I feel like I should preface this discussion by stating that theoretically, anything that we drink can be considered a beverage. According to Merriam-Webster, the word ‘beverage’ is defined as “a drinkable liquid”. When I put this question on my Twitter poll a couple weeks ago, all the respondents agreed that water should be considered a beverage. Therefore, I feel compelled to spell out the counterarguments.

First of all, when we are referring to beverages as “drinkable liquids”, this more often than not means that their only purpose is as a liquid that you drink. For example, Diet Coke doesn’t often have another purpose besides being consumed as a liquid. Water, on the other hand …. Water has so many different purposes!

I can understand that people might think water is a beverage when you see it in a bottle that people might find chilling in the cooler at a supermarket. However, most of the time water serves other purposes. Here are five other purposes of water that do not relate to beverages whatsoever.

1. It makes up an estimated 60% of the human body!

While this does vary by which organ we are talking about, when we think about it, we can say that the human skin is actually housing a lot of goo and organs floating in watery substances inside.

2. Water is used to wash stuff.

I bet you never wanted to drink the water in your washing machine or dishwasher, huh? We even wash ourselves with water, imagine that! When I think about it this way, I definitely don’t see water’s sole purpose as being a beverage.

3. And to cook.

Ever tried to boil a pot of rice without using water? I didn’t think so.

4. Lots of food is made up of water.

Just like the human body, lots of fruits and vegetables are made up of mostly water, such as the obvious watermelon, but also foods like red cabbage, peppers and spinach at 92% water weight.

5. And water is fun!

We love to play in sprinklers, go to water parks, tan by the pool … And by the beach?

The beach brings up the ocean, which makes up a large part of Earth’s surface, but is saltwater and isn’t drinkable unless purified. The majority of water on this earth is actually not drinkable. Shockingly, only about 1% is freshwater that can be easily accessed for drinking purposes. While this is an entirely different issue in itself about resources, the actual matter at hand is that water has so many other purposes besides being a beverage. Sure, water is drinkable, but isn’t Ranch dressing? Maybe our definition of beverage needs to be changed to a liquid that is normally associated only with drinking. Liquid for thought.