For reasons that always baffled me, Hungarians have an apparent obsession with getting themselves into the Guinness Book of World Records. While i was living there, it seemed like efforts to perform remarkable, often ridiculous feats, were undertaken with regularity. Among their 44 listings are 'fastest car window opened by a dog' (i kid you not), 'largest garlic string' (take that, Gilroy!), 'most people belly dancing simultaneously', and a number of Rubik's cube titles, probably due to the fact that last year's championship was held in Budapest. Considering that by population Hungary ranks 83rd, 44 listings is actually quite small. Norway ranks 117th but holds 78 world records, many related to the North Pole (take that, Denmark!) and one split four ways, 'most sword swallowers to swallow the same object simultaneously' (who comes up with these categories?). This month, Magyars are making another play for global best, though i'm not entirely sure the title, if won, would be totally legitimate.
Demotix - 8 June 2011: A crowd calculated at 4717 gathered in Bekescsaba, Hungary in an attempt to set the world record for the most people drinking tap water in the same place at the same time.
Wouldn't large events like Woodstock, held in the pre-bottled water era, or any normal workday circa 1960 in the Empire State Building have surpassed this effort? How about a GM plant before the company started moving its operations to other countries (often where potable tap water is still a dream)? It all goes to show that self-awareness is everything; any Grateful Dead concert could surely have gotten into the Guinness book for 'most joints smoked simultaneously' if only Deadheads Synonymous had taken that little extra effort needed to fill out the application form. At any rate, i wish the group in Békescsaba the best of luck and congratulate them on having tap water so many people feel comfortable drinking - sadly, this may well be the more significant facet of the big group drink.
Peakwater.org has a counter on their website for waterbourne disease deaths this year and the current number is approaching 1.6 million. According to UNICEF, over 450 million children lack access to safe drinking water, by which i assume they are not referring to Evian, Slavyanka, et al, but rather tap water delivered from local wells. An article about tugging icebergs to places like the Canary Islands to make up for freshwater shortages indicates the extent to which more extreme (aka insane) measures for supplying water to humans are being pursued. Campaigns to reduce bottled water consumption, ergo plastic waste, are spreading globally, but these will only work if tap water supplies are a viable substitute.
Since i left the US 10 years ago, i can think of only one restaurant/bar which was willing to give me a glass of water from the tap - a moderately upscale place in Krakow - i assure you, the request was treated with no small amount of wonder: not in a bottle? why on earth would someone ever prefer that? In Baku, i boil tap water only because i haven't found anyone else here who drinks it straight from the faucet; who knows for sure whether it would make me sick, some risks are simply not worth taking. i know people here who've installed filters on their taps, but they still buy bottled water for their refrigerated supply.
W.H. Auden wrote, 'Thousands have lived without love, not one without water.' My friend and teacher Corbin Harney never stopped reminding us that we all drink the same water, just as we all breathe the same air. Fresh, potable water supplies are both essential and increasingly fragile. It's good to celebrate them, even if the overt purpose is self-congratulatory :-) As much as some might like to posit otherwise, natural resources are really all about us humans now, so i say drink up and hope that in the next town or country you visit, you'll be able to do the same.
Peakwater.org has a counter on their website for waterbourne disease deaths this year and the current number is approaching 1.6 million. According to UNICEF, over 450 million children lack access to safe drinking water, by which i assume they are not referring to Evian, Slavyanka, et al, but rather tap water delivered from local wells. An article about tugging icebergs to places like the Canary Islands to make up for freshwater shortages indicates the extent to which more extreme (aka insane) measures for supplying water to humans are being pursued. Campaigns to reduce bottled water consumption, ergo plastic waste, are spreading globally, but these will only work if tap water supplies are a viable substitute.Since i left the US 10 years ago, i can think of only one restaurant/bar which was willing to give me a glass of water from the tap - a moderately upscale place in Krakow - i assure you, the request was treated with no small amount of wonder: not in a bottle? why on earth would someone ever prefer that? In Baku, i boil tap water only because i haven't found anyone else here who drinks it straight from the faucet; who knows for sure whether it would make me sick, some risks are simply not worth taking. i know people here who've installed filters on their taps, but they still buy bottled water for their refrigerated supply.
W.H. Auden wrote, 'Thousands have lived without love, not one without water.' My friend and teacher Corbin Harney never stopped reminding us that we all drink the same water, just as we all breathe the same air. Fresh, potable water supplies are both essential and increasingly fragile. It's good to celebrate them, even if the overt purpose is self-congratulatory :-) As much as some might like to posit otherwise, natural resources are really all about us humans now, so i say drink up and hope that in the next town or country you visit, you'll be able to do the same.
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