200 liters of water in a year. That’s about three liters a day or 90 liters if the trickle turns into a stream.
18) Water can tell you how fresh an egg is. A good egg sinks and a rancid one doesn’t.
19) An elephant’s trunk can hold 11 liters of water.
twenty) An adult tree about 20 m tall with 600,000 leaves and a crown diameter of 12 m will produce about 400 liters of water by evaporation per day.
So if you are one of those lucky enough to have access to clean water, take a moment to think about how valuable this resource is and how lucky you are to have perfectly safe water available for consumption.