It is the medium in which most living cells exist. Our bodies consist of more than two-thirds water which is constantly being eliminated, to be replaced through drinking. Water is also needed to grow food, without which we would die. Water plays a fundamental part in our everyday life. It is used for cleaning our bodies, our clothes, and many other household and personal objects.
Water is used for heating and cooling, and for providing electricity as well as transportation.
Most of us also enjoy playing in it-we swim, surf, snorkel, sail, paddle, ski, canoe and cruise. As well, children play with hoses and lawn sprinklers, with gushing fire hydrants, with water pistols, and with toys in the bathtub. But despite these rather innocuous sounding properties, water can also hold a variety of sinister features. Water is rarely found in its pure form, and may in fact be the silent carrier of harmful chemicals, bacteria and viruses. Water also causes damage and sometimes death by way of flooding, and in either of its two extreme forms, ice and steam, it can injure or kill those exposed to it.