Comments on: 50 Weird Science Tidbits - 5

By: Brian

Brian — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 19:10:46 +0000

#47. A solar array 100 miles x 100 miles could replace all the coal fired plants in th U.S.??? If this is true, why don’t we do it?!?!?

By: Kennytic Energy

Kennytic Energy — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 23:56:55 +0000

…Awesome.

By: David

David — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 03:28:33 +0000

slipperyone, if you weren’t such a bore, people would be more inclined to pay attention to you, and you wouldn’t have to assert your intelligence in the comments sections of webpages.

By: Aileen

Aileen — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 19:14:16 +0000

Hi, Cameron. #50 states:

An estimated 20% of the world’s surface fresh water supply is contained in Lake Baikal…

I realize some of these are “unbelievable.” Google Lake Baikal and see what is estimated. That’s what I did.

By: Cameron

Cameron — Sat, 15 Mar 2008 16:54:08 +0000

Number 50 refers to surface water, if you look again. Next time, make sure you have your facts straight before you go and criticize others. However, I do find this hard to believe, seeing as how the Great Lakes are freshwater.

By: slipperyone

slipperyone — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 00:25:26 +0000

I’d like to comment regarding item #50, the claim that Baikal holds 20% of the fresh water supply in the world.

It’s not easy tracking down the facts about fresh water distribution. Part of the problem, I’m sure, is that these figures are necessarily estimates. For example, one source suggested that there are 9 million cubic miles of underground water, while another suggested 5.6.

For this post, I’ll use the chart at http://ga.water.usgs.gov/edu/earthwherewater.html.

According to this chart, ice caps account for 68.7% of freshwater, while fresh groundwater accounts for another 30.1%. All lakes together account for .26% of freshwater. How can Lake Baikal account for 20%?

You say 20% of the “supply”. Perhaps this is where the disagreement comes from. What do you mean by supply? It is true that Lake Baikal contains aproximately 20% of the fresh water contained in surface bodies of fresh water. However, you mention that 97% of the world’s water is undrinkable. This implies that the 20% you claim for Lake Baikal is 1/5 of the remaining 3%. However, this 3% includes ice caps, underground water, surface water, atmospheric water, biological water and soil moisture. Lake Baikal contains approximately .07% of this fresh water.

I have seen ridiculous claims like this for the Amazon river. National Geographics website, http://www.nationalgeographic.com/wildworld/profiles/g200/g147.html, says “The Amazon contains 20 percent of the Earth’s fresh water.”

This is obviously absurd, since the total amount of water in ALL rivers is only 509 cubic miles, or .006% of the total fresh water. What is true is that the Amazon river makes up 20% of the world’s river flow.

Quoting a fact in a careless fashion can lead to misunderstandings and the spread of erroneous data.

Please post responsibly.

By: Aileen

Aileen — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 19:31:58 +0000

Thanks for the compliment, Michael. I swear I haven’t seen so many noses so bent by meaningless trivia since… well, since last year’s Trivial Pursuit Championship match down at the Town Pump! HAHAHA… sorry, it does strike me funny.

I do not know about farting astronauts. Next time I talk with my niece the rocket scientist I’ll ask. If she doesn’t know, she can probably find out!

By: p.s.

p.s. — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 18:56:28 +0000

very awesome! thanks for sharing

By: Michael

Michael — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 18:07:10 +0000

Great post! ‘Tis a far better way to spend time at work than actually working. (I’m improving my overall knowledge so that should justify it!) One question, though albeit a sophmoric one, #34 does that include farting?

By: Aileen

Aileen — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 15:41:36 +0000

Hi, Bill. That’s very sad! I have pictures of my sister and I hanging out in a topless jeep parked in a coconut grove in the Philippines when I was just a wee thing and she was about two and a half. Luckily my Mom didn’t have to learn about this dangerous practice the hard way!