Real Water - with added electrons!

'Most of the water we drink is very acidic,' say the makers of Real Water. 'Most diseases flourish and grow rapidly in an acidic environment.' Photograph: Alamy

Sometimes, you really have to wonder how dumb people can be. Check out this article from The Guardian:

"Did you know that most of the water you're drinking every day may actually be damaging your health?"

This is the bold claim made by Nevada-based Affinity Lifestyles. Fortunately, they have the solution: Real Water^TM with E2 technology.

The Real Water website describes how the water we drink – from the water I have in my glass right now, to the water you made your cup of tea with this morning – has been "damaged".

In an attempt to blind the reader with science, there are reams of misplaced claims and pseudo-facts. Take the claim that "many food and beverages ... are devoid of electrons" – which would make it an entirely new state of matter. ...

The E2, or Electron Energized, technology supposedly "adds hundreds of millions of free electrons" to "unclump" the water and give it an alkaline pH.

Professor [Stephen] Fletcher takes issue with the claim that the water was positively charged in the first place: "Water is always charge-balanced due to a scientific principle called 'electroneutrality'. It follows that the E2 technology cannot add 'hundreds of millions of free electrons' to anything, no matter how it works."

I asked Real Water about the treatment, but public information officer Xzavia Ross said: "Our process is proprietary so there really is no way we can disclose the process by which we add electrons to the water." ...

On the one hand this is an amusing read, leaving you astonished at the amount of tripe you can find online. On the other, this is a real company, making real sales at the expense of those who believe their outlandish claims. In an age when people are increasingly worried about their health, perhaps the most beneficial thing to take in large doses is scepticism.

Yeah, shrug this off with "a fool and his money are soon parted," if you wish. But it worries me, both because of the level of scientific ignorance it demonstrates here in America (where this company is located and probably makes most of its sales) and for the complete lack of skepticism it implies.

How dumb can people be? There's really no limit, apparently.