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Don't drink the water in Boston without boiling it first.

boston.com

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Re: Don't drink the water in Boston without boiling it first.

#51

Post by SapphireSun »

davi wrote: post #2

Thank you. I wonder why Cambridge (where I live) is not listed? The surrounding towns are. edit: according to http://www.mwra.com/02org/html/whatis.htm , Cambridge receives full sewer, but only "emergency backup" water from the MWRA. edit2: a commenter at http://www.wbur.org/2010/05/01/water-main-break/comment-page... says Cambridge gets its water from Fresh Pond.

Off topic, but I thought this was the most appropriate thread. I just got a place in Somerville (lucky me ;-)). Are there any cool events around where you can meet people and make friends?

Re: Don't drink the water in Boston without boiling it first.

#52

Post by Tawheed »

mixmax wrote: post #14

I once witnessed a pipe of the same dimensions bursting - the difference being that it was carrying 80 degree celsius hot water for central heating... It was right under a main street (it's standard procedure to put large pipes under streets so you can get to them if anything goes wrong) and within 10 minutes the street looked like an earthquake had hit it - the massive amount of almost boiling water simply eroded th…

It sounds like a miracle that no one was hurt!

Re: Don't drink the water in Boston without boiling it first.

#53

Post by JayNeely »

SapphireSun wrote: post #51
davi wrote: post #2

Thank you. I wonder why Cambridge (where I live) is not listed? The surrounding towns are. edit: according to http://www.mwra.com/02org/html/whatis.htm , Cambridge receives full sewer, but only "emergency backup" water from the MWRA. edit2: a commenter at http://www.wbur.org/2010/05/01/water-main-break/comment-page... says Cambridge gets its water from Fresh Pond.

Off topic, but I thought this was the most appropriate thread. I just got a place in Somerville (lucky me ;-)). Are there any cool events around where you can meet people and make friends?

Meetup.com is great for this. I'd also recommend being active on twitter; plenty of events spread through there. Use http://search.twitter.com if you need a starting point. Check out http://greenhornconnect.com/ 's events section for startup-related stuff.

Re: Don't drink the water in Boston without boiling it first.

#54

Post by tvon »

asmithmd1 wrote: post #36

The contractor who built this water supply tunnel, which was finished only 7 years ago, is Modern Continental. http://www.mwra.com/osu/1003mwtfacts.html They were the Big Dig's largest contractor and are in Chapter 11 bankruptcy because federal prosecutors brought 49 charges against them including allegations that it knew about bolts coming loose in the ceiling of the Big Dig tunnel years before a ceiling collapse ki…

Them as a company or them as the individual engineers?

Re: Don't drink the water in Boston without boiling it first.

#55

Post by oconnor0 »

SlyShy wrote: post #8

I remember doing that while living in Taiwan. At least the climate in Boston makes having lukewarm water more bearable. When you are sweating in a tropical summer the last thing you want is a warm glass of water.

I've found that hot tea is wonderful in warm weather. It's like you just stop pretending that a cold glass of water is going to make you any less hot & instead choose to enjoy the heat.

Re: Don't drink the water in Boston without boiling it first.

#56

Post by sh1mmer »

tvon wrote: post #54
asmithmd1 wrote: post #36

The contractor who built this water supply tunnel, which was finished only 7 years ago, is Modern Continental. http://www.mwra.com/osu/1003mwtfacts.html They were the Big Dig's largest contractor and are in Chapter 11 bankruptcy because federal prosecutors brought 49 charges against them including allegations that it knew about bolts coming loose in the ceiling of the Big Dig tunnel years before a ceiling collapse ki…

Them as a company or them as the individual engineers?

Both?

Re: Don't drink the water in Boston without boiling it first.

#57

Post by eob »

Symmetry wrote: post #25
davi wrote: post #2

Thank you. I wonder why Cambridge (where I live) is not listed? The surrounding towns are. edit: according to http://www.mwra.com/02org/html/whatis.htm , Cambridge receives full sewer, but only "emergency backup" water from the MWRA. edit2: a commenter at http://www.wbur.org/2010/05/01/water-main-break/comment-page... says Cambridge gets its water from Fresh Pond.

Yeah, according to people around MIT talking on zephyr we get our water from Fresh Pond.

Who uses Zephyr? Professors and staff who've been there a long time? I'm a grad student in CSAIL and have never once seen it in use.

Re: Don't drink the water in Boston without boiling it first.

#58

Post by eob »

carbocation wrote: post #45
nabeelo wrote: post #44

Another +! for Cambridge, only area in the region not effected.

That may be true, but perhaps not? The Broad (in Kendall Square) just sent out this email: Dear Colleagues, As many of you may be aware, there has been a catastrophic leak in the water supply serving Greater Boston, and at present is dumping approximately 8 million gallons of water per hour into the Charles River. Governor Deval Patrick has declared a State of Emergency, and has issued a "boil water" order for some 3…

First our water, then our coffee? All of Kendall Sq will shut down! :/

Re: Don't drink the water in Boston without boiling it first.

#59

Post by eob »

idoh wrote: post #30
SlyShy wrote: post #8

I remember doing that while living in Taiwan. At least the climate in Boston makes having lukewarm water more bearable. When you are sweating in a tropical summer the last thing you want is a warm glass of water.

Oddly enough, it is a custom in Taiwan to serve warm water. I totally don't get it because Taiwan in the summer is, as you said, really hot and muggy. I was visiting someone in a mental institution in Taiwan and the nurses kept giving him warm cups of water when he really wanted a cold cup of water. Hilarity ensued.

Interesting language tidbit related to the warm/boiled water custom: a common term for drinking water in Taiwan is 開水 (kaishui3), which literally means "boiled water".

The first few times people asked me if I wanted "kaishui" I got confused because I thought they were asking if I wanted boiling water... but cold, ice-cube filled drinking water is also called kaishui to indicate that it has been boiled and so is for drinking.

I think those kinds of cultural-linguistic ties are cool in language.. I would love a book that gives you a linguistic tour of the world using words that reflect certain local customs.

Re: Don't drink the water in Boston without boiling it first.

#60

Post by korch »

SlyShy wrote: post #8

I remember doing that while living in Taiwan. At least the climate in Boston makes having lukewarm water more bearable. When you are sweating in a tropical summer the last thing you want is a warm glass of water.

This might be Myth Busters material, but wouldn't it be more energy efficient to drink water closer to the body's own temperature? Less energy is needed internally to process warm water, than to heat cold water up to 98.6 F.

This is also similar to why it's bad to drink soft drink, the body consumes more water to break it down than it gains from the soft drink.

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