# Drinking Pure Water? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 28, 2006, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drinking-pure-water/358577 "2006-05-28T23:53:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Philster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/13edae/32.png) [@Philster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Philster)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2006, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drinking-pure-water/358577/61 "2006-06-01T18:58:09Z")
How to handle a stupid claim: She claims pure water is lethal. You drink pure water. You live. She’s wrong. How to argue with an idiot? Take it down to their level. ---
**Author:** ![Alex\_Dubinsky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dbc845/32.png) [@Alex\_Dubinsky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alex_Dubinsky)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2006, 7:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drinking-pure-water/358577/62 "2006-06-02T07:41:05Z")
I’m going to agree with CC here (and I’m sure many others do too, but it’s only the defensive ones who have posted so far). Every time you pee or sweat you release nutrients that are good for you. Sometimes water contains nutrients that are good for you. Sometimes water you drink in contains the stuff you pee/sweat out. Sometimes, even, (though I don’t really agree with it myself) water might contain something that slows down the release of the good stuff in your pee/sweat. Besides this nutrient balance (which is of a questionable relevance, since most of the water we drink nowdays is quite pure and of very little nutritive value), water of especially high purity has no other effects (and no, being made of deuterium has nothing to do with it being pure). NOW CAN WE PLEASE STOP TALKING ABOUT IT!!! and then defending our utter inability to come to an obvious consensus? it reflects rather poorly on the reasoning skill of the participants. And if you disagree… well, whatever, I disagree with you, you willywashers. (But regarding CC’s accusation that we’re just here to ruminate and impress each other… well, no shit. we treat questions as starting-off points for discussions, not as our reason for existence. However, in this case…) ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2006, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drinking-pure-water/358577/63 "2006-06-02T18:54:56Z")
[http://www.mindspring.com/~boba4/Dhmo.html](http://www.mindspring.com/~boba4/Dhmo.html) > [@](#): > > **Dihydrogen Monoxide: The Invisible Killer** > > There is a chemical that has been used for well over one hundred years and its use must be stopped! The Association for Environmental Activism is dedicated to seeing that its use comes to a swift end. Dihydrogen monoxide (DHMO) is colorless, odorless, tasteless and kills thousands of people every year. Most of these deaths are caused by accidental inhalation of DHMO, but the dangers of dihydrogen monoxide do not end there. > > Prolonged exposure to its solid form causes severe tissue damage. Symptoms of DHMO ingestion can include excessive sweating and urination, possibly a bloated feeling, nausea, vomiting, and body electrolyte imbalance. NB : this essay is a joke. Some people take it seriously and don’t realise the author is being funny. ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2006, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drinking-pure-water/358577/64 "2006-06-03T15:14:21Z")
[QUOTE=Peter Morris] NB : this essay is a joke. [/QUOTE] My post farther up includes a link (look for a link on the word “inhaled”) that is an entire web site based on the same joke. ---
**Author:** ![Alex\_Dubinsky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dbc845/32.png) [@Alex\_Dubinsky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alex_Dubinsky)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2006, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drinking-pure-water/358577/65 "2006-06-03T17:15:48Z")
yup, it’s the dose that makes the poison. it really annoys me that most americans can’t get this through their skulls (in regard to all the other chemicals we’re paranoid about). ---
**Author:** ![chrisk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@chrisk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chrisk)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2006, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drinking-pure-water/358577/66 "2006-06-03T17:20:10Z")
[QUOTE=Philster] How to handle a stupid claim: She claims pure water is lethal. You drink pure water. You live. She’s wrong. How to argue with an idiot? Take it down to their level. [/QUOTE] The problem with that counterargument, though… is that even if pure water is harmless… it’s almost impossible to get. I would think it would be thoroughly impractical to get a pure and untampered sample, large enough to drink, of just about ANY substance. There’d always be a few stray atoms or molecules of something else in there. Am I right?? ---
**Author:** ![Your\_Buddy\_s\_EX-Girlfriend](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/c37758/32.png) [@Your\_Buddy\_s\_EX-Girlfriend](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Your_Buddy_s_EX-Girlfriend)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2006, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drinking-pure-water/358577/67 "2006-06-05T15:42:32Z")
Very educational. I’m not 100% correct. I’m not 100% incorrect either. Anyway, everything can be interpreted several different ways. And bets made while under the influence can be a bad idea. ---
**Author:** ![Your\_Buddy\_s\_EX-Girlfriend](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/c37758/32.png) [@Your\_Buddy\_s\_EX-Girlfriend](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Your_Buddy_s_EX-Girlfriend)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2006, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drinking-pure-water/358577/68 "2006-06-05T15:54:08Z")
[QUOTE=73elsie] Thanks for all the cites folks, I agree that drinking distilled water isn’t dangerous, but then she throws cites like [this](http://chetday.com/distilledwater.htm) at me, which I dont believe for a second. [/QUOTE] she? meaning me? hmm this is the first I’ve ever seen this site. There is a substantial difference between “harmful” and “deadly” The idea of beating a dead horse come to mind… ---
**Author:** ![Lemur866](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lemur866/32/434_2.png) [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2006, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drinking-pure-water/358577/69 "2006-06-05T16:10:46Z")
[QUOTE=Your Buddy’s EX-Girlfriend] Very educational. I’m not 100% correct. I’m not 100% incorrect either. [/QUOTE] No, you’re 100% incorrect. Pure water is not toxic. ---
**Author:** ![73elsie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/7/b9bd4f/32.png) [@73elsie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/73elsie)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2006, 4:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drinking-pure-water/358577/70 "2006-06-06T04:55:01Z")
[QUOTE=Philster] How to handle a stupid claim: She claims pure water is lethal. You drink pure water. You live. She’s wrong. How to argue with an idiot? Take it down to their level. [/QUOTE] I tried to handle it that way this evening. Even though I knew I won’t be able to get my hands on 100% pure dihydrogen monoxide, I thought using distilled water (\*\*only \*\*~99.5% pure H20 as I’ve read at some sites) as the surrogate would suffice. I asked her how long I would have to drink it as my only source of liquid hydration for me to prove it wasn’t toxic. Apparently that last 0.5% is what makes it not fit for human consumption. :rolleyes: I think \*\*Mangetout \*\* had it right back on post #8. [QUOTE=Philster] You do realise you’ll never convince her, don’t you? [/QUOTE] I appreciate all the help Dopers, but I think there’s no convincing some people. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![73elsie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/7/b9bd4f/32.png) [@73elsie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/73elsie)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2006, 4:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drinking-pure-water/358577/71 "2006-06-06T04:59:56Z")
[QUOTE=Philster] You do realise you’ll never convince her, don’t you? [/QUOTE] It was \*\*NOT \*\* posted by **Philster** , \*\*Mangetout \*\* said it, I swear! Back in Post #8! Damn hamsters, it’s late, they’re tired. Must be all the pure water in their little drip bottles… ---
**Author:** ![mr.jp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/48db29/32.png) [@mr.jp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mr.jp)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2006, 6:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drinking-pure-water/358577/72 "2006-06-06T06:04:18Z")
[QUOTE=CC] Guy says his girlfriend heard that drinking pure water could be fatal. Asks, could this be true? Instead of saying - Nah, don’t know what she could be thinking, the bbs goes crazy, starts speculating. From the barely possible to the outlandish. Well, if she drank only purified water for several years and ate nothing else… Well, if she were to simulate the structure of a hollow tube…well, if she were in nuclear medicine… Nice, and typical of the bbs to toss out wild notions, just for thought, but come on, now. Somebody’s got to bring this back to ground zero. Dude, the answer is no - drinking pure water isn’t fatal. [/QUOTE] Well, the question was pretty much answered the way you want it in the first post. So you want the whole thing to stop there? No interesting discussion about various facets water, no learning about heavy water poisoning, and worst of all: no strangelove quotes. As a side note I think the username Your Buddy’s EX-Girlfriend is a cool username, if used on it’s own. ---
**Author:** ![wevets](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e9a140/32.png) [@wevets](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wevets)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2006, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drinking-pure-water/358577/73 "2006-06-06T14:57:09Z")
[QUOTE=Alex\_Dubinsky] … and then defending our utter inability to come to an obvious consensus? it reflects rather poorly on the reasoning skill of the participants. [/QUOTE] I dunno about that. It looks to me like at least 22 of the 32 or so posters in this thread have either expressed dubiousness about the contention that pure water is somehow “specially” lethal over regular water or provided stories/cites to show that it isn’t. And 2 posters have expressed some belief that it is. I figure that’s pretty close to a consensus. (Not counting the OP, of course, since s/he asked in the first place.) Besides, any thread that turns into a Strangelove thread is a good thread. 😃 [strangelove] Vodka. That’s what they drink. Vodka… never water. [/strangelove] [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drinking-pure-water/358577.md?page=3)