Water or Coke?

[princepawn]

I, Terrence Brannon ([e-mail]), reprint the following without permission of The Rationalist Society of St. Louis, Po Box 2931, St. Louis, MO 63130, USA from No. 608 May 2001 "Secular Subjects" in which it was originally published and also without the permission of "Indian Skeptic" (http://www.indian-skeptic.org/html/) which is where I read it and was floored by it.

Water or Coke?

In 37% of Americans, the thirst mechanism is so weak that it is often mistaken for hunger. Even MILD dehydration will slow down one's metabolism as much as 3%.

One glass of water shut down midnight hunger pangs for almost 100% of the dieters studied in a U-Washington study. Lack of water is the #1 trigger of daytime fatigue. Preliminary research indicates that 8-10 glasses of water a day could significantly ease back and joint pain for up to 80% of sufferers.

A mere 2% drop in body water can trigger fuzzy short term memory, trouble with basic math, and difficulty focusing on the computer screen or a printed page.

Drinking 5 glasses of water daily decreases the risk of colon cancer by 45%, plus it can slash the risk of breast cancer by 79%, and one is 50% less likely to develop bladder cancer.

Are you drinking the amount of water you should every day?

Coke

NO Wonder coke tastes soooo good.

1. In many states (in the USA) the highway patrol carries two gallons of Coke in the truck to remove blood from the highway after a car accident.

2. You can put a T-bone steak in a bowl of coke and it will be gone in two days.

3. To clean a toilet, pour a can of Coca-Cola into the toilet bowl and let the "real thing" sit for one hour, then flush clean. The citric acid in Coke removes stains from vitreous china.

4. To remove rust spots from chrome car bumpers : rub the bumper with a crumpled-up piece of Reynolds wrap aluminum foil dipped in Coca-Cola.

5. To clean corrosion from car battery terminals : pur a can of Coke-Cola over the terminals to bubble away the corrosion.

6. To loosen a rusted bolt: apply a cloth soaked in Coca-Cola to the rusted bolt for several minutes.

7. To remove grease from clothes, Empty a can of coke into a load of greasy clothes, add detergent and run through a regular cycle. The Coca-Cola will help lossen grease stains. it will also clean road-haze from your windshield.

FYI:

1. The active ingredient in Coke is phosphoric acid. Its pH is 2.8. It will dissolve a nail in about 4 days.

2. To carry Coca-Cola syrup (the concentrate) the commercial truck must use the Hazardous material place cards reserved for Highly corrosive materials.

3. The distributors of coke have been using it to clean the engines of their trucks for about 20 years.

Now the question is, would you like a glass of water or a coke?

[boo_radley]

I've also heard that coca-cola eats babies.

[helgi]

Yes, but exactly the same applies to orange juice or lemonade, any other brand of soda or fruit juice. Don't worry about it. It's not good for your teeth and it's fattening, but otherwise harmless.

Regards, Helgi Briem

[Anonymous Monk]

True Heigi, it does. But I don't think that Lemonade is transferred in that type of truck. And coke-cola ISN'T harmless, in fact, coke-cola eats away at your bones. Well. Since I read that, I've stopped drinking it and I'm seeing how long coke takes to dissolve something... The Unknown

[Anonymous Monk]

hello brother,
i'm very glad of your comment, apart that putting a t-bone steak into a bowl of lemon juice would do the same thing in less time...so please don't criminalize coke and sodas. i think that moderation is the key. just don't drink *too muck* sodas! and to prove i listened, i started drinking *many many* glasses of water a day!!! yeah, i feel great!
bye
SiG

[Itatsumaki]

Actually, there is a fair amount of misinformation in the coke part of that article. To wit:

3. To clean a toilet, pour a can of Coca-Cola into the toilet bowl and let the "real thing" sit for one hour, then flush clean. The citric acid in Coke removes stains from vitreous china.

Citric acid is totally harmless. In fact, citric... citric... sounds like... citrus.... Imagine that, coke has the same acid as oranges. The majority of energy for all mammals is produced in the "citric acid cycle".

4. To remove rust spots from chrome car bumpers : rub the bumper with a crumpled-up piece of Reynolds wrap aluminum foil dipped in Coca-Cola.

Interesting, I didn't know that. The Coke must be acting as a conduit for ion-transfer from the bumper to the more electropositive aluminum. Hmm... salt water would work too. As would any other highly ionic solution, for that matter. I imagine the key factor is the specific activity, so the doubly charged PO4(2-) will make coke great for this. Fortunately we don't have electrodes in our stomach.

5. To clean corrosion from car battery terminals : pur a can of Coke-Cola over the terminals to bubble away the corrosion.

See above coke acts as a great hydrogen donor to help displace any unwelcome oxidation.

6. To loosen a rusted bolt: apply a cloth soaked in Coca-Cola to the rusted bolt for several minutes.

See above

7. To remove grease from clothes, Empty a can of coke into a load of greasy clothes, add detergent and run through a regular cycle. The Coca-Cola will help lossen grease stains. it will also clean road-haze from your windshield.

I didn't know this, and to be honest I can't see why coke is acting as a surfactant. That's interesting: I wonder if it would work for any low-pH solutions?

1. The active ingredient in Coke is phosphoric acid. Its pH is 2.8. It will dissolve a nail in about 4 days.

Inorganic Phosphorus (PPi) is one of the driving forces for ATP synthesis. The body uses phosphoric acid extensively as a buffer to control cellular pH.

2. To carry Coca-Cola syrup (the concentrate) the commercial truck must use the Hazardous material place cards reserved for Highly corrosive materials.

So lets say that they dilute the syrup 10x to made a glass. That makes the syrup pH 1.8, explaining that. When you dilute the acid. So?




The basic fact is true: water is better for you than Coke. We should all drink a lot more water than we do. But I don't think scaring people by throwing a lack of chemistry in their face is a good way to do it; the benefits of water should stand on their own. I think the references to citric and phosphoric acid are in particularly poor taste: those are essential constituents of the all eukaryotes. They aren't "bad chemicals" in any way shape or form.

[vacant]

Sure, but bad information makes for good 'Net.

[sauoq]

4. To remove rust spots from chrome car bumpers : rub the bumper with a crumpled-up piece of Reynolds wrap aluminum foil dipped in Coca-Cola.

I remember using aluminum foil as a kid to get rust off my bike. No Coke though. And I also vaguely recall that only one side of the foil worked well. I think it was the dull side.

[Aristotle]

As far as Cola is concerned: did you know the place you're sending it, that is, your stomach, contains an industrial grade acid? Compared with it, Cola looks pretty mild..

[menolly]

Yes, and both excessive exposure to stomach acid and excessive exposure to sodas can damage the enamel of your teeth.

[Anonymous Monk]

those facts about the coke were really disturbing and very helpful because im doing a debate saying pop machines should be taken out of schools to prevent obesity. if you got anymore information about this topic or juvenille obesity email me at [e-mail] thanks melissa