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Water everywhere - Water covers approximately 72% of the surface of the Earth. No wonder water is the most important resource on the planet!

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Drinkable water -

However, 97% of the water on Earth is salty or otherwise undrinkable. Another 2% of the world’s water is locked in ice caps and glaciers, meaning there’s just 1% available for all of our needs.

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A magical substance -

Water is the only substance on Earth that is naturally found in all three states of matter: liquid, solid, and gas.

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Expanding water -

Water expands in size by 9% when it’s frozen. This is why pipes burst in the winter and a can of beer can explode if you put it in the freezer and forget about it!

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Water on the Moon -

NASA discovered water on the Moon. However, it was only found in the form of ice. That’s not surprising, considering temperatures can be as low as -280°F (-173°C) on the Moon.

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Antarctica -

Over 90% of the world’s supply of freshwater is located in Antarctica. However, 68.7% of the Earth’s fresh water supply is trapped in glaciers.

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Melting glaciers - Sadly, the world’s glaciers are rapidly melting, and this isn’t a solution to the lack of clean drinking water in other parts of the world. Instead, it’s causing sea levels to rise, which means many coastal cities are slowly being taken over by the ocean.

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The Mpemba effect - Did you know that, under certain conditions, hot water can freeze even faster than cold water? This fascinating scientific phenomenon is called the Mpemba effect.

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Water waste -

If we could save just a third of the money people spend on bottled water every year, it would be enough to create projects to provide clean water in every country that needs it.

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Ancient origins - There is the same amount of water on Earth now as there was when the Earth was first formed. In that sense, the water coming out of your tap could contain the same molecules as the water the dinosaurs drank!

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Behind the scenes -

We might try to save water by taking shorter showers and using the economy setting on the laundry machine, but a huge amount of the water we're responsible for using up actually comes from our diets.

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Food facts -

Here are a few examples! One pound (450 grams) of beef requires 1,799 gallons (8,178 liters) of water to produce. One slice of processed bread requires 11 gallons (50 liters) of water. And one apple requires 18 gallons (68 liters) of water.

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The real price of a beer - A pint of beer usually measures 20 fl oz (568 ml). Incredibly, it takes 20 gallons (75 liters) of water to make just one pint of beer. That’ll make you think twice next time you’re at the bar!

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Water on the brain -

The human body is 60% water, but the brain is made up of 70% water. That’s a lot of liquid sloshing around up there!

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Water in the body -

Water does a number of incredible things inside the human body. These include regulating body temperature, carrying nutrients and oxygen to cells, cushioning joints, protecting organs, and flushing out waste.

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Effective hydration -

If you drink water on an empty stomach, it will leave your stomach within five minutes. This means you can rehydrate faster if you drink some water before eating.

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Moisture and breath -

The human body loses around one cup of water per day simply by exhaling. Interesting, right? We normally don’t notice the moisture in our breath until we step outside on a cold winter's day and can literally see it in front of us.

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The most essential resource -

On average, a person can live an entire month with no food at all. However, we can only survive for one week without water.

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Water overdose -

Water is completely essential to our survival, but clean drinking water can also kill us if we consume too much of it! This is pretty hard to do, but it does happen. Water intoxication occurs when we consume so much water in a short period that the kidneys can’t work fast enough to remove the excess liquid and electrolyte levels become dangerously unbalanced.

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Bottle vs. tap - If you purchase a 17 oz (half liter) bottle of water in the US, it might cost you US$0.99. Comparing this to the cost of tap water in the US, you’d have to fill that same bottle 1,740 to reach the same price.

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Average home usage - The average American uses 50 gallons (227 liters) of water in their home every day. The average European uses less, coming in at around 40 gallons (182 liters) of water per day.

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Toilets - In the US, 5.7 billion gallons (26 billion liters) of water are used just to flush toilets every single day.

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Fix leaky taps - A leaky tap that loses one drop of water per second can waste 2,985 gallons (11,300 liters) per year. So make sure your faucets are good and tight!

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Leaks -

An incredible amount of water is lost through leaks every single day, all over the world. It’s estimated that 10% of all homes have water leaks that lose more than 90 gallons (409 liters) every day.

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Leaks in the home -

It’s estimated that households in the US lose 11 trillion gallons (50 trillion liters) in water leaks every year.

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Devastating waste -

As infrastructure is poorer in the countries that tend to struggle for water the most, they sadly lose a great deal through leaking pipes. Some cities in the developing world actually lose up to 50% of their water through leaks.

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Poorly dispersed population -

Amazingly, 85% of the world’s population live on the driest part of the planet.

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Working hard for water -

There are still many people around the world who don’t have direct access to a clean water source. For instance, it’s estimated that the number of women collecting water for their families amounts to 200 million hours of work each day.

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Waterborne illnesses -

Some 80% of the illnesses in developing countries are related to water. Diseases like cholera, dysentery, typhoid, and polio can be transmitted through contaminated water. Many countries are still struggling to provide their citizens with safe drinking water, a luxury most of us take for granted.

Sources: (Seametrics) (Water Plus) (EPA)

See also: The rising risk of water wars

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