Water (H2O) is a polar inorganic compound that is at room temperature a tasteless and odorless liquid, nearly colorless with a hint of blue.
Let’s see some interesting facts about it!
1. This simplest hydrogen chalcogenide is by far the most studied chemical compound and is described as the “universal solvent” for its ability to dissolve many substances. This allows it to be the “solvent of life”.
2. It is the only common substance to exist as a solid, liquid, and gas in nature.
3. Water molecules form hydrogen bonds with each other and are strongly polar. This polarity allows it to separate ions in salts and strongly bond to other polar substances such as alcohols and acids, thus dissolving them.
4. There are around one million miles of water pipeline and aqueducts in the U.S. and Canada, enough to circle the globe 40 times.
5. 748 million people in the world do not have access to an improved source of drinking water
6. And 2.5 billion people do not have use of an improved sanitation facility.
7. Some 1.8 billion people worldwide drink water that is contaminated with feces.
8. The World Health Organization recommends 2 gallons per person daily to meet the requirements of most people under most conditions; and around 5 gallons per person daily to cover basic hygiene and food hygiene needs.
9. Its hydrogen bonding causes its many unique properties, such as having a solid form less dense than its liquid form, a relatively high boiling point of 100 °C for its molar mass, and a high heat capacity.
10. 68.7% of the fresh water on Earth is trapped in glaciers.
11. 30% of fresh water is in the ground.
12. 1.7% of the world’s water is frozen and therefore unusable.
13. Approximately 400 billion gallons of water are used in the United States per day.
14. Nearly one-half of the water used by Americans is used for thermoelectric power generation.
15. In one year, the average American residence uses over 100,000 gallons (indoors and outside).
16. Water can dissolve more substances than any other liquid including sulfuric acid.
17. The freezing point of water lowers as the amount of salt dissolved in at increases. With average levels of salt, seawater freezes at -2 °C (28.4 °F).
18. About 6,800 gallons of water is required to grow a day’s food for a family of four.
19. To create one pint of beer it takes 20 gallons of water.
20. 780 million people lack access to an improved water source.
21. The biggest known cloud of water vapour was discovered by Nasa scientists around a black hole 12 billion light years from Earth. There is 140 trillion times as much water in it as all the water in the world’s oceans.
22. All the water on Earth arrived in comets and asteroids. It happened between 4.5bn and 3.8bn years ago, a period called the Late Heavy Bombardment.
23. The Antarctic has been covered in ice for more than 30m years. Right now, it is covered by 10 thousand trillion tons of snow and ice.
24. In just one day, 200 million work hours are consumed by women collecting water for their families.
25. 1/3 what the world spends on bottled water in one year could pay for projects providing water to everyone in need.
26. Unsafe water kills 200 children every hour.
27. Water weighs about 8 pounds a gallon.
28. It takes 120 gallons of water for one egg.
29. A jellyfish and a cucumber are each 95% water.
30. Your body is between 60% and 70% water. This changes at different times of your life: a human foetus is around 95% water for the first months, getting to 77% water at birth. In a 70kg person, there are 42 litres of water.
31. 70% of the human brain is water.
32. World Water Day is an annual event celebrated on 22 March.
33. 80% of all illness in the developing world is water related.
34. Up to 50% of water is lost through leaks in cities in the developing world.
35. In Nairobi urban poor pay 10 times more for water than in New York.
36. In some countries, less than half the population has access to clean water.
37. Hot water freezes faster than cold water. This is known as the Mpemba Effect, and no-one knows why it happens.
38. A five-minute shower uses 200 litres of water.
39. You use 8 litres to flush a toilet – about the same as you use to brush your teeth.
40. It takes 200 litres of water to produce the coffee beans for one cup of coffee.
41. In developing nations women and girls are primarily responsible for collecting water; on average, 25 percent of their day is spent on this task.
42. Collectively, South African women and children walk a daily distance equivalent to 16 trips to the moon and back to fetch water.
43. It takes 15,000 litres of water to produce 1 kg of beef.
44. $260 billion is the estimated annual economic loss from poor water and sanitation in developing countries.
45. 40 billion hours are spent collecting water in Africa alone.
46. The average cost for water supplied to a home in the U.S. is about $2.00 for 1,000 gallons, which equals about 5 gallons for a penny.
47. A person can live about a month without food, but only about a week without water.
48. Water expands by 9% when it freezes.
49. There is about the same amount of water on Earth now as there was millions of years ago.
50. The length of the side of a cube which could hold the Earth’s estimated total volume of water in km = 1150.
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