Such a lot of rubbish on the internet

[Bert]

If you google 'hot water weighs more than cold water' you will get 127 hits [128 now:-)], of which 44 are different. This may actually be true, if we use E=mc^2 to convert the extra energy of the hot water to its mass equivalent, but the difference is really very small. But, apart from that, this statement is one of many examples of rubbish that you can find in lists of "stuff you didn't know" or "trivia". I have no objection to people putting these lists together, except when the facts are wrong - such as 'a duck's quack has no echo'. How does this nonsense start? The thing that really annoys me about the water 'fact' is that they don't mean hot water weighs more than cold water, they mean 'hot water is denser than cold water'. This is true between 0�C and 4�C, but I wouldn't call 4�C 'hot'.

[Milvus]

Hot anything is lighter by volume than cold anything due to density changes between freezing and warmer. Water is however a unique compound. It's freezing point is not its most dense which gives us the ability to survive. Water is most dense at 4C yet freezes at 0C. Therefore ice floats on water, seas and deep lakes never freeze, water life continues.

[sophie_1003]

A lot of those lists are a load of rubbish, even the "You can't lick your own elbow" one (which you can check yourself and 'know' it's true) isn't always true, my boyfriend can lick his elbow! Sorry to deviate from the science there but just thought I'd share that!

[Tim123]

And just DON'T START about the water going down the plughole the opposite way in Australia.

[Bert]

I'm grateful to Milvus for repeating more or less exactly what I said :-) But what I want to know is how does such nonsense get started? OK, that's a rhetorical question. The statement is true (if only it were better phrased), but only for water that is between 0� and 4�. Why do these statements never get challenged, why do the people who compile these lists never check the items? Two more rhetorical questions. I have contacted the list where I first read this, since he does have a section where he corrects the 'facts' that are pointed out to him as incorrect. No response as yet.

[Milvus]

Breaking the rules for a rhetorical questions my view is: there are many people who, when writing, blogs, replies etc., steadfastly refuse to let facts get in the way of their own opinions.

[sophie_1003]

I think people just take them as fact because they don't do their own research, just prefer to believe something that makes them say "Ooh well I never knew that!". As for how they're started, probably by people with too much time on their hands!

[mibn2cweus]

sophie, If you're boyfriend can lick his elbow, surely you have better things to do with your time than discuss internet rubbish? Just a thought . . .

[R1Geezer]

sorry water is hotter than Ice but more dense, hence Ice floats. Sorry to do the pedanfs job guys but someone had to!

The whole world is full of myths and bullsh1t, the net is just the latest medium. Nothing new.

[ll_billym]

My annoyance is when people say "They say that you swallow 10 spiders a year in your sleep", for instance. My point is about the use of the word "They". When you quiz the person who "They" are you get the answer "Scientists", which would be fine if that person actually knew some scientists and has spoken to them about the spider swallowing but invariably the person is just repeating some rubbish that someone else in the pub/street/workplace has just told them.

[sophie_1003]

mibn- if I win the euromillions tonight and he can quit work will definitely find better things to do!

[Bert]

I think that R1Geezer will find that the original question did not refer to ice, but that the matter of ice floating in water was covered by Milvus in the first reply.
But thanks anyway. Your second paragraph was spot-on.