1 00:00:00,200 --> 00:00:03,280 Speaker 1: All in a hot and copper sky. The bloody sun 2 00:00:03,320 --> 00:00:06,840 Speaker 1: at noon, right up above the mast, did stand no 3 00:00:07,000 --> 00:00:11,200 Speaker 1: bigger than the moon. Day after day, day after day, 4 00:00:11,200 --> 00:00:14,760 Speaker 1: we stuck nor breath nor motion. As idle is a 5 00:00:14,840 --> 00:00:20,320 Speaker 1: painted ship upon a painted ocean. Water water everywhere, and 6 00:00:20,440 --> 00:00:25,279 Speaker 1: all the boards did shrink water, water everywhere, nor any 7 00:00:25,360 --> 00:00:32,360 Speaker 1: drop to drink, A speck, a mist, a shape. I whisked, 8 00:00:33,000 --> 00:00:36,479 Speaker 1: and still it neared and neared, as if it dodged 9 00:00:36,520 --> 00:00:40,760 Speaker 1: a water sprite. It plunged, and tacked, and veered, with 10 00:00:40,920 --> 00:00:45,360 Speaker 1: throats unslaked, with black lips baked. We could not laugh 11 00:00:45,479 --> 00:00:50,040 Speaker 1: nor wail through uttered drought. All dumb we stood. I 12 00:00:50,159 --> 00:00:54,040 Speaker 1: bit my arm, I sucked the blood and cried A sail, 13 00:00:54,520 --> 00:00:59,800 Speaker 1: a sail with throats unslaked, with black lips baked agape. 14 00:00:59,800 --> 00:01:03,600 Speaker 1: They heard me call gram Mercy. They for joy did grin, 15 00:01:04,120 --> 00:01:07,160 Speaker 1: and all at once their breath drew in as they 16 00:01:07,160 --> 00:01:18,000 Speaker 1: were drinking. All. Welcome to stuff to blow your mind 17 00:01:18,200 --> 00:01:26,600 Speaker 1: from How Stuff Works dot com. Hey, you welcome to 18 00:01:26,640 --> 00:01:28,760 Speaker 1: stuff to blow your mind. My name is Robert Lamb, 19 00:01:28,800 --> 00:01:32,319 Speaker 1: and I'm Joe McCormick and Olst Coleridge invading your ears. 20 00:01:32,680 --> 00:01:37,319 Speaker 1: That's right from his poem the Rhyme of the Ancient Mariner. Uh. 21 00:01:37,360 --> 00:01:41,080 Speaker 1: In the first chunk there, we're we're getting the famous 22 00:01:41,160 --> 00:01:44,679 Speaker 1: lines about about being thirsty at sea, having no fresh 23 00:01:44,680 --> 00:01:49,960 Speaker 1: water to drink, the ironic situation of finding yourself stranded 24 00:01:50,000 --> 00:01:52,280 Speaker 1: and inst all this water and yet none of it 25 00:01:52,440 --> 00:01:55,920 Speaker 1: is sufficient for for human consumption. And then in the 26 00:01:56,040 --> 00:01:59,920 Speaker 1: second section, the sailors are so thirsty that they turn 27 00:02:00,040 --> 00:02:04,720 Speaker 1: to drinking their own blood h to to satisfy their thirst. Now, 28 00:02:04,800 --> 00:02:09,760 Speaker 1: this is a horror movie of the Romantic period. Yeah, 29 00:02:09,840 --> 00:02:12,440 Speaker 1: it has everything. It has ghosts, it has an albatross, 30 00:02:13,200 --> 00:02:18,040 Speaker 1: it has c madness. Why is this classified as Romantic literature? 31 00:02:18,120 --> 00:02:20,600 Speaker 1: I need to go back to my English literature education 32 00:02:20,680 --> 00:02:24,760 Speaker 1: and understand what I think. It's about the spontaneous outpouring 33 00:02:24,800 --> 00:02:28,679 Speaker 1: of overpowering feelings, right, I think so. But it's just 34 00:02:28,720 --> 00:02:31,000 Speaker 1: about people going crazy at see. Like one of my 35 00:02:31,080 --> 00:02:34,720 Speaker 1: favorite lines is is as follows, I took the oars. 36 00:02:34,760 --> 00:02:38,240 Speaker 1: The pilot's boy, who now doth crazy go, laughed loud 37 00:02:38,240 --> 00:02:40,400 Speaker 1: and long, and all the while his eyes went to 38 00:02:40,560 --> 00:02:43,600 Speaker 1: and fro ha ha quoth eeful plane. I see the 39 00:02:43,680 --> 00:02:46,480 Speaker 1: devil knows how to row. That's great. It has a 40 00:02:46,520 --> 00:02:49,720 Speaker 1: great tell offline too. Uh So it starts. I don't 41 00:02:49,720 --> 00:02:51,760 Speaker 1: know if you remember the framing of the Rhyme of 42 00:02:51,760 --> 00:02:55,240 Speaker 1: the Ancient Mariner. Most of the poem is this crazy 43 00:02:55,280 --> 00:02:57,720 Speaker 1: old mariner telling the story about how, you know, he 44 00:02:57,800 --> 00:02:59,919 Speaker 1: killed an albatross and brought a curse upon his ship 45 00:03:00,120 --> 00:03:02,880 Speaker 1: up and they saw death and all this. But the 46 00:03:02,919 --> 00:03:05,480 Speaker 1: framing narrative is that there's this dude on his way 47 00:03:05,480 --> 00:03:08,840 Speaker 1: to a wedding and the crazy old sailor just grabs 48 00:03:08,919 --> 00:03:11,919 Speaker 1: him and starts telling his story. And as the poem 49 00:03:11,960 --> 00:03:15,600 Speaker 1: goes on, the narrator gets totally horrified and engrossed in 50 00:03:15,639 --> 00:03:18,920 Speaker 1: the old man's tail. But at first the narrator just yells, 51 00:03:19,240 --> 00:03:24,239 Speaker 1: unhand me, graybeard, loon. I often think of that when 52 00:03:24,280 --> 00:03:26,960 Speaker 1: somebody is like bidding for my attention at work and 53 00:03:27,000 --> 00:03:29,520 Speaker 1: I don't have time to pay attention to them. Now. 54 00:03:29,520 --> 00:03:31,680 Speaker 1: One thing that's great about the Rhyme of the Ancient Mariner, 55 00:03:31,720 --> 00:03:34,440 Speaker 1: in addition to how fantastic of a poem it it is, 56 00:03:34,440 --> 00:03:37,480 Speaker 1: is it's got really great old school illustrations, like this 57 00:03:37,600 --> 00:03:41,360 Speaker 1: Gustave dore A graving. We've got here of it, where 58 00:03:41,400 --> 00:03:45,200 Speaker 1: everybody's huddled in fear as they're watching the albatross perching 59 00:03:45,200 --> 00:03:48,440 Speaker 1: on the deck. Oh. Yeah, the his his artwork always 60 00:03:48,440 --> 00:03:50,480 Speaker 1: goes great with a kind of dark story, right, I 61 00:03:50,480 --> 00:03:54,080 Speaker 1: mean his his his illustrations of the divine comedy, various 62 00:03:54,160 --> 00:03:57,520 Speaker 1: biblical h stories that he illustrated. There's a there's a 63 00:03:57,640 --> 00:04:01,280 Speaker 1: darkness to those woodcuts. Yeah. Now, the line that often 64 00:04:01,280 --> 00:04:04,119 Speaker 1: gets quoted from the Ryme and the ancient Mariner water 65 00:04:04,200 --> 00:04:07,320 Speaker 1: water everywhere, I think slightly misquoted as and not a 66 00:04:07,400 --> 00:04:10,800 Speaker 1: drop to drink. Uh, of course, signals the fact that 67 00:04:11,080 --> 00:04:13,880 Speaker 1: you often, as a sailor, be stuck out in the ocean, 68 00:04:13,920 --> 00:04:17,159 Speaker 1: and you might be very, very thirsty, and you're surrounded 69 00:04:17,200 --> 00:04:20,400 Speaker 1: by water, but the water is not going to help 70 00:04:20,440 --> 00:04:23,919 Speaker 1: you with your thirst. That's right. This is this is 71 00:04:23,960 --> 00:04:27,880 Speaker 1: one of the most important survival facts out there, is 72 00:04:27,920 --> 00:04:31,760 Speaker 1: that if you were stranded at sea, upon a desert island, 73 00:04:32,000 --> 00:04:34,880 Speaker 1: upon a deserted ship, you name it, uh, do not 74 00:04:35,080 --> 00:04:38,120 Speaker 1: drink the salt water. Every survival handbook out there will 75 00:04:38,120 --> 00:04:41,279 Speaker 1: tell you the same, no matter how how tantalizing it 76 00:04:41,360 --> 00:04:45,159 Speaker 1: may seem, no matter how how logical the solution might appear, 77 00:04:45,600 --> 00:04:48,719 Speaker 1: you should not drink the salt water. Because you're gonna 78 00:04:48,720 --> 00:04:51,200 Speaker 1: You're gonna lose that race, because it is going to 79 00:04:51,240 --> 00:04:53,479 Speaker 1: catch up with you. Yes, you, you are going to 80 00:04:53,560 --> 00:04:57,800 Speaker 1: lose the chemical race against the solvent wait, the salute 81 00:04:57,880 --> 00:05:01,520 Speaker 1: the salt anyway, against this solution of in a c 82 00:05:01,839 --> 00:05:04,760 Speaker 1: L in H two O. And I also wanted to 83 00:05:04,800 --> 00:05:07,520 Speaker 1: think about how I think it's fascinating to make just 84 00:05:07,600 --> 00:05:12,640 Speaker 1: a chemical compound such a grim apocalyptic figure in a 85 00:05:12,720 --> 00:05:16,640 Speaker 1: poem like as a grim apocalyptic tale about death by 86 00:05:16,640 --> 00:05:18,880 Speaker 1: sea water. I think the rhyme of the ancient mariner 87 00:05:19,040 --> 00:05:21,880 Speaker 1: is pretty much the best, but I often think about 88 00:05:21,920 --> 00:05:25,360 Speaker 1: what sorts of chemistry is could figure into modern apocalyptic 89 00:05:25,440 --> 00:05:28,040 Speaker 1: sci fi, and I think salt would be a really 90 00:05:28,120 --> 00:05:30,479 Speaker 1: great one. So, Robert, do you want to hear my 91 00:05:30,560 --> 00:05:35,400 Speaker 1: pitch for the sci fi version of the saltwater Apocalypse? Sure, though, 92 00:05:35,440 --> 00:05:37,640 Speaker 1: I you're gonna you have quite a challenge here in 93 00:05:37,720 --> 00:05:40,400 Speaker 1: capturing the same cadence you know. Well, no, it's I 94 00:05:40,720 --> 00:05:43,400 Speaker 1: can't do the romantic poetry, but I'll try to do 95 00:05:43,400 --> 00:05:47,440 Speaker 1: the scenario. So the fact is, the Earth's oceans were 96 00:05:47,480 --> 00:05:50,640 Speaker 1: not always as salty as they are now, because salt 97 00:05:50,760 --> 00:05:53,719 Speaker 1: is not intrinsic to the ocean water. I don't know. 98 00:05:54,320 --> 00:05:56,760 Speaker 1: Sometimes you think about, well, most of the water on 99 00:05:56,800 --> 00:06:00,000 Speaker 1: the Earth is in the oceans. The salt water therefore, 100 00:06:00,080 --> 00:06:03,040 Speaker 1: or vastly out numbers the the amount of freshwater out there, 101 00:06:03,040 --> 00:06:05,880 Speaker 1: and out numbers is the right word, because it's not enumerated. 102 00:06:05,920 --> 00:06:08,200 Speaker 1: But there's way more salt water than there is fresh water. 103 00:06:08,480 --> 00:06:11,039 Speaker 1: The vast majority of water is saltwater. Therefore, it would 104 00:06:11,040 --> 00:06:15,960 Speaker 1: seem rational to to guess that this is the natural 105 00:06:16,000 --> 00:06:19,279 Speaker 1: state of water. No, it's not. Freshwater is the natural 106 00:06:19,320 --> 00:06:23,599 Speaker 1: state of water. The ocean's got salty, and they got 107 00:06:23,680 --> 00:06:28,680 Speaker 1: salty from billions of years of rinsing the rocks. See 108 00:06:28,720 --> 00:06:31,960 Speaker 1: Earth's crust is about two point eight percent sodium, the 109 00:06:32,000 --> 00:06:35,080 Speaker 1: most common compound in rock salt being in a cl 110 00:06:35,200 --> 00:06:38,400 Speaker 1: or sodium chloride. This is the same as common table salt. 111 00:06:38,440 --> 00:06:41,560 Speaker 1: It's what you'd put on your food, and as slightly 112 00:06:41,640 --> 00:06:46,760 Speaker 1: acidic rainwater and freshwater runoff rinses and dissolves the rocks 113 00:06:46,800 --> 00:06:50,520 Speaker 1: of Planet Earth over long periods of time. It dissolves 114 00:06:50,640 --> 00:06:54,440 Speaker 1: little bits of that sodium chloride and carries all of 115 00:06:54,480 --> 00:06:58,400 Speaker 1: that sodium downstream and eventually into the ocean, and then 116 00:06:58,480 --> 00:07:01,640 Speaker 1: this salt accumulates the oceans. Because the sun heats the 117 00:07:01,640 --> 00:07:05,760 Speaker 1: ocean water causes it to evaporate, it forms clouds, and 118 00:07:05,800 --> 00:07:08,799 Speaker 1: those clouds eventually rain the water back down on the land, 119 00:07:08,800 --> 00:07:12,920 Speaker 1: but the salt pretty much stays where it is now. Fortunately, 120 00:07:13,200 --> 00:07:15,960 Speaker 1: there are natural processes known as salt sinks, and these 121 00:07:16,000 --> 00:07:18,760 Speaker 1: help remove salt from the ocean and deposit it back 122 00:07:18,800 --> 00:07:21,239 Speaker 1: on land or in the crust. And for this reason, 123 00:07:21,240 --> 00:07:24,320 Speaker 1: the salt content of the ocean seems fairly stable for now. 124 00:07:24,440 --> 00:07:27,720 Speaker 1: But what if in the future the oceans became more 125 00:07:27,800 --> 00:07:31,280 Speaker 1: like the fatally salty dead sea, where if you've ever 126 00:07:31,320 --> 00:07:33,040 Speaker 1: seen what people look like when they swim in the 127 00:07:33,040 --> 00:07:35,640 Speaker 1: dead sea, they bob like a bob blur like you 128 00:07:35,720 --> 00:07:38,920 Speaker 1: just totally float on the surface because of the high 129 00:07:38,920 --> 00:07:41,560 Speaker 1: salinity of the water. But also what you'll notice is 130 00:07:41,600 --> 00:07:44,679 Speaker 1: you don't see any fish or any seaweed or anything. 131 00:07:45,080 --> 00:07:48,640 Speaker 1: No macroscopic organisms can live in water that's salty, So 132 00:07:48,680 --> 00:07:51,440 Speaker 1: we could have a salt apocalypse. They caught the dead 133 00:07:51,440 --> 00:07:54,160 Speaker 1: sea for a reason. Yeah, what if the whole sea 134 00:07:54,320 --> 00:07:56,640 Speaker 1: was the dead Sea? I like it. I like it. 135 00:07:56,680 --> 00:07:58,200 Speaker 1: You can eat that. It can even be the title 136 00:07:58,360 --> 00:08:01,680 Speaker 1: dead sea. And then holand and then whatever sci fi 137 00:08:01,760 --> 00:08:03,600 Speaker 1: year you want to go with, it's like dead sea 138 00:08:04,680 --> 00:08:08,680 Speaker 1: the saltan ng. Yeah, alright, I like that. I like that. 139 00:08:09,640 --> 00:08:11,280 Speaker 1: I guess we should talk a little bit about just 140 00:08:11,360 --> 00:08:15,320 Speaker 1: how much salt is in the ocean currently. Uh just 141 00:08:15,360 --> 00:08:18,480 Speaker 1: the what are the current sea salt levels to the 142 00:08:18,520 --> 00:08:21,920 Speaker 1: ocean About a hundred pounds, right, Well a little bit 143 00:08:21,920 --> 00:08:26,480 Speaker 1: more than that. Uh So, seawater is saltwater to the 144 00:08:26,520 --> 00:08:31,840 Speaker 1: tune of three point five average salinity, So that's thirty 145 00:08:31,880 --> 00:08:35,840 Speaker 1: five parts per thousand and there. The crazy part here 146 00:08:35,880 --> 00:08:39,000 Speaker 1: is that there's so much salt in Earth's oceans that supposedly, 147 00:08:39,040 --> 00:08:41,000 Speaker 1: if you were to remove it all and spread it 148 00:08:41,040 --> 00:08:44,680 Speaker 1: evenly across the surface, you'd have a forty story layer 149 00:08:44,760 --> 00:08:48,840 Speaker 1: of salt. Now, it should be fairly obvious that drinking 150 00:08:48,880 --> 00:08:52,000 Speaker 1: salt water is not a good idea when you're thirsty. 151 00:08:52,679 --> 00:08:55,120 Speaker 1: But there's a reason we keep returning to this idea 152 00:08:55,160 --> 00:08:59,160 Speaker 1: in our fiction, right because in much of human history, 153 00:08:59,200 --> 00:09:01,440 Speaker 1: there are lots of areas where you could get stuck 154 00:09:01,480 --> 00:09:04,880 Speaker 1: out on the ocean without fresh water. I mean, we 155 00:09:04,920 --> 00:09:06,720 Speaker 1: love those type of stories, right, I mean, the there're 156 00:09:06,720 --> 00:09:10,480 Speaker 1: stories of of of man versus nature, a human being 157 00:09:10,520 --> 00:09:13,600 Speaker 1: trying to survive and again, like I accluded to earlier, 158 00:09:13,760 --> 00:09:17,280 Speaker 1: there is something deeply ironic about being surrounded by water 159 00:09:17,679 --> 00:09:19,720 Speaker 1: and not being able to drink any of it. What's 160 00:09:19,720 --> 00:09:23,079 Speaker 1: that Simpsons episode where Homer starts drinking the salt water? 161 00:09:23,240 --> 00:09:25,480 Speaker 1: Oh yeah, that's a boy Scouts in the hood where 162 00:09:25,480 --> 00:09:28,680 Speaker 1: he misquotes the poem and says, water water everywhere, so 163 00:09:28,800 --> 00:09:32,320 Speaker 1: let's all have a drink, and starts drinking palm full 164 00:09:32,400 --> 00:09:34,800 Speaker 1: and palm after palm full of salt water until they 165 00:09:34,840 --> 00:09:38,840 Speaker 1: just pull him away from the edge of the life raft. Um. 166 00:09:39,080 --> 00:09:41,320 Speaker 1: You know. It shows up other places as well, in 167 00:09:41,800 --> 00:09:44,599 Speaker 1: in the Song of Ice and Fire saga, George r 168 00:09:44,679 --> 00:09:47,559 Speaker 1: and Martin's Iron Islanders, the sort of love crafty and 169 00:09:47,720 --> 00:09:51,560 Speaker 1: vikings of the series, the ones that everybody's always saying, 170 00:09:51,600 --> 00:09:54,000 Speaker 1: give us more chapters with them, that's who I want 171 00:09:54,000 --> 00:09:56,640 Speaker 1: to spend my time with. Well, yeah, I ended up 172 00:09:56,640 --> 00:09:58,360 Speaker 1: feeling that way. I ended up feeling that way where 173 00:09:58,360 --> 00:10:00,400 Speaker 1: real TV series. I was like, Hey, there's all sorts 174 00:10:00,440 --> 00:10:02,160 Speaker 1: of stuff you could be doing with the Iron Islanders. 175 00:10:02,160 --> 00:10:04,839 Speaker 1: They're kind of cool. Oh sorry, I said that. Ironically, 176 00:10:04,880 --> 00:10:06,720 Speaker 1: I feel like most people are just kind of like 177 00:10:06,800 --> 00:10:09,439 Speaker 1: paging through the Iron Islands chapters like, come on, give 178 00:10:09,480 --> 00:10:11,080 Speaker 1: me back to the other character. I feel like maybe 179 00:10:11,120 --> 00:10:14,000 Speaker 1: I did at one point, but they reached a point 180 00:10:14,040 --> 00:10:17,840 Speaker 1: in the Iron Islanders narrative where I got really invested 181 00:10:17,840 --> 00:10:20,000 Speaker 1: in it. Well, they do have a really cool religion 182 00:10:20,040 --> 00:10:22,360 Speaker 1: that has to do with an underwater god who has 183 00:10:22,400 --> 00:10:25,200 Speaker 1: a major salt component. Yeah. Yeah, and then the whole 184 00:10:25,800 --> 00:10:29,360 Speaker 1: drowned god that that pops up in their religion. Uh, 185 00:10:29,400 --> 00:10:33,319 Speaker 1: they have these priests, they have these ritualized drownings. It's 186 00:10:33,360 --> 00:10:35,679 Speaker 1: sometimes a little vague, like to what extent it's just 187 00:10:35,760 --> 00:10:38,760 Speaker 1: like a violent Viking baptism in the sea, or if 188 00:10:38,800 --> 00:10:43,040 Speaker 1: there's some sort of supernatural element going on as well. 189 00:10:43,120 --> 00:10:45,360 Speaker 1: But they drink seawater. They do drink seawater. I mean, 190 00:10:45,440 --> 00:10:48,400 Speaker 1: you're gonna drink it as the priest is attempting to 191 00:10:48,480 --> 00:10:50,720 Speaker 1: drown you. But then also it said that their priests 192 00:10:50,800 --> 00:10:54,320 Speaker 1: drinks seawater to quote to strengthen their faith. But you 193 00:10:54,320 --> 00:11:00,040 Speaker 1: should not drink seawater to strengthen your body. So the 194 00:11:00,080 --> 00:11:03,000 Speaker 1: thing is, yeah, humans need a lot of water, certainly, 195 00:11:03,480 --> 00:11:07,120 Speaker 1: but we don't need a lot of salt. We can 196 00:11:07,160 --> 00:11:09,280 Speaker 1: consume small amounts of salt, certainly. We do it all 197 00:11:09,280 --> 00:11:13,559 Speaker 1: the time. Uh, we love salty foods and also we 198 00:11:13,679 --> 00:11:16,600 Speaker 1: need salt to maintain our body chemistry. So it's it's 199 00:11:16,640 --> 00:11:19,400 Speaker 1: not a situation where it's just a completely alien component. 200 00:11:19,440 --> 00:11:21,800 Speaker 1: It's part of who we are. But we don't need 201 00:11:21,840 --> 00:11:25,080 Speaker 1: that much, but we absolutely do need some. Like at 202 00:11:25,080 --> 00:11:28,840 Speaker 1: any given time, the average human body contains I read 203 00:11:28,880 --> 00:11:33,080 Speaker 1: this today, about two hundred and fifty grams of sodium. 204 00:11:33,160 --> 00:11:37,600 Speaker 1: That's about eight point eight ounces. Your standard cylinder container 205 00:11:37,640 --> 00:11:39,560 Speaker 1: of Morton table salt, you know, the you know the 206 00:11:39,640 --> 00:11:42,240 Speaker 1: can as salt, the big one. This is the one 207 00:11:42,280 --> 00:11:45,520 Speaker 1: that larger than a soda can. Well, it's the twenty 208 00:11:45,559 --> 00:11:49,360 Speaker 1: six ounces can. Yeah, exactly. Uh, that container of Morton 209 00:11:49,400 --> 00:11:52,240 Speaker 1: table salt twenty six ounces. So if you've got eight 210 00:11:52,240 --> 00:11:55,280 Speaker 1: point eight ounces in the average human body, depending on 211 00:11:55,320 --> 00:11:57,520 Speaker 1: your body size, more or less, about one third of 212 00:11:57,559 --> 00:12:00,960 Speaker 1: those containers is inside you right now, that seems like 213 00:12:01,000 --> 00:12:03,240 Speaker 1: a lot of salt, right, Like, if you put that 214 00:12:03,320 --> 00:12:06,120 Speaker 1: much salt on a meal, the meal would be, I 215 00:12:06,240 --> 00:12:08,800 Speaker 1: dare say, too salty. I think most people would agree 216 00:12:08,840 --> 00:12:10,800 Speaker 1: with that. Yes, I want to tell a story that 217 00:12:10,840 --> 00:12:14,120 Speaker 1: a friend of mine once told me. So, Uh, my friend, 218 00:12:14,280 --> 00:12:17,240 Speaker 1: she she's very smart outdoors person. She does a lot 219 00:12:17,280 --> 00:12:20,000 Speaker 1: of hiking, and she knows how to handle herself in 220 00:12:20,040 --> 00:12:23,200 Speaker 1: the wilderness. And she was out hiking one time on 221 00:12:23,240 --> 00:12:26,240 Speaker 1: a trail in Zion National Park and it was out 222 00:12:26,240 --> 00:12:28,240 Speaker 1: in the heat. And of course, you know when you're 223 00:12:28,280 --> 00:12:30,760 Speaker 1: hiking out in the heat and the desert on the rocks, 224 00:12:30,800 --> 00:12:32,719 Speaker 1: you know you need to take plenty of water with 225 00:12:32,760 --> 00:12:35,720 Speaker 1: you and to keep drinking in order to keep yourself hydrated. 226 00:12:36,320 --> 00:12:39,880 Speaker 1: And under that desert sun, dehydration and overheating can really 227 00:12:39,920 --> 00:12:41,839 Speaker 1: sneak up on you. So the smart thing to do 228 00:12:42,000 --> 00:12:45,480 Speaker 1: is not wait until you're super thirsty to drink some water, 229 00:12:45,600 --> 00:12:48,760 Speaker 1: but keep sipping. Be very conscientious about keeping yourself cool, 230 00:12:49,200 --> 00:12:52,120 Speaker 1: keeping water coming in. And this this friend of mine, 231 00:12:52,160 --> 00:12:53,960 Speaker 1: as I said, she knows how, she knows what to 232 00:12:54,000 --> 00:12:56,520 Speaker 1: do in the outside. So she was drinking plenty of 233 00:12:56,559 --> 00:12:59,840 Speaker 1: water out on the rocks, but she noticed that she 234 00:13:00,040 --> 00:13:03,679 Speaker 1: started to feel terrible. She felt nausea, as she had 235 00:13:03,720 --> 00:13:06,599 Speaker 1: a headache, weakness, and I think she said she was 236 00:13:06,679 --> 00:13:10,640 Speaker 1: kind of confused and foggy, and normally in that situation 237 00:13:10,679 --> 00:13:13,120 Speaker 1: you'd think, Okay, I'm out in the desert, I'm probably 238 00:13:13,160 --> 00:13:16,280 Speaker 1: getting dehydrated. I need to rest and drink more water. 239 00:13:17,480 --> 00:13:20,319 Speaker 1: But she kept drinking water and the symptoms didn't get 240 00:13:20,360 --> 00:13:22,720 Speaker 1: any better, so she didn't know what was going on. 241 00:13:22,880 --> 00:13:25,240 Speaker 1: They got concerned and she came back down off the 242 00:13:25,280 --> 00:13:27,600 Speaker 1: trail and ended up at a shuttle station where they 243 00:13:27,600 --> 00:13:31,240 Speaker 1: called for emergency services. So what's going on? Right? It 244 00:13:31,360 --> 00:13:34,480 Speaker 1: seems like the symptoms of dehydration almost but she had 245 00:13:34,480 --> 00:13:37,440 Speaker 1: been drinking so much water it didn't really make any sense. 246 00:13:38,040 --> 00:13:41,240 Speaker 1: So the paramedics arrived, they got the lay of the situation. 247 00:13:41,400 --> 00:13:43,600 Speaker 1: They and what they eventually did was they got her 248 00:13:43,640 --> 00:13:48,199 Speaker 1: to eat some pretzels. So the problem wasn't a lack 249 00:13:48,240 --> 00:13:52,520 Speaker 1: of water, It was too much water deluding the salt 250 00:13:52,640 --> 00:13:55,800 Speaker 1: content of her blood plasma, and what she needed to 251 00:13:55,840 --> 00:13:59,000 Speaker 1: bounce back were some salty snacks. All right, So that 252 00:13:59,240 --> 00:14:01,920 Speaker 1: sounds like what everyone needs to bring with them on 253 00:14:01,960 --> 00:14:03,320 Speaker 1: a on a hike from now and to just make 254 00:14:03,360 --> 00:14:06,000 Speaker 1: sure you do have some pretzels tucked away for emergency use. 255 00:14:06,240 --> 00:14:08,800 Speaker 1: I wonder if you need a rapid infusion of salt, like, 256 00:14:08,880 --> 00:14:11,320 Speaker 1: what is the best thing to eat? I imagine the 257 00:14:11,360 --> 00:14:14,720 Speaker 1: situation is fairly rare in America. Yeah, like, yeah, we 258 00:14:14,880 --> 00:14:18,240 Speaker 1: do love our salt. Yeah, well, I I love salty 259 00:14:18,280 --> 00:14:20,960 Speaker 1: foods too, but like, what is it like Doritos? Or 260 00:14:21,000 --> 00:14:23,080 Speaker 1: should you take a jar of pickles or a stick 261 00:14:23,080 --> 00:14:26,320 Speaker 1: of pepperoni? But see, other people might see you taking 262 00:14:26,440 --> 00:14:29,320 Speaker 1: that bag of Doritos or jar of pickles, would be 263 00:14:29,360 --> 00:14:31,520 Speaker 1: on the hike, and they're gonna, they're gonna they might 264 00:14:31,600 --> 00:14:34,360 Speaker 1: judge you for your your your choice in trail food. 265 00:14:34,400 --> 00:14:36,160 Speaker 1: I guess you just need like a salty trail mix 266 00:14:36,720 --> 00:14:39,880 Speaker 1: or packets of soy sauce, which will come back to 267 00:14:39,960 --> 00:14:42,680 Speaker 1: in a bit. Okay, Yeah, Well, I wonder if some people, 268 00:14:43,080 --> 00:14:46,600 Speaker 1: in addition to their hydration when they're like running and exercising, 269 00:14:47,000 --> 00:14:50,360 Speaker 1: they squirt those little electrolyte gel things, right, and those 270 00:14:50,400 --> 00:14:55,040 Speaker 1: have some amount of salt content to help keep you balanced. Right. Yeah? Yeah, anyway, 271 00:14:55,120 --> 00:14:57,320 Speaker 1: gross side note of the story she told me about 272 00:14:57,480 --> 00:15:01,200 Speaker 1: the shuttle station. Uh, my friend, she felt so bad 273 00:15:01,280 --> 00:15:03,480 Speaker 1: after she got down there that she vomited out on 274 00:15:03,520 --> 00:15:06,240 Speaker 1: the ground somewhere. And then later, while she was waiting around, 275 00:15:06,360 --> 00:15:08,720 Speaker 1: she got to watch a wild fox wander over and 276 00:15:08,760 --> 00:15:12,560 Speaker 1: start eating it. Oh well, that's kind of beautiful, really. Cycle, yeah, 277 00:15:12,600 --> 00:15:14,560 Speaker 1: the cycle of whatever her life. She ate and then 278 00:15:14,680 --> 00:15:16,760 Speaker 1: vomited and then something else got to you. Yeah, I 279 00:15:16,760 --> 00:15:19,800 Speaker 1: mean she was. She was behaving much like certain buzzards 280 00:15:19,880 --> 00:15:23,480 Speaker 1: do when threatened. You know, a vomit which a vomiting 281 00:15:23,480 --> 00:15:27,360 Speaker 1: display that is either meant to scare off a predator 282 00:15:27,520 --> 00:15:30,120 Speaker 1: or to distract it with a bribe. Yeah, here you 283 00:15:30,120 --> 00:15:32,840 Speaker 1: can have this. Yeah, have these pretzels, and you know 284 00:15:32,880 --> 00:15:36,080 Speaker 1: in gatorade. So we totally need sodium to keep our 285 00:15:36,120 --> 00:15:38,520 Speaker 1: bodies functioning right. If you don't have enough sodium in 286 00:15:38,560 --> 00:15:41,840 Speaker 1: the body, this is called hyponotremia, and you can experience 287 00:15:41,840 --> 00:15:44,160 Speaker 1: some really messed up symptoms. And in addition to what 288 00:15:44,200 --> 00:15:47,520 Speaker 1: you heard about in that story, nausea, vomiting, headache, fatigue, 289 00:15:47,520 --> 00:15:50,480 Speaker 1: and all that, you can on the far end of problems, 290 00:15:50,560 --> 00:15:52,080 Speaker 1: if he gets bad enough, you can end up with 291 00:15:52,120 --> 00:15:56,440 Speaker 1: seizures in coma. So I mentioned that sodium is an electrolyte, 292 00:15:56,440 --> 00:15:59,040 Speaker 1: that that's one of the reasons that it's necessary in 293 00:15:59,080 --> 00:16:01,440 Speaker 1: the body and in a electro light is a substance 294 00:16:01,560 --> 00:16:04,960 Speaker 1: that tends to dissolve in a solution and produce ions, 295 00:16:05,120 --> 00:16:09,000 Speaker 1: or charged particles. The presence of these charged particles makes 296 00:16:09,040 --> 00:16:12,960 Speaker 1: the solution a better conductor of electricity. For example, salt 297 00:16:13,040 --> 00:16:16,280 Speaker 1: water is a much better conductor of electricity than fresh water. 298 00:16:16,360 --> 00:16:17,840 Speaker 1: And if you want proof of this, you can look 299 00:16:17,880 --> 00:16:21,000 Speaker 1: up videos of salt water circuits. Have you ever seen 300 00:16:21,040 --> 00:16:24,160 Speaker 1: one of these? Yeah, it's kind of interesting. I wouldn't 301 00:16:24,160 --> 00:16:26,840 Speaker 1: advise you to try this on your own at home 302 00:16:26,920 --> 00:16:29,320 Speaker 1: unless you really know what you're doing. Electricity and water 303 00:16:29,400 --> 00:16:32,480 Speaker 1: can be a dangerous combination. But the basic setup is 304 00:16:32,760 --> 00:16:35,120 Speaker 1: you've got a circuit, uh and it's connected to a 305 00:16:35,160 --> 00:16:38,040 Speaker 1: battery and to a light bulb, and at one point 306 00:16:38,040 --> 00:16:40,640 Speaker 1: on your circuit you have open wire ends that are 307 00:16:40,640 --> 00:16:43,200 Speaker 1: stuck down into a jar of water. So the electricity 308 00:16:43,200 --> 00:16:45,960 Speaker 1: would need to go through the water to complete the circuit. 309 00:16:46,480 --> 00:16:48,880 Speaker 1: And if you've just got regular tap water, especially if 310 00:16:48,880 --> 00:16:52,440 Speaker 1: you've got something like distilled water, the bulb is not 311 00:16:52,520 --> 00:16:55,440 Speaker 1: going to light up. It can't generate enough current to 312 00:16:55,520 --> 00:16:58,440 Speaker 1: really complete the circuit. But if you stir some salt 313 00:16:58,480 --> 00:17:00,920 Speaker 1: into the water, suddenly the boat the bulb will come 314 00:17:00,960 --> 00:17:03,760 Speaker 1: to life. And there's some kind of rough equivalence to 315 00:17:03,800 --> 00:17:06,520 Speaker 1: that within within the body, Like the body is an 316 00:17:06,520 --> 00:17:10,240 Speaker 1: electrochemical machine, and one of the ways it regulates itself 317 00:17:10,280 --> 00:17:15,159 Speaker 1: and does its stuff is through electrochemical signaling and electrochemical exchange. 318 00:17:15,760 --> 00:17:19,000 Speaker 1: So your body cells have membranes surrounding them, and these 319 00:17:19,000 --> 00:17:23,000 Speaker 1: membranes are electrically permeable. They can allow ions to pass 320 00:17:23,040 --> 00:17:27,119 Speaker 1: through to balance electrical charge on the sides of the membrane, 321 00:17:27,359 --> 00:17:31,080 Speaker 1: and by exchanging potassium ions and sodium ions across the 322 00:17:31,080 --> 00:17:35,040 Speaker 1: cell membrane, the cells can for example, direct an electrical impulse, 323 00:17:35,640 --> 00:17:37,879 Speaker 1: which means a chain of nerve cells can pass a 324 00:17:37,920 --> 00:17:40,320 Speaker 1: message from one part of the body to another. But 325 00:17:40,440 --> 00:17:43,080 Speaker 1: you can also think of sodium and potassium as one 326 00:17:43,080 --> 00:17:45,760 Speaker 1: of the ways that stuff gets into and out of 327 00:17:45,800 --> 00:17:49,359 Speaker 1: a cell. This electrolyte exchange across the cell membrane can 328 00:17:49,400 --> 00:17:53,000 Speaker 1: be used, for example, to exchange glucose to get glucose 329 00:17:53,040 --> 00:17:55,720 Speaker 1: into the cell, and the body also uses sodium to 330 00:17:55,760 --> 00:17:59,479 Speaker 1: maintain overall fluid balance and regulate blood pressure. So you 331 00:17:59,520 --> 00:18:02,359 Speaker 1: need sodium. It's an important part of everything your body 332 00:18:02,400 --> 00:18:04,600 Speaker 1: needs to do to survive. Without it, you would not 333 00:18:04,680 --> 00:18:08,320 Speaker 1: be able to live. But like we were saying, you 334 00:18:08,400 --> 00:18:11,320 Speaker 1: don't need a lot of it. It's interesting, isn't it. 335 00:18:11,400 --> 00:18:15,440 Speaker 1: How you end up revisiting the body as this kind 336 00:18:15,440 --> 00:18:17,840 Speaker 1: of chemical equation. But for the most part, it's a 337 00:18:18,000 --> 00:18:22,240 Speaker 1: self regulating chemical chemical equation, provided that you have you 338 00:18:22,560 --> 00:18:25,919 Speaker 1: have your your your typical resources around you. Yeah, unless 339 00:18:25,960 --> 00:18:29,679 Speaker 1: there's something really wrong with your inputs. Generally, if the 340 00:18:29,720 --> 00:18:32,240 Speaker 1: body is healthy, it's going to be balancing the sides 341 00:18:32,280 --> 00:18:35,120 Speaker 1: of this equation on its own, and so the body 342 00:18:35,200 --> 00:18:38,240 Speaker 1: usually tries to keep the sodium content very stable between 343 00:18:38,280 --> 00:18:40,320 Speaker 1: about a hundred and thirty five and a hundred and 344 00:18:40,359 --> 00:18:44,160 Speaker 1: forty five milli equivalence of sodium per liter of water 345 00:18:44,240 --> 00:18:46,600 Speaker 1: in your body. And mill mill equivalence is a measure 346 00:18:46,640 --> 00:18:49,200 Speaker 1: and chemistry often used to measure the amount of solute 347 00:18:49,240 --> 00:18:52,000 Speaker 1: and a solution. In this case, it's sodium and water 348 00:18:52,200 --> 00:18:54,920 Speaker 1: and there are one thousand milli equivalents and an equivalent. 349 00:18:55,080 --> 00:18:58,360 Speaker 1: So notice that's a pretty tight range for normal sodium 350 00:18:58,400 --> 00:19:01,560 Speaker 1: levels right on to one forty five mill equivalents. Means 351 00:19:01,600 --> 00:19:04,720 Speaker 1: that the body needs to be constantly managing its retention 352 00:19:04,800 --> 00:19:07,879 Speaker 1: and excretion of sodium to keep those levels in the 353 00:19:07,920 --> 00:19:12,199 Speaker 1: optimal functioning range. But having too much salt is I 354 00:19:12,240 --> 00:19:15,280 Speaker 1: would guess a more common problem than having too little, 355 00:19:15,320 --> 00:19:19,760 Speaker 1: and certainly just as potentially harmful, and drinking seawater puts 356 00:19:19,800 --> 00:19:23,119 Speaker 1: you at immediate risk for over salting. Your body and 357 00:19:23,160 --> 00:19:26,480 Speaker 1: your cells can basically start to get like salted slugs. 358 00:19:27,000 --> 00:19:29,760 Speaker 1: It's not good. It's not good. It's really it's really 359 00:19:29,800 --> 00:19:32,919 Speaker 1: kind of diabolical. The way it plays out, it seems 360 00:19:32,960 --> 00:19:36,439 Speaker 1: like some sort of the punishment from the inferno. So 361 00:19:36,480 --> 00:19:39,119 Speaker 1: basically what happens is humans were eating and drinking a 362 00:19:39,119 --> 00:19:43,240 Speaker 1: lot to dilute our salt intake. So you're fine normally, 363 00:19:43,359 --> 00:19:45,159 Speaker 1: if you have a salty meal, it's not going to 364 00:19:45,320 --> 00:19:48,080 Speaker 1: kill you immediately because you can drink water to make 365 00:19:48,160 --> 00:19:50,680 Speaker 1: up for it. Your your kidneys will help you excrete 366 00:19:50,680 --> 00:19:52,920 Speaker 1: all that salt over a period of time. There's a 367 00:19:52,960 --> 00:19:56,920 Speaker 1: reason you have that super gulp of sugary soda water, 368 00:19:57,080 --> 00:20:00,679 Speaker 1: right right, But yeah, if we consume to much salt, 369 00:20:00,840 --> 00:20:03,040 Speaker 1: the body has to dump it. But that that body 370 00:20:03,080 --> 00:20:04,560 Speaker 1: has to get rid of that salt the only way 371 00:20:04,560 --> 00:20:08,520 Speaker 1: it knows how through urine evacuation mode exactly. But the 372 00:20:08,600 --> 00:20:11,840 Speaker 1: human kidneys can only make urine that is less salty 373 00:20:11,880 --> 00:20:15,320 Speaker 1: than salt water, so it cannot it can't get rid 374 00:20:15,359 --> 00:20:17,520 Speaker 1: of it as fast as it's coming in. To get 375 00:20:17,640 --> 00:20:20,080 Speaker 1: rid of all that excess salt from saltwater, you have 376 00:20:20,119 --> 00:20:23,119 Speaker 1: to urinate more water than you drink and this is 377 00:20:23,160 --> 00:20:26,959 Speaker 1: the path to do you die of dehydration, becoming thirstier 378 00:20:26,960 --> 00:20:30,040 Speaker 1: and thirstier with every gulp. It's one of those faiths 379 00:20:30,119 --> 00:20:33,200 Speaker 1: that is not only cruel but ironic. All Right, we're 380 00:20:33,200 --> 00:20:35,520 Speaker 1: gonna take a quick break and when we come back, 381 00:20:35,720 --> 00:20:39,320 Speaker 1: we're gonna get more into this situation. What happens when 382 00:20:39,359 --> 00:20:43,680 Speaker 1: we do drink saltwater? And another outline question, does it 383 00:20:43,800 --> 00:20:47,760 Speaker 1: lead to madness? Does it lead to sea madness? Than? 384 00:20:49,480 --> 00:20:52,200 Speaker 1: All right, we're back. So, Robert, we've talked about how 385 00:20:52,240 --> 00:20:54,719 Speaker 1: the body needs sodium to survive, but if you have 386 00:20:54,800 --> 00:20:56,840 Speaker 1: too much of it, it's going to be a big 387 00:20:56,880 --> 00:21:00,199 Speaker 1: problem for you. And if you start drinking seawall or 388 00:21:00,200 --> 00:21:02,760 Speaker 1: when you're thirsty, it will not cure your thirst, but 389 00:21:02,840 --> 00:21:06,040 Speaker 1: will take you down a bad road. That's right, the 390 00:21:06,119 --> 00:21:09,240 Speaker 1: road to doom. So the body tries to compensate for 391 00:21:09,280 --> 00:21:12,600 Speaker 1: fluid loss by increasing the heart rate and constricting blood 392 00:21:12,640 --> 00:21:16,960 Speaker 1: vessels to maintain blood pressure and flow to vital organs. 393 00:21:17,000 --> 00:21:20,160 Speaker 1: So you're you're also most likely to feel nauseous, weakness 394 00:21:20,280 --> 00:21:23,320 Speaker 1: and even a sense of delirium. But if you become 395 00:21:23,359 --> 00:21:26,160 Speaker 1: more dehydrated, the coping mechanism fails. If you still don't 396 00:21:26,200 --> 00:21:29,360 Speaker 1: drink any water to reverse the effects of the excess sodium. 397 00:21:29,560 --> 00:21:32,840 Speaker 1: The brain and other organs receive less blood, leading to coma, 398 00:21:33,200 --> 00:21:36,440 Speaker 1: organ failure and eventually death. Right. So, as we've said 399 00:21:36,480 --> 00:21:39,359 Speaker 1: several times, now, if you're thirsty out on the ocean, 400 00:21:39,440 --> 00:21:43,920 Speaker 1: don't drink the sea water. That's right. And the delirium 401 00:21:44,160 --> 00:21:48,560 Speaker 1: condition there that that underlies the whole idea of sea madness. Right, 402 00:21:48,600 --> 00:21:51,640 Speaker 1: you could become delirious from drinking the seawater. We see 403 00:21:51,640 --> 00:21:53,840 Speaker 1: a good bit of that portrayed, I think in the 404 00:21:53,880 --> 00:21:55,800 Speaker 1: rhyme of the Ancient Mariner, even though well I don't 405 00:21:55,840 --> 00:21:57,960 Speaker 1: know if it ever establishes in the poem a cause 406 00:21:58,000 --> 00:22:00,880 Speaker 1: and effect saying like, oh, somebody he drank the seawater 407 00:22:00,960 --> 00:22:02,919 Speaker 1: and then they went mad. I can't remember. Is that 408 00:22:03,000 --> 00:22:06,200 Speaker 1: in there? At least you get that vibe. I mean, 409 00:22:06,200 --> 00:22:08,840 Speaker 1: it could be that this, this character, the old man 410 00:22:08,960 --> 00:22:11,080 Speaker 1: from the sea, is just making up this whole story. 411 00:22:11,240 --> 00:22:13,720 Speaker 1: He could be may he just drank seawater right just 412 00:22:13,840 --> 00:22:15,760 Speaker 1: right out of the bay and walked up to this 413 00:22:15,760 --> 00:22:18,720 Speaker 1: guy on his way to the wedding. There's really no uh, 414 00:22:18,960 --> 00:22:22,840 Speaker 1: no epic survival story to to relate. Now, if this 415 00:22:22,840 --> 00:22:25,800 Speaker 1: guy was going to an ancient Greek wedding. It's possible 416 00:22:25,840 --> 00:22:27,560 Speaker 1: he may have been on his way to drink some 417 00:22:27,600 --> 00:22:31,159 Speaker 1: seawater himself, right, yeah, this so this is interesting. I 418 00:22:31,800 --> 00:22:34,840 Speaker 1: I was not aware of the medicinal consumption of seawater 419 00:22:35,000 --> 00:22:38,680 Speaker 1: prior to researching this episode, but I ended up running 420 00:22:38,680 --> 00:22:41,480 Speaker 1: across it and it's it's fascinating. So we mentioned the 421 00:22:41,480 --> 00:22:45,679 Speaker 1: fictional Iron Islanders earlier, a seagoing people in George R. 422 00:22:45,760 --> 00:22:48,760 Speaker 1: Martin's book who who honored the sea and believe their 423 00:22:48,800 --> 00:22:52,200 Speaker 1: god lives under the sea. And uh, this of course 424 00:22:52,320 --> 00:22:56,119 Speaker 1: lines up with a number of different traditions of ocean 425 00:22:56,160 --> 00:22:59,960 Speaker 1: going people, particularly the ancient Greeks, who were a sea 426 00:23:00,080 --> 00:23:03,000 Speaker 1: faring culture, and they placed a lot of emphasis on 427 00:23:03,040 --> 00:23:06,800 Speaker 1: the power of the ocean and the if you anger Poseidon, 428 00:23:06,840 --> 00:23:09,000 Speaker 1: it could really come back to bite you. Oh yeah. 429 00:23:09,040 --> 00:23:11,240 Speaker 1: And of course, really most of the Greek gods were 430 00:23:11,520 --> 00:23:15,840 Speaker 1: terrible entities to even attract the attention of much less 431 00:23:16,320 --> 00:23:20,000 Speaker 1: tick off. But Poseidon does fit feature into a number 432 00:23:20,040 --> 00:23:21,760 Speaker 1: of these tales. I mean, in that what happened to 433 00:23:21,760 --> 00:23:24,679 Speaker 1: Odysseus he made Poseidon that yeah, he's he's kind of 434 00:23:24,720 --> 00:23:27,359 Speaker 1: the central antagonist of that one, isn't it. But the 435 00:23:27,640 --> 00:23:31,600 Speaker 1: Greeks they sometimes added seawater to wine to to adjust 436 00:23:31,680 --> 00:23:35,280 Speaker 1: the flavoring. Um Kato the elder reportedly served it to 437 00:23:35,400 --> 00:23:38,840 Speaker 1: his slaves, a mixture of wine and seawater to keep 438 00:23:38,880 --> 00:23:42,879 Speaker 1: them energized. That doesn't sound like an energy drink, well, 439 00:23:43,160 --> 00:23:45,199 Speaker 1: or does it? Like the electrolytes. I guess you know, 440 00:23:45,240 --> 00:23:48,920 Speaker 1: it's kind of like ancient cruel gatorade. I guess all 441 00:23:49,040 --> 00:23:52,880 Speaker 1: energy drinks are cruel, but that that is crueler than usual. Yeah. Now, 442 00:23:52,960 --> 00:23:56,479 Speaker 1: during the eighteenth century, physicians took inspiration from the works 443 00:23:56,480 --> 00:24:00,159 Speaker 1: of Hippocrates and Celsus and they revived the pract this. 444 00:24:00,640 --> 00:24:03,120 Speaker 1: Uh now, one of the classical approach was to sweeten 445 00:24:03,160 --> 00:24:07,120 Speaker 1: your saltwater, your sweeten your seawater with honey. The British 446 00:24:07,200 --> 00:24:10,000 Speaker 1: like to dilute it with milk. This sounds gross and 447 00:24:10,400 --> 00:24:13,119 Speaker 1: just a big glass of salty milk to uh, you know, 448 00:24:13,200 --> 00:24:16,280 Speaker 1: to to enhance your constitution. I guess I'm trying to 449 00:24:16,320 --> 00:24:19,359 Speaker 1: imagine how salty it was like. As we've said that 450 00:24:19,400 --> 00:24:22,600 Speaker 1: they're they're electrolytes in some sports drinks, So is this 451 00:24:22,640 --> 00:24:25,399 Speaker 1: going to end up being about as salty as gatorade 452 00:24:25,480 --> 00:24:28,520 Speaker 1: or is it going to be like a salty salty drink. Well, 453 00:24:28,560 --> 00:24:31,359 Speaker 1: I think we find one possible answer in an excellent 454 00:24:31,359 --> 00:24:35,439 Speaker 1: two thousand thirteen Atlantic article by Addie Brown titled the 455 00:24:35,520 --> 00:24:38,880 Speaker 1: historic Healing Power of the Beach. I'll include a link 456 00:24:38,920 --> 00:24:40,800 Speaker 1: to this article on the Landing page for this episode 457 00:24:40,840 --> 00:24:42,359 Speaker 1: of Stuff to Put Your Mind dot Com, because she 458 00:24:42,400 --> 00:24:45,840 Speaker 1: gets into not only the idea of drinking saltwater, but 459 00:24:45,920 --> 00:24:48,720 Speaker 1: just this idea of the beach as a place where 460 00:24:48,720 --> 00:24:52,240 Speaker 1: one might go to heal oneself, which is which is 461 00:24:52,320 --> 00:24:54,879 Speaker 1: an interesting topic onto itself and one that I find 462 00:24:54,920 --> 00:24:59,560 Speaker 1: myself believing in and yet yet unsure of the scientific 463 00:25:00,119 --> 00:25:03,720 Speaker 1: you know, underlying truth to it. Well, it seems like 464 00:25:03,760 --> 00:25:06,800 Speaker 1: part of a broader phenomenon, especially in the eighteenth century. 465 00:25:06,840 --> 00:25:08,880 Speaker 1: I can think of of people who have a disease 466 00:25:09,000 --> 00:25:11,480 Speaker 1: being prescribed by their doctors, not to like take a 467 00:25:11,560 --> 00:25:14,080 Speaker 1: drug or I mean, though that did happen too, but 468 00:25:14,160 --> 00:25:17,560 Speaker 1: to go to a specific climate. I think about, you know, 469 00:25:17,680 --> 00:25:20,520 Speaker 1: keats being prescribed you need to go to like a 470 00:25:20,600 --> 00:25:24,000 Speaker 1: Mediterranean climate to get well or something. Yeah. But as 471 00:25:24,000 --> 00:25:25,440 Speaker 1: she points out in the article, there was a time 472 00:25:25,440 --> 00:25:27,720 Speaker 1: when hanging out of the beach that's what peasants did. 473 00:25:28,280 --> 00:25:31,240 Speaker 1: It's only as this, uh, this resurgence of the healing 474 00:25:31,280 --> 00:25:33,920 Speaker 1: power of the beach becomes a thing that you see 475 00:25:34,480 --> 00:25:38,239 Speaker 1: the higher classes heading out there as well. Now. In 476 00:25:38,280 --> 00:25:41,600 Speaker 1: this article though, she points out that in seventeen fifty 477 00:25:41,760 --> 00:25:45,960 Speaker 1: Dr Richard Russell published a treatise titled A Dissertation on 478 00:25:46,040 --> 00:25:48,880 Speaker 1: the Use of Seawater in the Diseases of the Glands, 479 00:25:48,960 --> 00:25:56,600 Speaker 1: particularly the scurvy, jaundice, King's Evil, leprosy and the glandular consumption. Okay, 480 00:25:56,840 --> 00:25:59,680 Speaker 1: so the King's Evil, the King's evil. So the King's 481 00:25:59,760 --> 00:26:02,840 Speaker 1: evil was a swelling of the lymph nodes associated with 482 00:26:02,840 --> 00:26:05,520 Speaker 1: the tuberculosis. But of course the idea was that this 483 00:26:05,600 --> 00:26:08,639 Speaker 1: condition could be cured by the touch of a royal 484 00:26:09,320 --> 00:26:12,040 Speaker 1: royal person who was blessed by the divine right of king. 485 00:26:12,800 --> 00:26:16,080 Speaker 1: We know now that that that that cure does not work. 486 00:26:16,160 --> 00:26:19,200 Speaker 1: They're probably a great way to get syphilis. Just looking 487 00:26:19,200 --> 00:26:21,760 Speaker 1: back on the history. Wait, was this also known as 488 00:26:21,800 --> 00:26:24,200 Speaker 1: the SCROFULA Is that I think I've read that? Yes, 489 00:26:24,240 --> 00:26:28,480 Speaker 1: I believe so so Dr Russell. He he prescribed a 490 00:26:28,520 --> 00:26:31,920 Speaker 1: lot of seawater, including to one of his patients who 491 00:26:32,240 --> 00:26:35,680 Speaker 1: who suffered from leprosy, and he required uh this particular 492 00:26:35,680 --> 00:26:38,840 Speaker 1: patient to sprinkle himself with seawater and quote drink a 493 00:26:38,920 --> 00:26:43,119 Speaker 1: pint of seawater every morning during nine months without any intervals, 494 00:26:43,400 --> 00:26:46,360 Speaker 1: and he reported a full recovery. I don't believe that 495 00:26:47,840 --> 00:26:51,960 Speaker 1: a pint of seawater that is a lot of salt. Yeah, 496 00:26:52,119 --> 00:26:54,280 Speaker 1: I would think so. I kept thinking about it during 497 00:26:54,280 --> 00:26:56,240 Speaker 1: my recent trip to the beach, like what have I? 498 00:26:56,400 --> 00:27:00,720 Speaker 1: What have I followed Dr Russell's advice and I myself 499 00:27:00,760 --> 00:27:03,280 Speaker 1: just drank a pint of this stuff every morning just 500 00:27:03,280 --> 00:27:05,960 Speaker 1: to kick off the day. Now here's a question I wonder. 501 00:27:06,000 --> 00:27:09,720 Speaker 1: I wonder if maybe people were in some cases not 502 00:27:09,880 --> 00:27:14,119 Speaker 1: drinking enough fresh water, and that by getting people to 503 00:27:14,200 --> 00:27:18,080 Speaker 1: drink seawater it made them thirsty, so they would end 504 00:27:18,160 --> 00:27:20,520 Speaker 1: up drinking a lot of fresh water to make up 505 00:27:20,560 --> 00:27:24,000 Speaker 1: for it, and that that would actually increase their overall 506 00:27:24,040 --> 00:27:27,120 Speaker 1: water consumption and make them healthier. Well. But of course 507 00:27:27,160 --> 00:27:30,040 Speaker 1: then that depends on their access to fresh water. Does 508 00:27:30,080 --> 00:27:32,000 Speaker 1: it result in the drinking more fresh water? Does it 509 00:27:32,040 --> 00:27:36,040 Speaker 1: result in them drinking more beer? I don't know. I'd 510 00:27:36,040 --> 00:27:40,679 Speaker 1: say the answers probably beer. So if you were if 511 00:27:40,720 --> 00:27:43,480 Speaker 1: you are stuck at sea or on a deserted island 512 00:27:43,840 --> 00:27:47,040 Speaker 1: or what have you. Obviously beer would be the better choice. 513 00:27:47,080 --> 00:27:50,320 Speaker 1: But but let's say you definitely have to drink seawater. 514 00:27:50,359 --> 00:27:54,359 Speaker 1: You should not drink seawater. But let's say it starts 515 00:27:54,359 --> 00:27:57,520 Speaker 1: looking like a good idea, how might one go about that? 516 00:27:57,640 --> 00:27:59,439 Speaker 1: Wait a minute, didn't we say you shouldn't do it? 517 00:27:59,480 --> 00:28:02,680 Speaker 1: No matter what? Exactly all the survival manual say do 518 00:28:02,720 --> 00:28:06,200 Speaker 1: not drink seawater. And yet you will find particular survivalist 519 00:28:06,440 --> 00:28:09,000 Speaker 1: who say, look, you shouldn't drink seawater, but here's how 520 00:28:09,040 --> 00:28:12,440 Speaker 1: you do it. Here's how I did it and survived. 521 00:28:12,520 --> 00:28:15,440 Speaker 1: All right, Well, let's hear some salty prescriptions. Okay, So 522 00:28:15,920 --> 00:28:18,680 Speaker 1: once again, to be clear, there are accounts, and sometimes 523 00:28:18,800 --> 00:28:22,840 Speaker 1: rather disputed accounts, of individuals surviving their or their ordeals 524 00:28:22,880 --> 00:28:27,479 Speaker 1: at sea through the balance consumption of seawater. Balance. So 525 00:28:27,520 --> 00:28:30,520 Speaker 1: that means not just like ladling it out and drinking it, 526 00:28:30,560 --> 00:28:35,359 Speaker 1: but maybe mixing it with consumption of freshwater or something else. Yeah. 527 00:28:35,480 --> 00:28:39,400 Speaker 1: Noteworthy examples of this include French biologist Alan Bombard, nor 528 00:28:39,440 --> 00:28:43,840 Speaker 1: Even Norwegian adventure thor Hira Dhrynch and sailor William Willis. 529 00:28:44,480 --> 00:28:46,760 Speaker 1: I'm gonna talk a little bit about bombard here. He 530 00:28:46,840 --> 00:28:50,920 Speaker 1: lived through two thousand five, he went to an Oceano 531 00:28:51,000 --> 00:28:54,760 Speaker 1: graphic institute in Monte Carlo to develop ways for people 532 00:28:55,280 --> 00:28:58,160 Speaker 1: lost in small boats to survive. This after he and 533 00:28:58,200 --> 00:29:01,200 Speaker 1: a friend survived in a boat for five days with 534 00:29:01,280 --> 00:29:04,320 Speaker 1: only a half kilogram of butter. Of butter, what is 535 00:29:04,320 --> 00:29:07,680 Speaker 1: that supposed to say? Water butter? Just butter? Yes, butter, 536 00:29:08,440 --> 00:29:12,280 Speaker 1: That not water butter. So what he's saying is, you know, 537 00:29:12,560 --> 00:29:15,200 Speaker 1: if if there's no fresh water around, you're saying, drink butter. 538 00:29:15,560 --> 00:29:19,840 Speaker 1: That what we're being told here basically. But now, during 539 00:29:19,880 --> 00:29:23,120 Speaker 1: his his time in Monding Carlo, he concluded the drinking 540 00:29:23,200 --> 00:29:27,400 Speaker 1: limited quality quantities of seawater and fluids pressed from raw 541 00:29:27,520 --> 00:29:31,120 Speaker 1: fish and eating raw fish and plankton that this was 542 00:29:31,160 --> 00:29:33,240 Speaker 1: the way to go. Well, it'll come back in a 543 00:29:33,240 --> 00:29:36,080 Speaker 1: little bit later in this episode, but that maybe part 544 00:29:36,080 --> 00:29:39,000 Speaker 1: of the strategy employed by some organisms that live in 545 00:29:39,040 --> 00:29:43,160 Speaker 1: the ocean exactly, but this case, like I said, it's 546 00:29:43,280 --> 00:29:45,920 Speaker 1: it's a little uncertain exactly how that all this shakes out. 547 00:29:46,200 --> 00:29:48,680 Speaker 1: He later put it to the test and claimed that 548 00:29:48,720 --> 00:29:52,240 Speaker 1: while the raw fish and plankton tasted like lobster, biscuit. 549 00:29:52,320 --> 00:29:55,920 Speaker 1: First it grew tiresome. Oh, it grew tiresome on the 550 00:29:56,000 --> 00:29:59,120 Speaker 1: on the lifeboat. Yeah and uh. And then a critic 551 00:29:59,160 --> 00:30:03,560 Speaker 1: comes along, and doctor Hans Lindeman, who lived UH ninety 552 00:30:03,600 --> 00:30:06,360 Speaker 1: two through two thousand and fifteen, he tried to follow 553 00:30:06,360 --> 00:30:10,200 Speaker 1: his advice and drink seawater to survive on two short voyages, 554 00:30:10,520 --> 00:30:13,760 Speaker 1: resulting in dangerous swelling of his feet and legs. And 555 00:30:13,800 --> 00:30:17,479 Speaker 1: he ended up charging bombered with cheating, saying that he 556 00:30:17,520 --> 00:30:21,880 Speaker 1: had he'd probably used secreted provisions to survive in this test. 557 00:30:22,240 --> 00:30:25,200 Speaker 1: And uh, and and I believe he he suggested that 558 00:30:25,240 --> 00:30:30,040 Speaker 1: it was probably beer. To come back to our mentioned 559 00:30:30,040 --> 00:30:33,680 Speaker 1: of beer earlier. Now, he's not the only word on 560 00:30:33,760 --> 00:30:36,440 Speaker 1: the whole issue of how much seawater should you drink? 561 00:30:36,760 --> 00:30:40,440 Speaker 1: According to the paper Metabolic Effects in Rats drinking increasing 562 00:30:40,440 --> 00:30:45,440 Speaker 1: concentrations of seawater by z Eton and R. Yaggle, published 563 00:30:45,440 --> 00:30:52,400 Speaker 1: in Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology, Part A UH Physiology found 564 00:30:52,400 --> 00:30:56,480 Speaker 1: that yes, drinking seawater wind dehydrated is quote not beneficial 565 00:30:56,720 --> 00:31:00,960 Speaker 1: and causes impaired renal function. But you put comes to shove. 566 00:31:01,080 --> 00:31:03,760 Speaker 1: They recommend the following. Oh, so they actually got some 567 00:31:03,800 --> 00:31:06,760 Speaker 1: results that might be useful to save lives. Yeah, now 568 00:31:06,760 --> 00:31:08,960 Speaker 1: these are from These are with rats. But they say 569 00:31:09,000 --> 00:31:11,960 Speaker 1: when the concentration of seawater in the drinking water is 570 00:31:12,000 --> 00:31:16,400 Speaker 1: gradually increased, there is a gradual increase in water uptake 571 00:31:16,520 --> 00:31:21,920 Speaker 1: and corresponding urine excretion. At fifty seawater the maximum uptake 572 00:31:22,080 --> 00:31:25,120 Speaker 1: and excretion is reached. Following this, there is a decline 573 00:31:25,120 --> 00:31:29,240 Speaker 1: and appetite water uptake in urine secretion. So this is 574 00:31:29,360 --> 00:31:31,680 Speaker 1: this is what they say. It is suggested that when 575 00:31:31,680 --> 00:31:34,480 Speaker 1: a man is stranded at sea, it is not advisable 576 00:31:34,520 --> 00:31:36,720 Speaker 1: to drink all the fresh water and then be compelled 577 00:31:36,760 --> 00:31:39,680 Speaker 1: to drink seawater when be hydrated. It is better to 578 00:31:39,800 --> 00:31:43,440 Speaker 1: slowly increase the seawater uptake. This will prolong the time 579 00:31:43,720 --> 00:31:46,840 Speaker 1: before seawater needs to be drunk and result in only 580 00:31:47,040 --> 00:31:50,959 Speaker 1: minor metabolic changes. Return to freshwater will be followed by 581 00:31:51,000 --> 00:31:55,240 Speaker 1: an immediate return to normal homeostasis. Now, I want to 582 00:31:55,240 --> 00:31:58,000 Speaker 1: come back to soy sauce for a second, because, as 583 00:31:58,000 --> 00:31:59,800 Speaker 1: it turns out, there there are, of course other ways 584 00:31:59,800 --> 00:32:04,080 Speaker 1: to acquire salt poisoning, such as the two thousand thirteen 585 00:32:04,160 --> 00:32:07,240 Speaker 1: case reported in the Journal of Emergency Medicine in which 586 00:32:07,280 --> 00:32:10,600 Speaker 1: a nineteen year old Virginian man drank a quart of 587 00:32:10,640 --> 00:32:15,240 Speaker 1: soy sauce what apparently on a dare, and he he 588 00:32:15,320 --> 00:32:19,719 Speaker 1: developed a hypernatremia. So it's the opposite of the condition 589 00:32:19,760 --> 00:32:22,360 Speaker 1: you were talking earlier. This is too much salt in 590 00:32:22,400 --> 00:32:25,640 Speaker 1: the blood. Then this is super dangerous because it essentially 591 00:32:25,720 --> 00:32:29,640 Speaker 1: turns your brain into jerky. Now, if I had to guess, 592 00:32:29,840 --> 00:32:32,360 Speaker 1: I suppose I could, I would guess that if the 593 00:32:32,400 --> 00:32:36,880 Speaker 1: body detected that much salt going in through the digestive system, 594 00:32:36,880 --> 00:32:40,320 Speaker 1: it would just immediately rejected through vomiting, you would think. 595 00:32:40,560 --> 00:32:44,280 Speaker 1: And yet in this case, he drank down the the 596 00:32:44,400 --> 00:32:48,400 Speaker 1: soy sauce and then he started complaining of of these 597 00:32:48,600 --> 00:32:52,880 Speaker 1: symptoms that he was feeling nauseous. Because in this case, 598 00:32:52,920 --> 00:32:55,640 Speaker 1: he he drank enough to go into a seizure and 599 00:32:55,720 --> 00:32:58,040 Speaker 1: had to had had to be picked up by the 600 00:32:58,080 --> 00:33:01,000 Speaker 1: ambulance taken to the emergency room. So so what happens 601 00:33:01,040 --> 00:33:03,480 Speaker 1: here is that the water ends up moving out of 602 00:33:03,520 --> 00:33:07,120 Speaker 1: the brain into the body to equalize the salt concentration, 603 00:33:07,480 --> 00:33:10,480 Speaker 1: and this can cause the brain to shrink into BLEI. 604 00:33:11,920 --> 00:33:14,120 Speaker 1: So at once he arrives at the emergency room, they 605 00:33:14,120 --> 00:33:17,000 Speaker 1: had to pump one point five gallons or six liters 606 00:33:17,000 --> 00:33:20,400 Speaker 1: of sugar water into a system, and his levels normalized 607 00:33:20,440 --> 00:33:24,200 Speaker 1: after five hours. The hippocampus, however, a region of his brain, 608 00:33:24,480 --> 00:33:27,840 Speaker 1: showed signs of trauma for several days before returning to normal. 609 00:33:28,200 --> 00:33:30,960 Speaker 1: So we've said, don't drink the sea water. Also, don't 610 00:33:31,040 --> 00:33:33,840 Speaker 1: drink the soy sauce. Don't you don't drink the soy sauce, 611 00:33:33,880 --> 00:33:37,800 Speaker 1: and certainly don't slam the soy sauce. Not to demonize 612 00:33:37,840 --> 00:33:41,000 Speaker 1: soy sauce. Big fan of soy sauce. Now. Interestingly enough, 613 00:33:41,040 --> 00:33:44,720 Speaker 1: in the paper, authors Carl Berg at All reports that 614 00:33:44,760 --> 00:33:49,440 Speaker 1: in ancient China, salt ingestion was a traditional method for suicide. 615 00:33:50,200 --> 00:33:54,120 Speaker 1: This led me to a paper. Yeah, this this the 616 00:33:54,360 --> 00:33:57,000 Speaker 1: floored me as well. That sounds like the result of 617 00:33:57,040 --> 00:34:00,800 Speaker 1: like some sick brainstorming session at a salm movie writer's 618 00:34:00,840 --> 00:34:03,040 Speaker 1: meeting where they're trying to come up with like the 619 00:34:03,040 --> 00:34:07,120 Speaker 1: most horrible way to kill somebody. I agree, I I was. 620 00:34:07,360 --> 00:34:08,719 Speaker 1: I was a little doubtful of it, so I ended 621 00:34:08,760 --> 00:34:10,600 Speaker 1: up doing a little more research on it. This let 622 00:34:10,640 --> 00:34:13,440 Speaker 1: me do a paper in jama titled Suicide by Drinking 623 00:34:13,440 --> 00:34:16,880 Speaker 1: a solution of salt by sea Herman Barlow sounds good, right, 624 00:34:16,920 --> 00:34:20,479 Speaker 1: except it's a nineteen twelve paper, so that it's it's 625 00:34:20,680 --> 00:34:23,439 Speaker 1: you know, not definitive. But in this the author says, quote, 626 00:34:23,440 --> 00:34:26,400 Speaker 1: salt is taken for suicidal purposes, sometimes in a common 627 00:34:26,680 --> 00:34:30,480 Speaker 1: saturated solution made with water as the solvent, and sometimes 628 00:34:30,480 --> 00:34:34,440 Speaker 1: in the brine from salted crowd. Poisoning by salt usually 629 00:34:34,600 --> 00:34:37,520 Speaker 1: presents a picture of high temperature and pulse purging, vomiting 630 00:34:37,560 --> 00:34:42,040 Speaker 1: and spasm um. Yeah, I couldn't find anything else on this. Really. 631 00:34:42,120 --> 00:34:46,200 Speaker 1: I found that I found some some information about the 632 00:34:47,000 --> 00:34:50,239 Speaker 1: nature of suicide in Chinese society, and in the book 633 00:34:50,320 --> 00:34:53,960 Speaker 1: Chinese Society, Change, Conflict and Resistance uh and and in 634 00:34:54,000 --> 00:34:57,520 Speaker 1: this author is seeingly an author Kleinman. They write the 635 00:34:57,640 --> 00:35:00,040 Speaker 1: quote suicide is not simply authorized in the China. The 636 00:35:00,160 --> 00:35:03,200 Speaker 1: tradition as an unnatural death. It was to be avoided, 637 00:35:03,239 --> 00:35:05,960 Speaker 1: and it was in some text not to be mourned. 638 00:35:06,040 --> 00:35:09,080 Speaker 1: Suicide was polluted and polluting. I wasn't able to find 639 00:35:09,160 --> 00:35:14,120 Speaker 1: much more about traditional Chinese suicide practices other than that. Yeah. 640 00:35:14,320 --> 00:35:16,840 Speaker 1: One of the types of claims I'm often the most 641 00:35:16,840 --> 00:35:20,040 Speaker 1: skeptical of is just sort of like generic claims about 642 00:35:20,040 --> 00:35:23,760 Speaker 1: cultural practices in some culture other than the one writing 643 00:35:23,800 --> 00:35:28,319 Speaker 1: about it. Yeah, and especially when drinking salt water as 644 00:35:28,320 --> 00:35:31,759 Speaker 1: a means of killing yourself is it does seem nonsensical. 645 00:35:31,800 --> 00:35:34,759 Speaker 1: It seems like they're much better ways. It seems like this, 646 00:35:34,760 --> 00:35:36,879 Speaker 1: this would be the sort of thing that would want 647 00:35:36,880 --> 00:35:38,960 Speaker 1: to be driven to in a survival situation or in 648 00:35:38,960 --> 00:35:43,120 Speaker 1: a case of some sort of severe mental instability. Yeah. 649 00:35:43,280 --> 00:35:44,920 Speaker 1: But if you are out there and you know of 650 00:35:44,960 --> 00:35:47,520 Speaker 1: a more authoritative source about this, police send it our way. 651 00:35:47,600 --> 00:35:50,319 Speaker 1: This would be interesting to know. By all means. All right, well, 652 00:35:50,360 --> 00:35:51,960 Speaker 1: we are going to take a quick breaking. When we 653 00:35:52,000 --> 00:35:55,760 Speaker 1: come back, we'll ask the question, do any animals drink seawater? 654 00:35:55,840 --> 00:36:01,880 Speaker 1: And if so, how all we're back. So, when you 655 00:36:01,920 --> 00:36:05,400 Speaker 1: think of ocean dwelling animals, if you're like me, you 656 00:36:05,520 --> 00:36:08,759 Speaker 1: probably assumed that they just must have some way of 657 00:36:08,840 --> 00:36:12,680 Speaker 1: drinking saltwater to hydrate themselves. That's what seems obvious, right, 658 00:36:13,120 --> 00:36:17,120 Speaker 1: But this isn't necessarily the case, not for all of them. 659 00:36:17,400 --> 00:36:20,600 Speaker 1: I found a good explainer in this Scientific American article 660 00:36:20,680 --> 00:36:24,160 Speaker 1: by a marine biologist, Robert Kinney of the University of 661 00:36:24,239 --> 00:36:27,040 Speaker 1: Rhode Island about how animals that live in the sea 662 00:36:27,080 --> 00:36:30,839 Speaker 1: consume saltwater. Specifically, he was focused on mammals, and one 663 00:36:30,880 --> 00:36:33,120 Speaker 1: of the things he pointed out is that it's not 664 00:36:33,320 --> 00:36:36,919 Speaker 1: that marine mammals are like these salt monsters with ten 665 00:36:37,000 --> 00:36:40,320 Speaker 1: percent salt in their blood. In fact, despite the fact 666 00:36:40,320 --> 00:36:43,520 Speaker 1: that they live in this salty environment, the salt concentration 667 00:36:43,560 --> 00:36:45,880 Speaker 1: in their blood is not very different from that of 668 00:36:46,000 --> 00:36:49,759 Speaker 1: terrestrial mammals. So they're they're insides are a lot like 669 00:36:49,880 --> 00:36:52,880 Speaker 1: our inside. So their blood is generally about one third 670 00:36:52,920 --> 00:36:55,520 Speaker 1: as salty as sea water, which is kind of close 671 00:36:55,560 --> 00:36:59,799 Speaker 1: to what ours is. But some sea dwelling mammals get 672 00:36:59,800 --> 00:37:03,160 Speaker 1: water not by drinking from the ocean and purging the salt, 673 00:37:03,320 --> 00:37:06,239 Speaker 1: but from their food. This kind of goes back to 674 00:37:06,280 --> 00:37:08,880 Speaker 1: Bombard's recommendation where he said, you know, maybe you can 675 00:37:08,920 --> 00:37:13,800 Speaker 1: get uh some freshwater content by pressing the flesh of 676 00:37:13,880 --> 00:37:17,480 Speaker 1: fish or something like that, or or of marine plants. 677 00:37:18,120 --> 00:37:20,560 Speaker 1: You've heard a million times that the human body is, 678 00:37:20,640 --> 00:37:23,840 Speaker 1: you know, however many percent water three water or whatever. 679 00:37:23,880 --> 00:37:27,640 Speaker 1: I think the real figure is something close to by mass. Well. 680 00:37:27,719 --> 00:37:30,680 Speaker 1: Other organisms are also largely made of water, and if 681 00:37:30,680 --> 00:37:33,759 Speaker 1: you eat them, you can get water from them. But 682 00:37:34,200 --> 00:37:37,800 Speaker 1: sub marine organisms also actually do drink the brine wine. 683 00:37:37,960 --> 00:37:42,480 Speaker 1: So how does that work? Well, they're basically two different approaches. 684 00:37:42,960 --> 00:37:46,640 Speaker 1: One approach is that they act as osmotic conformers. Okay, 685 00:37:46,640 --> 00:37:49,160 Speaker 1: what does that mean? So marine plants and invertebrates they 686 00:37:49,160 --> 00:37:52,239 Speaker 1: have no mechanism to control osmosis. So their cells are 687 00:37:52,280 --> 00:37:56,160 Speaker 1: the same salinity as their environment thirty five for ocean dwellers, 688 00:37:56,440 --> 00:38:00,480 Speaker 1: and that means saltwater intake doesn't disrupt their physiological equal librium. 689 00:38:00,560 --> 00:38:03,680 Speaker 1: So that's plants and invertebrates that they basically say, Okay, 690 00:38:03,719 --> 00:38:07,840 Speaker 1: we're just committing to salt life exactly. But what about vertebrates? 691 00:38:08,000 --> 00:38:12,120 Speaker 1: All right, this is where we encounter osmotic regulators. Most fish, 692 00:38:12,160 --> 00:38:16,279 Speaker 1: as well as reptiles, birds, and mammals control osmosis in 693 00:38:16,280 --> 00:38:19,920 Speaker 1: a variety of ways. For instance, salmon you specialized cells 694 00:38:19,920 --> 00:38:23,399 Speaker 1: on their gills called chloride cells to cope with osmosis. 695 00:38:23,800 --> 00:38:28,040 Speaker 1: Chloride cells can excrete excess salt, allowing a fish to 696 00:38:28,080 --> 00:38:31,839 Speaker 1: take uh in water without dehydrating. Okay, so you can 697 00:38:31,840 --> 00:38:35,000 Speaker 1: imagine that in some senses these might work kind of 698 00:38:35,080 --> 00:38:39,160 Speaker 1: like the like the water purifying plants that that get 699 00:38:39,360 --> 00:38:42,440 Speaker 1: fresh water out of the ocean water through some process 700 00:38:42,480 --> 00:38:46,880 Speaker 1: of reverse osmosis. They've got a membrane and it allows 701 00:38:47,000 --> 00:38:49,919 Speaker 1: water to come through from one side to the other, 702 00:38:50,080 --> 00:38:53,120 Speaker 1: but keeps the salt out, or maybe the way the 703 00:38:53,120 --> 00:38:55,520 Speaker 1: body works by purging salt in the other way, like 704 00:38:55,600 --> 00:38:58,400 Speaker 1: it can excrete salt through a membrane while retaining the 705 00:38:58,440 --> 00:39:01,080 Speaker 1: water content. Yeah, I think that's a that's a good 706 00:39:01,080 --> 00:39:03,000 Speaker 1: way to put it now. I recently returned from a 707 00:39:03,000 --> 00:39:05,319 Speaker 1: trip to Florida, and I was sort of churning over 708 00:39:05,360 --> 00:39:07,719 Speaker 1: a lot of this salt research while I was down there, 709 00:39:08,239 --> 00:39:12,239 Speaker 1: as I was encountering manatees both in the wild and 710 00:39:12,440 --> 00:39:16,080 Speaker 1: uh in an aquarium set situation, as well as some 711 00:39:16,120 --> 00:39:19,879 Speaker 1: exhibits with a number of different aquatic reptiles. So one 712 00:39:19,880 --> 00:39:23,759 Speaker 1: example was the American crocodile. It excretes salt through the 713 00:39:23,840 --> 00:39:28,360 Speaker 1: use of modified salivary glands called lingual salt glands in 714 00:39:28,400 --> 00:39:31,719 Speaker 1: their tongues salty tongues yea, and these allow them to 715 00:39:31,719 --> 00:39:36,160 Speaker 1: tolerate partially salty water or even full seawater in some species. 716 00:39:36,520 --> 00:39:39,920 Speaker 1: And similarly, the green and loggerhead sea turtles have salt 717 00:39:39,960 --> 00:39:44,360 Speaker 1: glands near their eyes. Um salt glands are also found 718 00:39:44,360 --> 00:39:48,480 Speaker 1: in sharks, raised skates, seabirds and a few reptiles. Marine 719 00:39:48,480 --> 00:39:51,120 Speaker 1: iguanas are a great example of this. They have nasal 720 00:39:51,200 --> 00:39:55,799 Speaker 1: salt glands that dislodge the salt through this splendid nasal blast. Oh. 721 00:39:55,880 --> 00:39:58,280 Speaker 1: I wonder if that's why sometimes you see those marine 722 00:39:58,280 --> 00:40:02,880 Speaker 1: iguanas looking so crusty on the face. Probably so, there 723 00:40:02,920 --> 00:40:04,960 Speaker 1: are a few different I want to say. It's probably 724 00:40:05,000 --> 00:40:08,160 Speaker 1: the end of the BBC series with Attenborough where you 725 00:40:08,160 --> 00:40:11,439 Speaker 1: get to see some of these these iguanas swimming under 726 00:40:11,440 --> 00:40:13,520 Speaker 1: the water and then coming up on the surface to 727 00:40:13,600 --> 00:40:16,480 Speaker 1: just blast that salt out of their nose. Okay, well, 728 00:40:16,480 --> 00:40:19,560 Speaker 1: how about some mammals. All right, Well the manatee is 729 00:40:19,760 --> 00:40:22,400 Speaker 1: I think that the perfect example to look to next. 730 00:40:23,000 --> 00:40:28,360 Speaker 1: So among the Sirenian species, you have both strict fresh 731 00:40:28,400 --> 00:40:31,279 Speaker 1: water inhabitants such as the Amazonian manatees. These are like 732 00:40:31,400 --> 00:40:35,360 Speaker 1: river manatees. Yeah, and then you have strictly saltwater inhabitants 733 00:40:35,400 --> 00:40:39,240 Speaker 1: like the marine doo gongs. Now, if anyone's not familiar 734 00:40:39,239 --> 00:40:41,480 Speaker 1: with the doo gong, it's essentially like a manatee. It 735 00:40:41,480 --> 00:40:44,440 Speaker 1: looks like a manatee. Uh, kind of a gray Mitchell 736 00:40:44,600 --> 00:40:47,799 Speaker 1: entire man. Yeah, except its tail is more like that 737 00:40:47,920 --> 00:40:50,000 Speaker 1: of a whale or you know, even I guess a 738 00:40:50,040 --> 00:40:54,360 Speaker 1: mermaid as opposed to the the the West Indian manatee, 739 00:40:54,480 --> 00:40:57,480 Speaker 1: the manatee that you encounter in Florida, has this kind 740 00:40:57,480 --> 00:41:01,920 Speaker 1: of paddle tail. And yeah, the West Indian manateee is 741 00:41:01,920 --> 00:41:04,680 Speaker 1: is really most interesting because it inhabits both fresh and 742 00:41:04,760 --> 00:41:09,160 Speaker 1: salty water and of course the brackish waters in between. Now, 743 00:41:09,160 --> 00:41:11,719 Speaker 1: given their vulnerability, the manatee has received quite a bit 744 00:41:11,760 --> 00:41:15,760 Speaker 1: of study. According to the University of Central Florida's Physiological 745 00:41:15,840 --> 00:41:21,240 Speaker 1: Ecology and bio bio Energetic Slab, manatees and fresh water 746 00:41:21,640 --> 00:41:23,920 Speaker 1: seem to get a great deal of water from the 747 00:41:23,960 --> 00:41:28,080 Speaker 1: food they eat. Their voracious herbivores, after all, consuming around 748 00:41:28,320 --> 00:41:30,879 Speaker 1: nine percent of their body weight per day, and they 749 00:41:30,880 --> 00:41:38,160 Speaker 1: weigh up to twelve thirteen pounds or so. They're they're 750 00:41:38,280 --> 00:41:40,920 Speaker 1: large animals. Plus they also drink a lot of fresh 751 00:41:40,920 --> 00:41:45,239 Speaker 1: water while it's there. Uh, there's um I've heard from 752 00:41:45,280 --> 00:41:47,919 Speaker 1: people who've grown up in Florida the whole ancidote about 753 00:41:47,960 --> 00:41:51,600 Speaker 1: how you can you can and absolutely should not, um 754 00:41:52,120 --> 00:41:56,160 Speaker 1: fee give a manateee fresh water from a hose. Yes, 755 00:41:56,640 --> 00:41:59,600 Speaker 1: actually that article I was talking about earlier by that 756 00:41:59,600 --> 00:42:02,200 Speaker 1: the marine biologist Kenny He writes about that he said, 757 00:42:02,200 --> 00:42:05,640 Speaker 1: when given a choice of manatees and some pinnipeds, will 758 00:42:05,760 --> 00:42:08,799 Speaker 1: go to a freshwater source to drink it, and that 759 00:42:08,960 --> 00:42:12,399 Speaker 1: sometimes people who live on salty waterways in Florida will 760 00:42:12,440 --> 00:42:15,360 Speaker 1: like put out a garden hose to watch the manatees 761 00:42:15,440 --> 00:42:17,200 Speaker 1: come over and drink from it because they like it 762 00:42:17,239 --> 00:42:19,680 Speaker 1: better than the salty or brackish water. And of course 763 00:42:19,680 --> 00:42:22,560 Speaker 1: the danger there with with the West Indian manatee is 764 00:42:22,600 --> 00:42:26,240 Speaker 1: that is that you do not want them associating food 765 00:42:26,480 --> 00:42:30,760 Speaker 1: or fresh water with humans because interaction between humans and manateees, 766 00:42:30,800 --> 00:42:34,720 Speaker 1: particularly interactions between boats and manatees, this is the leading 767 00:42:34,760 --> 00:42:38,640 Speaker 1: cause of death for the species. Yeah. Now, now that's 768 00:42:38,680 --> 00:42:40,879 Speaker 1: of course when they're in freshwater. Yeah, they can get 769 00:42:40,920 --> 00:42:43,600 Speaker 1: the fresh water all around them. In salt water, however, 770 00:42:43,680 --> 00:42:46,799 Speaker 1: they seem to limit their direct salt intake and have 771 00:42:46,880 --> 00:42:50,200 Speaker 1: been observed to cease the consumption of sea grasses when 772 00:42:50,200 --> 00:42:53,760 Speaker 1: their salt levels get too high. So the sea grasses 773 00:42:53,800 --> 00:42:57,160 Speaker 1: I assume are saltier than some of the other things, yes, exactly. Yeah, 774 00:42:57,200 --> 00:42:59,880 Speaker 1: that this grass is in the salty environment and is 775 00:43:00,000 --> 00:43:02,640 Speaker 1: alt here Now. One of the interesting strategies that Kenny 776 00:43:02,640 --> 00:43:05,600 Speaker 1: mentions is that he says some seals will actually eat 777 00:43:05,800 --> 00:43:09,399 Speaker 1: snow to get fresh water. Well, I grew up eating snow, don't. 778 00:43:09,440 --> 00:43:11,680 Speaker 1: Didn't you have snow creams when you're a child? Wait? 779 00:43:11,719 --> 00:43:13,480 Speaker 1: Hold on, what is a snow cream? How is that 780 00:43:13,520 --> 00:43:16,880 Speaker 1: different from a snow cone? A snow cream? Is you 781 00:43:16,880 --> 00:43:18,680 Speaker 1: you were allowed to go out into the snow, You 782 00:43:18,719 --> 00:43:21,279 Speaker 1: get a bowl of snow, you bring it inside, and 783 00:43:21,360 --> 00:43:23,520 Speaker 1: you put like sugar and milk on it and you 784 00:43:23,520 --> 00:43:28,120 Speaker 1: eat it. That Okay, I have not in you know 785 00:43:28,280 --> 00:43:30,040 Speaker 1: this is real. I would I would do it as 786 00:43:30,040 --> 00:43:33,319 Speaker 1: a child up in uh Up in Newfoundland, Canada. You 787 00:43:33,360 --> 00:43:36,000 Speaker 1: get that brown slush from under the tire and you 788 00:43:36,000 --> 00:43:38,160 Speaker 1: only go for the white stuff. You leave the brown 789 00:43:38,200 --> 00:43:40,880 Speaker 1: and the yellow alone. Uh And And I have to 790 00:43:40,880 --> 00:43:43,080 Speaker 1: add I I do not know to what extent this 791 00:43:43,160 --> 00:43:46,279 Speaker 1: is still done. I have not introduced it to my 792 00:43:46,360 --> 00:43:49,760 Speaker 1: son yet, but I do have fond memories of doing 793 00:43:49,880 --> 00:43:52,000 Speaker 1: doing this as a child. Well, I did not expect 794 00:43:52,040 --> 00:43:54,759 Speaker 1: to learn that today. Well, now, you know, you learn 795 00:43:54,840 --> 00:43:56,879 Speaker 1: something new to do with milk and sugar every day. 796 00:43:58,120 --> 00:43:59,840 Speaker 1: And hey, and if you want to throw some salt 797 00:43:59,880 --> 00:44:02,040 Speaker 1: in there. Then you have the curative properties of that 798 00:44:02,080 --> 00:44:04,400 Speaker 1: as well, you know, for your leprosy. Right well, I 799 00:44:04,440 --> 00:44:06,720 Speaker 1: think you actually need salt if you're gonna go ahead 800 00:44:06,719 --> 00:44:09,080 Speaker 1: and make full on ice cream. Right well, that's true. Yeah, 801 00:44:09,480 --> 00:44:11,040 Speaker 1: if you're gonna go all the way, you're gonna need 802 00:44:11,080 --> 00:44:13,720 Speaker 1: the salt. So there you go. Well, and then perhaps 803 00:44:13,760 --> 00:44:16,720 Speaker 1: there are some snow cream experts out there practicing snow 804 00:44:16,719 --> 00:44:20,040 Speaker 1: cream eaters that can weigh in on this. Now, also 805 00:44:20,440 --> 00:44:23,920 Speaker 1: a survival tactic among some seals and sea lions is 806 00:44:23,960 --> 00:44:28,200 Speaker 1: apparently too actually get some salty water in their system 807 00:44:28,239 --> 00:44:30,359 Speaker 1: and just they just purge the heck out of it. 808 00:44:30,880 --> 00:44:34,320 Speaker 1: Like Kenny writes that measurements have found that among seals 809 00:44:34,320 --> 00:44:36,520 Speaker 1: and sea lions, their urine can be up to two 810 00:44:36,520 --> 00:44:40,040 Speaker 1: point five times as salty as seawater. Remember how we 811 00:44:40,080 --> 00:44:43,080 Speaker 1: talked about how our urine can't get as salty as seawater, 812 00:44:43,160 --> 00:44:47,200 Speaker 1: so we can't net purge salt, We're just gonna accumulate it. 813 00:44:47,520 --> 00:44:49,960 Speaker 1: But seals and sea lions apparently can. They can be 814 00:44:50,040 --> 00:44:52,440 Speaker 1: up to two point five times as salty as seawater, 815 00:44:52,480 --> 00:44:55,080 Speaker 1: meaning it's seven or eight times saltier than their blood 816 00:44:55,120 --> 00:44:57,440 Speaker 1: and that is some salty urine. So, but they have 817 00:44:57,520 --> 00:45:00,360 Speaker 1: the kidneys of a creature that has evolved to thrive 818 00:45:00,440 --> 00:45:03,399 Speaker 1: in a salt water habitat. Yeah, exactly. Yeah. They think 819 00:45:03,400 --> 00:45:05,839 Speaker 1: that the kidneys have evolved to have these different types 820 00:45:05,840 --> 00:45:09,800 Speaker 1: of structures, these longer loops that allow for more purging 821 00:45:09,960 --> 00:45:12,839 Speaker 1: of water out of the concentrated solution, that they will 822 00:45:12,880 --> 00:45:16,680 Speaker 1: eventually end up excreting in their urine. Curiously enough, apparently, 823 00:45:16,920 --> 00:45:19,040 Speaker 1: at least at the time Kenny was writing, he wrote 824 00:45:19,080 --> 00:45:21,920 Speaker 1: that we don't yet fully understand how whales and dolphins 825 00:45:22,000 --> 00:45:25,560 Speaker 1: hydrate themselves, just because it's it's harder to study them 826 00:45:25,560 --> 00:45:28,680 Speaker 1: in the wild. Interesting. Yeah, I mean, the sea retains 827 00:45:28,719 --> 00:45:31,200 Speaker 1: so many of its mysteries, just as the ancient mariner 828 00:45:31,200 --> 00:45:33,279 Speaker 1: would have it. Yeah, I think I think that the 829 00:45:33,280 --> 00:45:35,880 Speaker 1: old man they know what the gray haired loon I 830 00:45:35,880 --> 00:45:38,600 Speaker 1: would agree with us there. So I know you're out 831 00:45:38,640 --> 00:45:42,000 Speaker 1: there thinking like, okay, onhand me, gray beard loon, it's 832 00:45:42,000 --> 00:45:44,440 Speaker 1: time for this episode to wrap up. Should we wrap up? Yeah, 833 00:45:44,560 --> 00:45:47,280 Speaker 1: let's let's go ahead and wrap it up. Hopefully we provided, 834 00:45:47,480 --> 00:45:50,759 Speaker 1: you know, a decent overview of of salt water. Why 835 00:45:50,880 --> 00:45:53,759 Speaker 1: we can't drink it? Uh, some of the arguments for 836 00:45:54,040 --> 00:45:56,880 Speaker 1: drinking it, and instructions on how to drink it if 837 00:45:56,880 --> 00:45:59,759 Speaker 1: you absolutely have to. Uh. We do want to drive 838 00:45:59,800 --> 00:46:02,480 Speaker 1: home though, do not drink saltwater. Do not do not 839 00:46:02,600 --> 00:46:05,640 Speaker 1: leave this podcast thinking that you should try a couple 840 00:46:05,719 --> 00:46:08,840 Speaker 1: of pints. Now, what should their opinion be on snow cream? 841 00:46:09,160 --> 00:46:11,200 Speaker 1: I don't know, I have I have not researched it recently. 842 00:46:11,239 --> 00:46:13,840 Speaker 1: I probably should to see see if I should let 843 00:46:13,880 --> 00:46:16,440 Speaker 1: my my son eats snow the next time it snows 844 00:46:16,480 --> 00:46:20,000 Speaker 1: here in Atlanta, Georgia. But yeah, I would. I would 845 00:46:20,040 --> 00:46:21,880 Speaker 1: love to hear from people who are a little more 846 00:46:21,960 --> 00:46:24,840 Speaker 1: up on the science of eating snow. Likewise, I'd love 847 00:46:24,920 --> 00:46:28,480 Speaker 1: to hear from anyone who has uh who either has 848 00:46:28,480 --> 00:46:31,200 Speaker 1: a story of not consuming enough salt or consuming way 849 00:46:31,200 --> 00:46:34,440 Speaker 1: too much of drinking seawater. I mean, it's we have 850 00:46:34,480 --> 00:46:36,400 Speaker 1: a number of listeners. I imagine some of you have 851 00:46:36,520 --> 00:46:40,000 Speaker 1: been in survival situations before. I'd love to hear what 852 00:46:40,080 --> 00:46:42,160 Speaker 1: it was like. And I know we've heard from some 853 00:46:42,280 --> 00:46:44,400 Speaker 1: listeners in the past who have actually lived and worked 854 00:46:44,400 --> 00:46:47,160 Speaker 1: on the high seas. So what what tales did you 855 00:46:47,200 --> 00:46:51,200 Speaker 1: hear out out on the waves. Indeed, let us know, uh, Hey, 856 00:46:51,239 --> 00:46:53,520 Speaker 1: in the meantime, be sure to check out stuff to 857 00:46:53,560 --> 00:46:55,319 Speaker 1: Blew your Mind dot com. That's the mother ship. That's 858 00:46:55,320 --> 00:46:58,160 Speaker 1: where we will find all the podcast episodes. You will 859 00:46:58,200 --> 00:47:01,040 Speaker 1: find some videos, some black post links out to our 860 00:47:01,080 --> 00:47:06,839 Speaker 1: various social media accounts such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Also, hey, 861 00:47:06,880 --> 00:47:10,879 Speaker 1: wherever you listen to us, be at uh apple Podcasts, 862 00:47:11,120 --> 00:47:14,399 Speaker 1: um Stitcher, wherever. If there is a way to rate 863 00:47:14,440 --> 00:47:16,840 Speaker 1: our show, to throw some stars our way, maybe a 864 00:47:16,920 --> 00:47:20,440 Speaker 1: nice comment, that is an excellent way to help us 865 00:47:20,760 --> 00:47:22,840 Speaker 1: and to ensure that we get to provide more great 866 00:47:22,880 --> 00:47:26,120 Speaker 1: content to big shout out as always to our excellent 867 00:47:26,160 --> 00:47:29,640 Speaker 1: producers Alex Williams and Tarry Harrison. And if you want 868 00:47:29,680 --> 00:47:32,239 Speaker 1: to get in touch with us directly and ask us 869 00:47:32,280 --> 00:47:34,920 Speaker 1: about a future topic or give us feedback on this, 870 00:47:34,920 --> 00:47:37,279 Speaker 1: this episode or any other, you can email us at 871 00:47:37,560 --> 00:47:49,680 Speaker 1: blow the Mind at how stuff works dot com for 872 00:47:49,840 --> 00:47:52,160 Speaker 1: more on this and thousands of other topics. Does it 873 00:47:52,239 --> 00:48:17,560 Speaker 1: how stuff works dot com as idle as a painted 874 00:48:17,640 --> 00:48:22,960 Speaker 1: ship upon a painted ocean, water water everywhere, and all 875 00:48:23,120 --> 00:48:27,960 Speaker 1: the boards did shrink water water everywhere, nor any drop 876 00:48:28,000 --> 00:48:28,520 Speaker 1: to drink