Why Water Is, In Fact, Not Wet | Opinion

When I was younger I thought, like many other people, that water was definitely wet. I was stuck on the definition of wet being just simply “made of liquid or moisture,” which would indeed make water wet in specific scenarios. However, I have had an enlightening experience, and can say without a doubt that water IS NOT WET.

 

Let’s get science-y here for a moment and talk about the true definition of something being wet, which is the “ability of a liquid to adhere to or form interfaces with the surface of a solid,” as defined by UCSB ScienceLine. This definition means when we say something is wet, that whatever solid surface it is must have adhered to (aka, soaked into) it. 

 

Now, let’s think about that, shall we? What do we picture when we ask if water is wet? A LIQUID. What does the definition provided above state to meet the requirements of being wet? A solid interacting with a liquid, not a liquid interacting with another liquid. So, in this regard, water cannot in fact be wet.

 

Now, we all know that water can be in three different states; in its solid form, sure, ice can be wet. However, that’s not what we’re talking about so don’t get technical with me. The question then would be “can ice be wet,” and you can bet your house on the ponies that the answer is yes. 

 

If we change the meaning of wet to simply be Merriam-Webster’s definition of wet as a noun to simply mean “water,” then sure, water is literally wet. If we take dictionary.com’s definition of wet meaning “in a liquid form or state,” we can safely say that not only is water wet, but every liquid in existence.

 

So, in summary, water is not wet and there’s nothing that Twitter can say to change this fact. 

 

Thank you for coming to my TedTalk.