It may not be pleasant, but everybody pees. I pee, you pee, we all pee. You could be peeing right now as you're reading this, and that's okay with me. I could even be peeing while I write this, which I would also be fine with, but my boss and co-workers — maybe not so much. You just can't please everybody. But here are eight crazy facts about pee that should please you!
Who doesn't like their brain tickled while they tinkle? SHARE these fun facts with your family and friends! If you don't, urine trouble!
1. Up until the 11th century, people who were suspected of having diabetes had their urine drank by "water testers."
It was believed that the urine of diabetics was sweet tasting, so that's how they made the diagnosis!
2. Hennig Brand, a German alchemist in the 1660s, thought he could distill gold from urine. He instead ended up discovering phosphorus!
Accounts suggest Brand had stockpiled nearly 1,500 gallons of urine in his quest to get rich. While he obviously failed to conjure up any gold, he did make a strange white substance that glowed in the dark and that would later end up being used in explosives and synthetic fertilizers.
3. Astronauts traditionally urinate on the back right-hand tire of the vehicle taking them to their rocket.
This is a hat-tip to Russian Cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin who stopped to relieve himself against his shuttle bus on his way to the launchpad of his 1961 mission. Even female astronauts have participated in the tradition by bringing along a vial of urine to splash against the tire.
4. Some cities spray trees with fox urine to thwart thieves.
Starting in November, some cities will spray small pine and spruce trees with a mixture of fox urine, glycerin, water, and dye. While it might not smell any different outdoors, a grinch looking to save $10 by cutting down and stealing their Christmas tree from city property will be hit by an acrid, eye-watering odor once they drag it indoors.
5. The urine of drunk people is eroding the base of a famous German cathedral.
Ulm Minster actually boasts the highest church tower in the world. But its conservationists are concerned about the salts and acids from the urine and vomit of drunken revelers actually wearing away the church's sandstone base. The city recently doubled the fine for those caught urinating in public to 100 Euros in an effort to combat the problem.
6. Even the Ancient Egyptians used urine for pregnancy tests.
The ancient test was found written on papyrus and described how a suspected pregnant woman could urinate on wheat and barley seeds over several days. “If the barley grows, it means a male child. If the wheat grows, it means a female child. If both do not grow, she will not bear at all.” The surprising fact? This was tested in 1963 study and actually worked 70% of the time!
7. You can buy whiskey made from diabetics' urine. Really.
James Gilpin, himself a type 1 diabetic who works in the biomedical technology field, distills the sugar-rich urine of elderly diabetics into a premium single malt whiskey. The urine comes from elderly volunteers — including his own grandmother.
8. We once reused penicillin extracted from urine.
In the 1940s, producing usable penicillin to treat infections was not an easy task, and the demand far outweighed the supply. The solution? Extract the penicillin from the urine of one patient who was already administered the antibiotic... and simply give it to another patient. Which is entirely possible thanks to our kidneys, which keep 40-99% of the drug fully functional.
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