is water wet?

Stupidity: 6/10 — Philosophically Stubborn

Water itself isn't 'wet' — wetness is a property that describes how a surface feels when water is on it. Water is the *cause* of wetness, not an example of it. Your skin feels wet because water molecules are bonding to it and filling microscopic gaps. Water touching more water has no sensation because there's no contrast — it's just more water doing what it naturally does.

You're asking if the thing that makes everything else wet is itself wet, which is like asking if the barber gets a haircut. Water is the definition of not-wet. It's the standard. Everything else is judged against it and found inadequate.

is water wet? — Dunce Dynamics Comic A stick figure comic about the question: is water wet? Punchline: Water: the very thing that judges wetness. is water wet? Water: the very thing that judges wetness. duncedynamics.com
✏️ Tier 1 · Sketch 🔒 Tier 2 · Full comic

Basic sketch — the funniest questions get upgraded to a full cartoon.

This question usually surfaces around age 4 and again at age 14 when someone's high and suddenly it hits them differently. It *feels* like water should be wet because wetness is what we experience from water, but the brain short-circuits on the recursive logic. Most people have never actually thought about what 'wet' means until they try to define it.

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