Water is a natural resource that covers about 70% of the planet. It may seem infinite but it is a finite source of life. Therefore, water is life. It is a key component of food, of all drinks and a requirement for a healthy body. Inadequacy of water has caused a lot of ill to the society with human life dying as well as plant and the rest of animal life.
Man has taken water for granted and has ended up polluting water, misusing water and killing its catchment areas which are the forests. Nevertheless, there have been various conservation strategies to aid in preserving water for this generation and others to come. This article seeks to highlight 40+ astounding facts about water.
Fact 1: The average human body is made up of an average of 65% of water. Water is the largest component of the human body. In the form of blood, it covers of 65% of the body. The other 35% caters for the bones, organs, skin and various body systems.
Fact 2: There is water in the moon. NASA made the discovery, though the water found there is in the form of ice. It is in this state since it is further away from the sun than the earth.
Fact 3: 80% of diseases in developing countries are water related. Diseases such as cholera, typhoid, malaria and bilharzia have affected millions. Only HIV/AIDS has registered deaths as many as these.
Fact 4: Freshwater withdrawals for agriculture in developing countries exceed 90%. Most of the water that is found in developing countries is used for agriculture. This is reasonably true since agriculture is the main industry and source of livelihood for most developing countries in the world.
Fact 5: Over 1.5% of water is frozen. The glaciers trap a lot of water through ice, which is more than the fresh water in the earth’s surface.
Fact 6: A human needs about 12 gallons of water a day. This accounts for all the water consumed due to cleaning, drinking and production of food.
Fact 7: Water is a thermal regulator. Water in the form of humidity regulates the temperatures of various places in the earth. Wind serves as an agent of humid air which regulates the temperature of the earth.
Fact 8: A liter of water is equivalent to a kilo. The relationship of capacity, volume and mass is best explained by water. A liter, which is 1000 milliliters, is equivalent to one kilo, which is 1000 kilograms. By volume, one cubic meter of water is equal to one ton.
Fact 9: Developed countries such as Unites States and China use an average of 50% of water for agricultural purposes. These are countries that rely on industries and technology rather than agriculture as their main source of livelihood.
Fact 10: Over 50% of the water used in United States is used up in generation of thermo-electric power.
Fact 11: 60% of the water used in agriculture is attributed to rain water. Most of the crops in highlands require rain water for growth. Nevertheless, due to the dry parts of the world, irrigation is essential for plant growth. This water contributes to the remaining 40%.
Fact 12: Water covers 70.9% of the earth’s surface. This includes both fresh water and saline water. Oceans such as the Pacific Ocean, the Indian Ocean and the Atlantic Ocean form over 90% of the earth surface, with land taking just above 27% of the planet’s surface.
Fact 13: A normal human being can live about a month without food but only a week without water. Since water is the largest component in the body, it is needed regularly.
Fact 14: There is over 300 million trillion gallons of water on earth.
Fact 15: Water is home to millions of species. Animals in the form of fishes, reptiles, mammals and amphibians have made their habitat in water. Fish in their millions have water as their exclusive and only source of life.
Fact 16: 97% of water on earth is salty. The largest water bodies are the Indian Ocean, the Pacific and the Atlantic Oceans. These cover about 97% of the total water in the world. Rivers, lakes and streams form under 1% of the fresh water. The remaining 2% of fresh water is trapped in glaciers and can also be found underground.
Fact 17: Water is the most abundant liquid on earth. It covers over 70% of the Earth’s surface and thus, is the most common substance or matter on Earth.
Fact 18: Tea uses about half the amount of water coffee used. Coffee is more water intensive than tea and requires more water for growth of berries.
Fact 19: United States uses about 400 billion gallons of water in a single day. This water goes to personal consumption, industrial advancement and generation of hydroelectric power.
Fact 20: There is over 1% of water in the atmosphere. This translates to more water than in rivers. This fact comes about by the fact that seasonal winds blow cold or warm air from oceans thus carrying with them humidity from these water bodies and therefore, saturates the atmosphere.
Fact 21: Water is the best solvent. It is one of the liquids that can dissolve a lot of substances.
Fact 22: Over 25% of bottled water comes from tap water provided by local authorities. Water bottling companies fetch water from tap water and bottle it to sell it in shops and stores at a price.
Fact 23: Drinking too much water is fatal. Water intoxication is a state where the body is composed of too much water leading to over dilution of the blood which leads to deficiency of other essential components of the body. The excessive water takes the space of other materials in the body.
Fact 24: Exhaling for a day translates to a cup of water. The hot air we exhale in a day once condensed, can fill a cup.
Fact 25: A bath takes about 70 gallons of water. This is the amount of water that one can use in a bath tub at a go.
Fact 26: Human bones are over 30% water. One of the major components of bones is the bone marrow. This particular part of the bone is made up of water as its main constituent.
Fact 27: Over 50% of water is lost through leaks. Most of the water loss in major cities in developing countries is attributed to pipe and tap leaks.
Fact 28: Fresh water has a freezing point of 0o It is at this temperature that water changes from liquid state to solid.
Fact 29: Over 750 million people do not have access to clean and healthy drinking water. This is caused by the pollution of water by people upstream and industries. This prevents other people from using the contaminated water. This happens globally.
Fact 30: Sea water has a freezing point of -2o Salt lowers the freezing of water from the usual 0oC to -2oC.
Fact 31: Over 2.5 billion people do not have access to an improved sanitation facility. Good drainage systems are essential for water disposal.
Fact 32: It takes 20 gallons of water to manufacture on pint of beer. One of the key components for beverage is water. Nonetheless, the percentage of composition varies per drink.
Fact 33: Over 12000 gallons of water are lost annually in a swimming pool due to evaporation. Swimming pools are constructed in such a way that they have a very large surface exposed to the atmosphere. Surface area is one of the factors that enable evaporation.
Fact 34: Water accounts for about 80% of a newborn’s baby weight. An infant’s body is still in transition from its fetal form. As such, it is not yet fully formed in terms of organs and bone structure and thus has more water composition than a normal human being.
Fact 35: Over 25% of a day in developing nations is spent on fetching water. Women, girls and children are tasked with collecting water from water sources such as rivers since there are no concise water transportation services.
Fact 36: 200 children die every hour due to water contamination. Children are worst hit by diseases such as cholera and typhoid, which kill millions per year.
Fact 37: One drip per second can leak more than 3000 gallons of water in a year.
Fact 38: 40 billion hours are spent collecting water in Africa.
Fact 39: 30% of fresh water is in the ground. It is from these statistics that water can be found through sources such as wells and boreholes.
Fact 40: Ground water is about 25 times the water on the surface. The water table underground has more water than all fresh water rivers and lakes combined.
Fact 41: Hot water can freeze faster than cold water. This is only possible through a condition known as the Mpemba effect.
Fact 42: Over 250 rivers have been used to demarcate international boundaries. Locally, rivers have been used to separate regions leading to common use of the rivers between the regions it separates. Internationally, it is easier to have rivers as a way of demarcation since it is a visible boundary and thus, reduces boundary conflicts.