Ask Science
Ask a science question, get a science answer.
Community Rules
Rule 1: Be respectful and inclusive.
Treat others with respect, and maintain a positive atmosphere.
Rule 2: No harassment, hate speech, bigotry, or trolling.
Avoid any form of harassment, hate speech, bigotry, or offensive behavior.
Rule 3: Engage in constructive discussions.
Contribute to meaningful and constructive discussions that enhance scientific understanding.
Rule 4: No AI-generated answers.
Strictly prohibit the use of AI-generated answers. Providing answers generated by AI systems is not allowed and may result in a ban.
Rule 5: Follow guidelines and moderators' instructions.
Adhere to community guidelines and comply with instructions given by moderators.
Rule 6: Use appropriate language and tone.
Communicate using suitable language and maintain a professional and respectful tone.
Rule 7: Report violations.
Report any violations of the community rules to the moderators for appropriate action.
Rule 8: Foster a continuous learning environment.
Encourage a continuous learning environment where members can share knowledge and engage in scientific discussions.
Rule 9: Source required for answers.
Provide credible sources for answers. Failure to include a source may result in the removal of the answer to ensure information reliability.
By adhering to these rules, we create a welcoming and informative environment where science-related questions receive accurate and credible answers. Thank you for your cooperation in making the Ask Science community a valuable resource for scientific knowledge.
We retain the discretion to modify the rules as we deem necessary.
view the rest of the comments
Well, it's at about 3.5% salt, while saline solution for the body is at about 0.9%. Basically, it would burn everything it directly came into contact with. Depending on how much you shot up, maybe your kidneys would stop anything systemic from happening, but that's getting into medical territory I'm cloudier on. They used to further punish people after a whipping by cleaning up with seawater. It sounds like that was actually the more painful part of the event, when it was done.
I read a paper recently that suggested that it's because vertebrates originally evolved in brackish river estuaries. That makes me curious how salty bugs are. Snails, at least, can definitely adapt to living in very concentrated brine, given a bit of time to evolve for it.
IIRC you can safely drink water that's a bit more salty than you, given that you're in good health. Seawater is too much for humans, though; it famously will only make you more thirsty. Sea birds have a special gland in their face that amounts to an extra kidney specifically for removing salt. Whales just get enough water from the fish they eat. I'm not sure about fish themselves now.
Thank you for the detailed answer!!
No problem!