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New research from Hawaii Pacific University suggests that, despite sea water’s unpleasant taste and lack of artificial flavoring, it is apparently not a disgusting thing to drink if you’re a fish.
“It’s counterintuitive,” explained lead researcher Pat Silver. “Sea water is salty and gross, but all the fish live in the ocean and they never leave. It must not be totally disgusting for them.”
“One time I accidentally got some sea water in my mouth while swimming,” recalled co-researcher Michael Norton. “I didn’t think any creature could bear to ingest that rancid brine. And yet, there are lots of fish in the brine, so it must not be so awful for them.”
Despite mounting evidence that sea water is not putrid for fish, there has been pushback from many non-biologists. “I drank sea water on a dare, and I almost threw up,” said Hawaii Pacific student Callen Pedersen, insisting that it must be totally icky for fish too. “Fish definitely don’t want to drink that stuff, they just have to.”
Researchers at Hawaii Pacific have opened further lines of inquiry into the possibility that some species of fish may even eat disgusting insects like flies and cockroaches.
