Question Author
I think that the statement my son heard on TV was: "Everything on Earth contains water, even the desert sands." (I didn't hear it, but it sounds to me like that's the statement that was made.) Does that seem like a reasonable thing to say, or does it seem like an oversimplification for TV? Maybe what was meant is natural materials. Is there any naturally-ocurring material that doesn't contain any water at all? I understand what they were trying to get at with the "desert sands" part - even if sand looks dry, it contains water (I think "contains" here means: on the surface of each grain). And something like sandstone absorbs water. But how about, for example, a chunk of quartz? I'm asking this because I think what you mean by "freshly cut sodium metal" is something manufactured. Is that right? Thanks for your help - I'll tell my son what you've said so far.