Recently, American actor Ludacris has become very popular on the Internet. He posted a video of himself drinking water, and netizens called him "seeking death"! Because what he drank was pure natural, unprocessed Alaska glacier water!
In the video,Ludacris stood next to a very "pure" water source, crystal clear, and then scooped some glacier water directly from the water with a cup and drank it all in one gulp!
When he took the first sip, he was amazed by the refreshing taste of glacier water. He couldn't help but exclaimed: "Oh my God, this is the first time I drink fresh glacier water. It is also the best-tasting water I have ever drunk in my life."
Later, he also said that after drinkingI'm in great shape and feel full of energy, like "Superman."
However, his behavior left fans very confused: Is glacier water really drinkable? Couldn't he be infected with an ancient virus?
Not drinking raw water in the wild is a common sense in life that we all know.
In recent years, more and more people like Ludacris have "traveled" to glaciers and drank direct glacier water. A lot of similar photos and videos can be found.
Why do these people dare to challenge to drink glacier water? Is it ignorance, or is glacier water really clean?
First of all, let’s be clear. Just because glacier water looks clear does not mean it is clean.
Many people saw glacier water for the first time and described it this way: the pool is very clear at a glance, so clear that it makes people feel scary!
It is precisely because the water is so clear that it gives people a pollution-free and pure feeling, which inspires people to try glacier water.
But in fact, what is clear to the naked eye does not mean clean. Glacier water that has not been treated in any way is very "dirty"!
Some scientists have studied the composition of glacier water. The glacier formation process is very complex, so there are many ingredients.In addition to dust and gas, toxic substances such as parasites, bacteria, viruses, and heavy metals may be present. The composition of glacier water in different regions varies greatly.
There was a story that became popular on the Internet some time ago (there are many versions of the story, this is one of them), what it says isWhen a traveler was traveling in western Sichuan, he saw a crystal clear stream under a glacier. He couldn't help but take a sip. After returning home for a while, he developed a high fever. He was diagnosed with the parasitic hydatid, which infected the liver with worm eggs. In the end, half of his liver was cut off to save his life!
A study from the University of Southern California showed thatThe mercury content in permafrost is very high. As global temperatures rise, the permafrost is melting, and the mercury in it may flow into glacier meltwater.
Even more terrifying are the unknown archaea and viruses frozen in the glacier.
recently,Scientists have discovered more than 1,700 unknown viruses in an ice core of 1,000 feet (more than 300 meters) on the Guriya Glacier on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, but luckily, the unknown virus discovered this time will not cause harm to the human body.
But not every time we are so lucky. Imagine that there are so many corpses of ancient animals and humans sealed in ice, carrying so many unknown microorganisms. No one can ensure that humans will not get sick.
Therefore, no matter how you look at it, drinking glacier water is definitely not a good behavior and poses a huge safety risk.
After the video was released, in the face of doubts from netizens, Martin Truffaut, a glaciologist at the University of Alaska, stood up to defend Ludacris. He said: There is no need to worry about the safety of glacier stream water because some glacier water is not polluted.
He also explained that he has drank glacier water many times and has never had any problems.
The reason why he said this is that glacier water is also divided into good and bad, and the quality depends on the location where the water is taken.
If the glacier water is in a low-altitude area and is close to areas of human activity, it is highly likely to be contaminated by animals.
But for those ancient ice bodies that are inaccessible and existed before humans arrived, the melted glacier water is relatively clean, and parasites like hydatid are unlikely to exist.
The amount of ancient ice bodies is limited and difficult to mine. Therefore, this glacier water is a scarce resource around the world and is considered non-renewable.
High-end glacier water is generally taken from the glacier tongue. After the water here is processed, it is sold at a high price in the market, and some bottles cost thousands of yuan.
Such a high price is due on the one hand to its pollution-free nature and high purity. On the other hand, scientists believe that this glacier water is low in deuterium (dāo), low in sodium, and is naturally weakly alkaline, which is beneficial to human health. Therefore, it is also considered the "water of life."
But this does not mean that it is safe to drink such glacier water directly. It has not been contaminated by acquired diseases, but there may still be a variety of ancient bacteria and viruses innately, which is equivalent to a large microbial refrigerator.
It can only be said that it is "cleaner" than ordinary glacier water and more beneficial to the human body. However, if it wants to become truly drinkable glacier water, it still needs to be treated.
The most direct example is,A foreign blogger drank water from a 600,000-year-old glacier in Alaska and lay down for 2 weeks before recovering.
To be honest, when I was writing about this topic, I was quite surprised that so many people insisted that glacier water is not dirty and can be drank directly.
Some netizens directly shared their real cases of drinking glacier water directly to confirm their views.
Some netizens believe that glacier water is definitely cleaner than tap water, and since animals are drinking it, it shouldn’t be a big problem for people.
I haven't actually drank it, but I don't support this behavior.
It is common sense not to drink from unknown waters directly. If you do not bring your own water, you should prepare raw water and boil it before drinking. Even if it is not possible, filter it before drinking.
If you are desperate and have to drink water to save your life, then, under normal circumstances, it is not recommended to drink it, let alone try it because you are afraid of taking pictures and making videos!