If you are stranded in the desert and only have Soda to drink

[nath]

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What about beer?

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you actually can survive on beer, Trappist monks used to do this during their fasts, and (assuming this isn't urban legend) it was encouraged during the black plague because all the water was contaminated

[TheProbst]

And obviously if what she is saying is true then if you only drank soda for three days, regardless of conditions, you would be dead.

[evil twin]

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I obviously have no idea what I'm talking about, but I would be shocked if the diuretic properties of any normal soda outweighed the hydrating ones.

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Exactly. Clearly one gets a rehydrating effect from soda. You don't get people rushing for glasses of water after a can of soda ffs. It's a massive urban myth that soda dehydrates you. Of course it doesn't REhydrate you as well as water, but it's still getting liquid into your system.

[Reef]

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I obviously have no idea what I'm talking about, but I would be shocked if the diuretic properties of any normal soda outweighed the hydrating ones.

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ditto

[gull]

Osmosis.

[Lonhro]

This is a strange question because I was just talking about this tonight with some friends at the pub. I'm in Sydney Australia, so the weather is a bit different at the moment in comparison to most 2+2er's (which I presume are in the U.S.). Every day here is close to 90+.

Two weeks ago, about 80mi west of the centre of Sydney, there was three young bushwalkers walking through quite rugged terrain for something they call the "Duke Of Edinborough" award - an award based on leadership skills and qualities given by Prince Phillip, Queen Elizabeth II's husband. The three were 17 or 18 years old, and they started out about midday the first day, when it was about 98 degrees. One of them became separated a couple of hours in. He was 17. He had a cell and called emergency over here, saying he was hot, short of water, and lost, but felt fine however didn't think he could find his friends or his way out. Later that night he called his parents telling them the deal, called his brother wishing him a happy birthday, and then called emergency again telling them again that he had no food, no water, but still felt ok and was just going to find a sheltered place for the night and stake it out there till the morning. He said he was going to look for water when he woke up, but hopefully he would've been found by then.

Long story short, his cell battery died during the night, and he was found dead 9 days later, only 1/8 of a mile from where his friends last saw him on the walking track. Cause of death still undetermined, though thought to be dehydration, exposure, and a slim chance of a snake bite.

For those that don't know a lot about Australia, it is quite dry, and the vast majority of the land is completely open, most being desert similar to that which I've experienced in Nevada, except no hills AT ALL. That is - EXCEPT when you are within, say, 150mi of any coastline - where there is an abundance of bush/national parks/rainforests. The place where this guy went missing is THICK bush.

Even though it was close to 100 degrees that day (and probably the day after), the canopy of the bush that this poor dude was under would've given some relief. The humidity would've sucked balls and he would've felt like it was hotter than it was, but I'm pretty sure I could've survived this amount of time with no food or water. I know it's easy to say from the outside looking in, and it's easier for me to say because I'm a little older than a 17yo, but seriously - it's BUSHLAND there. There are trees everywhere. Notably out here the bush is riddled with enormous eucalyptus trees - the leaves of which are the primary food of koalas. That info alone would tell you that there must be some sort of nutritional value in the leaves, not to mention the amount of water that could be stored in them. Sure, they might taste like crap, but in a matter of life or death - you'd eat anything that was green, wouldn't you? (taking the risk that it might be a poisonous plant - better to die trying than to not try)

Also, it's always intrigued me as to why it's worse to drink salt water (eg. from an ocean or a river leading from it) than to not drink anything at all. I've been told it makes you [censored] brown water out almost as soon as you drink it, but wouldn't the instinctive thing to do here be - drink more straight away? Who cares if you [censored] it out in 2 hours - drink again?

Enlighten me.

[4_2_it]

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And obviously if what she is saying is true then if you only drank soda for three days, regardless of conditions, you would be dead.

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Just make her a bet that you can survive on nothing but soda for 3 days. Seems like an easy way to get her to do whatever you want.

[wooly_chicken]

Apparently tea is hydrating:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/5281046.stm

[punkass]

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Also, it's always intrigued me as to why it's worse to drink salt water (eg. from an ocean or a river leading from it) than to not drink anything at all. I've been told it makes you [censored] brown water out almost as soon as you drink it, but wouldn't the instinctive thing to do here be - drink more straight away? Who cares if you [censored] it out in 2 hours - drink again?

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Surely you must realize that the high salt content in the sea water will cause huge amounts of damage to your body, much quicker than the gradual effects of dehydration. However, you can increase your working water supply (if you happen to have one) by 10-20% by mixing in some seawater to your freshwater. But drinking 100% seawater will make you go nuts and die.

[Arnfinn Madsen]

What kills you actually (you have infinite amounts available), soda and tee obviously don't. What about coffee (I doubt it, but maybe)? What about Red Bull? What about vodka (probably?)? Wine (I guess not)? Beer (definately not)?