Lake Natron in northern Tanzania
is notorious for killing
and preserving dead animals.
If you died in its waters,
its high levels of sodium carbonate
would mummify your body.
But instead of taking a swim,
what would happen if you took a sip?
You’ve decided to try quite a toxic cocktail.
And it has three main ingredients
that could cause severe damage to you.
There's the highly alkaline liquid
created by sodium, carbonate and chlorine.
Lake Natron has a pH of 10.5,
which is only slightly lower
than the pH of ammonia.
And if that’s not enough to scare you,
the water also has microscopic blue-green algae
called cyanobacteria.
It tints the lake red and produces chemicals
that can fatally damage your cells.
And the final dangerous ingredient is salt.
Even if you could survive
the burns and the toxins,
the salt would cause your demise.
You might be wondering why it would be
a bad idea for you to drink this water
when you see flamingos quenching their thirst.
Do not be fooled by the flamingos.
These flamingos evolved
to survive despite the unique conditions of Lake Natron.
Their legs are covered in special scales,
and their tough skin protects them from getting burned.
They can drink this super hot water.
Too salty?
No problem.
They have special glands in their head
to remove salt from saltwater.
Too much toxic algae?
They don’t mind.
Their colorful plumage comes from
a pigment in the algae
that contaminates the water.
They’re one of the few animals
that thrive in Lake Natron’s toxic environment.
But if you ignore my warning and take a sip,
what would happen as this dangerous water
travels through your body?
Right away, you’d burn your lips and tongue.
But this would be nothing compared
to the chemical burns that you’d experience next.
The corrosive water would continue
burning your mouth, esophagus and stomach.
Your insides would feel like they were on fire.
And, if you drank enough of this water,
the alkaline liquid could burn a hole in your stomach.
Your abdominal pain could be crippling.
And while your stomach is burning,
the cyanobacteria contaminating the water
would make you feel nauseous and could give you diarrhea.
To make matters even worse,
you’d start feeling very thirsty.
Lake Natron has high levels of sodium and chlorine.
Together, they can combine to create sodium chloride
or salt.
So if you continued drinking the salty Lake Natron water,
your body would make you pee
more water than you drank.
This would make you dehydrated.
And the more salty water you drank,
the thirstier and more dehydrated you would become.
Eventually, you’d die.
Hopefully, you have a bottle of freshwater nearby.
You would probably survive
the immediate and painful consequences
of drinking Lake Natron’s water,
but it could leave your liver damaged forever.
And if the water burns a hole
in your esophagus or stomach,
you’d need to get medical treatment right away.
Otherwise you could get an infection.
The toxic algae could cause muscle weakness,
joint pain and a sore throat for a few more days.
So leave Lake Natron to the flamingos.
And stick with the toxin-free freshwater.
Now if you really feel the need
to drink questionable liquids,
have you ever tried to drink a lava lamp?
They’re so mesmerizing.
But that’s a story for another WHAT IF.