When 70% of the world is covered in water and a seemingly endless stream of water is coming from our taps, we have a tendency to take it for granted. However, water has some incredible properties and is used in some really interesting ways. It grows our crops, produces power, and humans are mostly made of it! For today’s post here are 15 amazing things about water that you probably didn’t know. Let’s dive in:
- 10% of the United States’ electricity comes from hydropower.
- 3,160 tons of water flows over Niagara Falls every second.
- An average swimming pool loses 1,000 gallons a month from evaporation! Via scientificamerican.com
- Firefighters use a different type of water than we drink because of added compounds called surfactants. It causes water to be “wetter” and soak into materials better than normal water.
- By the time a person is thirsty, they have lost over 1% of the total amount of water in their body. Via ciese.org
- If all the water in the world were spread evenly across the earth, it would be approximately 2.3 miles deep.
- Water can be made artificially with just hydrogen gas, oxygen, and a spark! You should be careful doing that, though. It’s the same mixture that didn’t end well for the Hindenburg zeppelin.
- Under certain conditions, hot water can freeze faster than cold water. This is known as the Mpemba Effect, and no-one knows why it happens.
- It takes 200 liters of water to produce the coffee beans for one cup of coffee. Via theguardian.com
- The temperature that water boils changes based on altitude. That means water will boil at a different temperature in New York than it will in Colorado.
- There is the same amount of water on earth now as there was when the earth was formed. The water you drink from your tap could contain molecules of water that dinosaurs drank! Via allaboutwater.org
- There are enough miles of water pipelines and aqueducts in the U.S. and Canada to circle the earth 40 times. Via epa.gov
- 85% of the water on the International Space Station is recycled (don’t think too hard about that one, it’s a bit gross).
- A jellyfish and a cucumber are each made up of about 95% water. Via fs.usda.gov
- In 2013, scientists found pockets of water that have been isolated from the outside world for over a billion years.
There you have it! 15 facts about water that you probably didn’t know! Now that you know a few great ways that water is used and some neat facts about it, you can join us in our #BetterCommunities support for water.org to help make sure that everyone can benefit from the amazing substance that is water.