Water is Not Wet

Ever since asteroids and comets collided with Earth and brought water to its oceans, there has been a debate over whether or not water is wet. And ever since water’s arrival on this planet, water has never been wet.

The definition of wet is to be covered or saturated with water or another liquid. Therefore, if one were to throw their report card into an ocean and retrieve it, the report card would be considered wet because it is covered and saturated with water. The same goes for all other objects and people.

To say that water is wet because it is covered and saturated with itself is as awkward and incorrect as saying that air is dry because it has air on it. To quote Max Russo from “Wizards of Waverly Place” (2007-2012), “But if everything’s wet, is anything really wet? Like when you’re underwater, you’re not really wet.”

Additionally, others define “wet” as the sensation caused by the movement of a liquid, such as water, on the skin. Water cannot be wet in this case as well because if one were to submerge one’s hand in water, there would be no feeling of wetness. If one were to then remove one’s hand from the water, one’s hand would be wet because it is now exposed to air and not the water it was in.

“Wetness” is a quality. Water by itself is not wet, but when it is applied to another object, that object can be referred to as wet. For example, “dryness” is a quality as well. Air by itself is just air, but when it is applied to another object, the object is considered dry. One can say that humans on land are dry because they have air surrounding them; they are not wet because they have no water physically on them. But the air itself, if it were contained in a jar, would only be considered air (not dry), while the inside of the jar is dry.

In other words, water is not wet because it does not, by itself, produce “wetness,” or the sensation of feeling water exist on an object that was not in contact with water before. If I were to sink my report card in water, it would be considered wet, but the water around it would not be —it would be considered to be what made my paper wet.

“Wet,” whether it is used as a verb (to cover or touch with liquid; moisten), a noun (liquid that makes something damp), or an adjective (covered or saturated with water or another liquid), is describing the experience and sensation of contact with water, but never the water itself.