‘Is water wet?’: The internet debate about this transparent liquid that never ends

Is water wet? You probably think this is a stupid question. “Duh, what could be wetter than water?” You may ask. Well, it may interest you to know that the answer is not straightforward. The question has already ignited so many controversial answers. Countless debates and discussions have been initiated on social media and beyond.

Water is arguably the most important element in our lives. We clearly cannot do without it as it is part of our daily lives. Yet, it may not have occurred to many of us that water may not be wet, according to many experts.

So, let us look into this mystery and see if we can solve it.

Table of Content hide 1‘Is water wet?’ debate 1.1What is wet? 1.2The debate 2‘Is water wet?’ meme 3Is water wet? Funny answers 4Conclusion

‘Is water wet?’ debate

Sometimes, a simple question can light up the internet. “Is water wet?” sparked a debate on the Internet in 2017. According to Google Trends, this question became a trend in November and early December 2017 when it first began to trend on social media. Some users insist that water is not wet while others believe that it is. To make things clear, let us understand what wet means.

What is wet?

Oxford English Dictionary defines wet as something that is covered with or contains liquid, especially water. In other words, a surface or material is wet when there is an interaction with a liquid substance.

Another definition of wet is that it is the sensation or experience of having water or another liquid on a surface.

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The debate

Based on the above definition, you might be able to defend either side of the debate. According to Michael Budniak, a science teacher at Trinity College, Oxford, water can be wet itself. His argument stems from the fact that a single water molecule saturates all the other molecules around it. Therefore, water can itself be wet, just like oxygen can bond to itself.

For instance, when you are swimming in a pool, you are surrounded by water. Therefore, it is difficult to argue that water is not wet when you are immersed in the very substance that creates wetness. The same goes for when you are enjoying a warm bath in a bathtub or when you are caught in the rain.

Another science teacher at Trinity, Joseph Chittissery Mathai (known as Mr. CM), took a different approach to the question by arguing that wetness is a condition when a liquid comes into contact with another substance.

“This does not describe water at all,” he said to Todd Crenshaw, a Staff Reporter at Trinity Echo.

CM believes that water has to be “wetted” by something else or it makes no sense. Water can wet oil or another foreign liquid but definitely cannot wet itself.

Below are some of the “is water wet” debate arguments as culled from The Guardian:

• Water is wet, in the sense of being a liquid which flows easily because its viscosity is low. This is because its molecules are rather loosely joined together. The sensation of wetness is largely due to the cooling caused by evaporation and water has a rather high latent heat of vaporisation, which is the amount of heat it removes from its surroundings to convert liquid water into water vapour.

  John Geake, Handforth, Cheshire.

• Water is not wet, wetness is a description of our experience of water. What happens to us when we come into contact with water in such a way that it impinges on our state of being? We and/or our possessions ‘get wet’. A less impinging sense experience of water is that it is cold or warm, while visual experience tells us that it is green or blue or muddy or fast-flowing. We learn by experience that a sensation of wetness is associated with water: ‘There must be a leak/I must have sat in something’.

  Jacqueline Castles, London W2

• Any fluid could be said to be wet if wetness is a result of the sensation caused by the movement of a fluid over the skin. Have you ever noticed that you can’t feel wetness if you hold your hand perfectly still while it is submerged or that a drop of water on the skin doesn’t feel wet?

  Chris and Shevvy Ould, Chesterfield, Derbyshire

• New scientific information suggests that water doesn’t behave as a liquid until after there are more than six molecules. For everyday purposes, there is much more than that. So, until the exact relationship of the water to itself and other substances can be proven by scientific means, then either answer to the question, why is water wet, whether it is or is not, is entirely philosophical and as long as there is evidence to support either theory or rather no evidence to disprove either of them, either answer is correct based on your individual opinion and evaluation of the evidence that is at this time present in the scientific community. So, by the definition of wet, which is the condition of being covered or soaked in liquid, then water isn’t wet, it just makes other things wet.

W.C. Dutton, Staffordsville, USA

• Water is wet because when you have water on your clothes or skin it evaporates into the surrounding air. Evaporation produces cooling because it’s like energy.

Holly and Chloe, Bapchild, England

• Water isn’t wet because it is a liquid that wets things. Once you come into contact with water, you become wet. Until then water is liquid and you are dry.

Abdul Basir, Philadelphia, US

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‘Is water wet?’ meme

“Is water wet meme” is an image, video or piece of text that is copied and shared on the internet, especially social media. The meme is usually hilarious and it is usually in response to the heated debate the question has generated.

Below are some funny memes of “Is water wet?”

Is water wet? Funny answers

Here are some funny answers to the question: Is water wet?

• No, it is dry.
• Well, yes but actually, no.
• Is math related to science?
• Bitches be like “Is water wet?” Bitch, it is on fire!
• Water is wet! Change my mind.
• Water is water!
• So, what makes water not water?
• What gets me wet? Water!

Conclusion

“Is water wet?” question will continue to be an ongoing debate. Nobody knows a definite answer. If you define wet as an experience, then you are right – water is wet. But if you are looking at the “wet” definition as an interaction between water or any liquid on a surface, then water is not wet.

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