Let’s gush about something really important: H2O! And with good reason – without water, we’d be nothing. Just dust--literally. Water is one of the most common substances on Earth, and one of the most vital; it’s a tremendously valuable resource, yet one we squander and pollute.

Water is deceptive. While it pours freely from the skies and seems to flow endlessly in rivers, it’s a finite resource; we only have what we have. Watch our video that models this water cycle. And although there is about 332,500,000 cubic miles of it on Earth – only one-hundredth of one percent of the world's water is readily available for human use. We really need to learn how to show it some respect.

With that in mind, consider the following facts – some wondrous, some disconcerting, all eye-opening:

• About 6,800 gallons of water is required to grow a day’s food for a family of four in the U.S.
• Water is the only substance found on Earth naturally in three forms--solid, liquid and gas.
• A person can live without food for more than a month; they can live without water for approximately one week.
• About 66% of the human body is water; newborn babies have even more--78 percent.
• A person must consume 2.5 quarts of water per day to maintain health (from all sources--i.e. water, food).
• 97% of all the Earth’s water is ocean or seas; only 1% of the Earth’s water is suitable for drinking water.
• The average U.S. residence uses more than 100,000 gallons of water (indoors and outside) per year.
• The average U.S. citizen pays on average 25 cents per day for water.
• The average shower of five minutes usess 15-25 gallons of water.
• When one inch of water drops as rain on one acre of ground it equals 27,154 gallons, which weighs 113 tons.
• The total amount of water used to manufacture a new car, including new tires, is approximately 39,090 gallons.
• The growing/production of a watermelon takes 100 gallons of water.

Two of our Fuddlebrook books address water—it’s importance and properties. Read The Case of the Missing Water and It’s Only Water to learn more about this incredible resource.