The average person produces about 50 ounces (1.5 liters) of urine per day. This of course depends on a person's health, how active they are and how much liquid they consume each day. Urine also can say quite a bit about a person's health. For example, nearly clear urine typically indicates a person has been drinking a lot of water; if it's a shade of brown, like iced tea, it could indicate dehydration; and a sweet smell may indicate the presence of blood sugar, which could indicate diabetes or kidney problems.
Facts to impress your friends:
- Urine therapy is a type of alternative medicine that holds that drinking urine or rubbing it on the body may help cure illness, heal broken bones or soothe dry skin. No medical studies validate these theories.
- Urinating on jellyfish stings to relieve pain is an urban myth.
- Uses for urine have included gunpowder manufacturing, preparing fabrics such as wool for dyeing and fertilizer.
- In Scotland, tweed is first soaked in urine before it's stretched.
- The US Army Field Manual recommends against drinking urine as a survival method, as the salts can cause further dehydration.
