8 Science Facts They Probably Didn't Teach You In School

3. It Takes Longer To Drown In Saltwater

Any way you look at it, drowning is no picnic and is probably best avoided, but if you really can't help it, then you should know the difference between drowning in freshwater and saltwater.

The processes are actually very different, and its all to do, unsurprisingly, with the salt content. When drowning in freshwater, the water is drawn into the bloodstream, causing the cells to swell and burst, leading to cardiac arrest. In saltwater, however, it's the other way around and blood is drawn into the lungs and prevented from absorbing oxygen, essentially causing suffocation.

For this reason, death by freshwater is much quicker, and the victim is more likely to be unconscious at the point of death, whereas death by saltwater is much more drawn out and can take as much as 10 minutes longer.