Skeptics Stack Exchange
Skeptics Stack Exchange

Questions tagged [water]

A chemical substance with the chemical formula H₂O, and an important biological solvent.

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Does hot water freeze faster than cold water?

Is it true that hot water freezes faster than cold water and if so, what practical applications have there been found for this phenomenon?
luvieere
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Is drinking water during a meal bad for you?

I have heard that it will "wash away the nutrients", that it dilutes stomach acid and all kinds of things. Is this just an old-wives tale?
MSpeed
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Does anybody spend 6 hours each day just to get water?

During the 2018 Super Bowl there was a commercial advertising a campaign to help bring fresh water to people in developing countries. It argued that fresh water is grossly easy to attain in developed countries yet millions of people in the…
user11643
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Do laws exist that say restaurants must serve customers who request tap water?

My mother claimed the other day that it is a "state law" that any restaurant must serve customers tap water upon request, therefore not requiring customers to buy a (flavored) drink or (overpriced) bottled water. I asked her how she knows that, she…
Sam I Am
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Does water swirl the opposite way on the other hemisphere?

I have heard this one several times but was never given a convincing explanation. Is this a real phenomenon? (Bonus points for a good physical description of the behavior or reasons it couldn't occur.)
Joseph Weissman
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Do people need to drink 8 glasses of water a day?

Since I was a kid, I can't remember how many times I've heard that a healthy person needs to drink at least 8 glasses of water a day. There are definitely plenty of reasons to remain well-hydrated. However is there any scientific evidence of…
Monkey Tuesday
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Is watering plants under a hot sun bad?

A couple of people have told me that it's a bad for plants to be watered in the middle of a sunny day, i.e. it's not just that you waste more water due to evaporation, but that there are actually bad effects on the plants itself. I've heard this…
GS - Apologise to Monica
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Do knives get dull in dishwashers?

Everybody keeps telling me don't put knives in dishwashers. And if I ask them why, nobody seems to have an answer or an argument to support his/her advice. So I thought I'll shoot the question to stackexchange: Do knives get dull in dishwashers?
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Can microwaved water explode?

Some time ago I read a warning that microwaved water can "explode" under certain circumstances. There was one case as an example where someone heated water in the microwave, took it out and then it "exploded" causing him to be burned. Can something…
Mad Scientist
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Is there a place in the world where two oceans meet and they don't mix?

This picture is currently being spread virally: Some Muslims were saying that this is mentioned in the Quran where it is said: He has set free the two seas meeting together. There is a barrier between them. They do not transgress. (Quran,…
TheTechGuy
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Does Disney have the third largest navy in the world?

Does Disney really have the world's third/fourth/fifth/sixth/seventh largest "navy"? I've often seen this claim being bandied about on trivia sites and the like. But there are never any credible sources backing it up.
user7920
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Does drinking distilled water remove needed minerals from your body?

Claim: Drinking distilled water can actually remove needed minerals from the body, due the lack of minerals in the water, and therefore do damage to the body. I have a hard time accepting this due to amount of minerals that can be found in the…
Scott
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Is refilling water bottles bad for you?

On a lot of bottles of so called mineral water, it is advised not to refill the bottle (with ordinary tap water, or any other drink e.g. cola) as doing so may present a health hazard. Is there any evidence behind this warning, or is it simply…
Thomas O
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Is it beneficial to drink alkaline water (aka Kangen water)?

At a friend's house the other day, some sort of contraption had appeared near the sink since the last time I had been there. It was a filtration-looking device with one input hose connected to the tap and two output hoses/spouts. She explained that…
Hendy
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Is water fluoridation harmful?

There’s a controversy going around whether the benefits of water fluoridation outweigh the potential harms. What is the evidence for the harm this may cause and what evidence supports the health benefits?
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