At its core, the human body is an input and output system. We need to eat food and drink water in order to survive. The human body then collects nutrients and fluids from these foods and expels the waste. When it comes to getting rid of liquid wastes, the urinary system becomes front and center. Here are some interesting facts about the urinary system that you may not have known.
1. It’s Acidic
Urine has always been known for being fairly acidic. This acidity has made urine become an effective antiseptic. Not only good for neutralizing the stings of certain jellyfish, that has been commonly used to sterilize open wounds when no other treatment is available. In times of war, very dark urine was sought out so that the bacteria in sometimes gruesome wounds could be eliminated so that a soldier had a chance to survive.
2. Is There Value?
In the Middle Ages, it was not uncommon for alchemists to try to extract element out of urine. The most common element that alchemists try to get from a person’s urine was gold. Of course there isn’t any gold in the urine, but the research that was made during this time period brought about numerous other discoveries, including white phosphorous.
3. It Won’t Save You
Urine does more than expel liquid waste. It also gets rid of extra salts and sugars that your body may not need. This is why if one is suffering from dehydration, drinking urine isn’t going to be able to save them. Not only do the salts in the urine caused further dehydration, but it can also cause vomiting. In many ways, not drinking anything is better than drinking urine.
4. Gallons and Gallons
The kidneys are able to process more than 400 gallons of blood every day. When there is water in the blood, or somebody has taken a diuretic that forces water out of the body, urine is produced and sent to the bladder. On any given day, the average person can produce up to 2 liters of urine. If someone drinks more water, they will produce more urine daily.
5. Kidneys Do a Lot
The kidneys do more than just filter the blood or create urine. They are also responsible for maintaining the amount of fluid that are in the body and keeping a proper balance. This is why the color of someone’s urine can change over the course of a day. Darker colored urine indicates that there is not enough fluid in the human body. Light colored urine for clear urine indicates that there is actually too much water.
6. Turpentine For the Win
Normally one would not choose to drink turpentine willingly. The women in ancient Rome thought a little differently. They would drink turpentine, which can be extremely poisonous, because it made their urine smell like the scent of a rose.
7. It’s Deadly
Having to urinate while on a boat and be deadly. In Canada, about 200 men fall overboard and end up drowning every year because they choose to go up on deck and urinate overboard instead of using the head.