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Life Lessons

Barry And Laura Recommend: Glass Of Water

1934: Profile view of French actor Maurice Chevalier drinking a glass of water while seated in a folding chair on the set of director Ernst Lubitsch's film, 'The Merry Widow'. Chevalier wears a military uniform.
Hulton Archive/Getty Images

Yesterday, Kelsey and Diana recommended getting a giant water bottle to help the under-hydrated drink more water. It is a useful suggestion that will surely help some people more effectively replenish their cells and bodies with the source of all life. Here is another one: Fill up a glass of water at the sink.

Barry:

Mercy cat with a glass of water. (Credit: Barry Petchesky)

The city of Mohenjo-Daro had in the third millennium BC channels funneling fresh water to nearly every house. Ancient Rome built aqueducts to bring water from miles away, and extensive piping brought that directly into wealthier homes. Boston built this country’s first citywide waterworks 124 damn years before anyone bothered with independence. This is because humans have long known that the best water is the cold, clean water fresh from the tap. Why do you need a giant water bottle, as if the town well were a mile away and you could only fill up once per day, when in fact you are never more than feet from one of several faucets providing delicious and hydrating water? You do not. Why would you want your giant water bottle sitting somewhere, its contents growing stale and warm? You would not. Indoor plumbing is mankind’s greatest invention, because the tastiest and most refreshing sip of water you’ll ever have is straight from the tap. They knew this in the Bronze Age; don’t overthink it.

Laura:

Jakey babey with a glass of water. (Credit: Laura Wagner)

The benefits of the Drinking-Water-From-A-Glass-Or-Cup Method Of Hydration have as much, if not more, to do with the steps involved in the drinking of the water as with the superior quality of the water itself. There's the minor sense of accomplishment that comes from draining the last sip from the glass, which you get to do multiple times a day. There's the regular built-in breaks: you must walk to the home or office sink every time your glass is empty, and taking little purposeful jaunts throughout the day is the best. There's the small joy of picking out which favored glass or cup will get to be your hydration vessel on any given day. And this is to say nothing about drinking fresh tap water that has not been marinating in a big bottle all day. The downside to this method, as my boyfriend would tell you, is the strange tendency for the water cups and glasses to somehow accumulate around the apartment—desk, book shelf, kitchen counter, table, etc.—but this phenomenon is mysterious and there would appear to be no solution.

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