78 Essential Facts About the Most Important Thing For Life – Water

Babies have an innate swimming reflex where they hold their breath and slow their heart rate in water until they are 6 months old.

52. In the 1850's the entire city of Chicago was raised 5-10 feet with hydraulic jacks to improve drainage and make room for water and sewer lines, in response to outbreaks of typhoid fever and cholera.

53. Alcatraz was the only federal prison at the time to offer hot-water showers for its inmates. The prison staff reasoned that prisoners acclimated to hot water would not be able to withstand the freezing waters of the San Francisco Bay during an escape attempt.

54. The new Toyota Mirai is one of the first fuel cell vehicles being sold commercially and uses hydrogen to run while emitting water vapor.

55. Most New York City apartment buildings are six stories tall because the water reservoirs for the city provide just enough pressure to get water six stories up - above that you need a water tank on top of the building.

At least 22 million gallons of water is trapped in plastic bottles and thrown into landfills annually in the US alone.

57. The average American golf course consumes around 312,000 gallons of water per day.

58. While Alfred Hitchcock was filming 'The Pleasure Garden', an actress refused to enter the water because she was on her period. It was the first time Hitchcock heard about menstruation, and a cameraman had to explain to him what she meant.

59. Earthworms do NOT surface to avoid drowning when it rains. Instead, they come to the surface to move overland. Since worms breathe through their skin, the skin must stay wet in order for the oxygen to pass through it. And earthworms can actually survive for several weeks under water.

60. Gin and Tonic were originally created by the British East India Company as a way to get soldiers to have quinine to prevent and treat malaria. Quinine (in tonic) was too bitter. In order to get them to drink the tonic officers added the soldiers' gin rations with sugar, lime, and water.

After Hurricane Katrina, Cuba & Venezuela were the first countries to offer assistance, pledging over $1 million, several mobile hospitals, water treatment plants, canned food, bottled water, heating oil, 1,100 doctors and 26.4 metric tons of medicine -but were rejected by the US Government

62. Bill Broyles, the writer for the movie Castaway, chose to deliberately strand himself for one week on an isolated beach in the Sea of Cortez, to force himself to search for water and food, and obtain his own shelter. During this time, a volleyball washed up on shore.

63. After a woman's lung collapsed on a flight, two doctors performed surgery with the aircraft's medical kit, along with a coat hanger, Sellotape, a knife and fork, a bottle of water, and five-star brandy for disinfectant. The woman felt better after ten minutes.

64. Due to a compressed air leak, a worker in a subway tunnel under New York City's East River was blown out of the tunnel, through the mud at the bottom of the river, up through the water, and 25 feet or so into the air. He received no serious injury.

65. In 2013 a 65-year-old Seattle woman set out to fast for 100 days in order to prove that humans can sustain themselves solely on air, water, and light. She ended her experiment after 47 days.

Astronauts discard their clothes after each use. Since it cost about $10,000 to get one pound of cargo to the ISS it is more cost effective for them to discard their clothes when they get dirty instead of wasting water by washing them.

67. France classifies books as an "essential good," along with electricity, bread, and water.

68. Every night the Disney world maintenance staff hoses down the park with over 120-degree water so all the gum will melt off of the midways and cue lines.

69. The Nazis forced approximately 90 Gypsy inmates to drink nothing but seawater just to see what would happen. The resulting dehydration was so severe that inmates licked newly mopped floors just to get a single drop of fresh water.

70. The opening day of Disneyland was referred to by Walt as "Black Sunday" as rides broke down, the freshly paved asphalt had women's shoes sticking to it, a plumber's strike made Walt chose between bathrooms and drinking water, restaurants ran out of food, among many other problems

A reporter who wrote stories about a serial killer was actually the serial killer himself - and he later allegedly committed suicide by drowning himself in a bucket of water

72. If you have nerve damage to your hand or other body parts, it won't wrinkle when submerged in water.

73. A gargoyle can only be called that name if it has a spout and was created to divert water away from the building. Non-functioning, ornamental ones should be called a chimera, grotesque, or boss.

74. A Narwhal's tusk is actually it's left tooth which breaks through its lip. It is soft and covered with small holes that fill with water and basically make the tusk a sensory organ, like a nose or ears.

75. James Joyce's daughter Lucia suffered from schizophrenia. He took her to be treated by Carl Jung. His diagnosis; "You are both submerged in the same water but you are swimming, she is drowning"