Water was discovered billions of years ago, he drank it and discovered its taste.

While most of us would be disgusted by this idea, unless we were in dire need of water, the same is not true for the people involved in this amazing discovery.

In 2013, scientists from the University of Toronto discovered kilometres of water beneath the Earth’s surface that had been isolated from the outside world for thousands of years in Timmins, Ontario, Canada.

Most people agree that this liquid is probably not safe to drink, as it is between 1.5 and 2.6 billion years old.

But clearly Professor Barbara Sherwood Lollar is not like that… most people.

“Horrible”

As head of research, Lollar tasted the water herself, and judging by her reaction, it must have tasted pretty bad.

It was no surprise that the ancient water was apparently “terrible.”

“It’s thicker than tap water.”

Bottom right Barbara Sherwood Lollar

Describing the taste of the liquid to the Los Angeles Times, the scientist said, “The first thing that comes to mind is something no one wants from a drink: saltiness.”

“Because of the chemical reactions between the water and the rocks, it is very salty,” he said.

“I must admit I have tried that from time to time.”

“It’s thicker than tap water. It has a consistency like very light maple syrup,” she explained. “It’s colorless when it comes out, but once it comes into contact with oxygen it turns orange because minerals start to form in it, especially iron.”

Lollar added characteristically that you “definitely wouldn’t” want to drink it, but it seems she’s tried it more than once, saying, “I have to admit I’ve tried it from time to time.”

But before she judged it, she had her reasons: “We’re interested in the saltwater because it’s the oldest, and testing is the quickest way to find out what it is,” she explained.

Another discovery

Little did Lollar know that it would be only three years before scientists in the same area discovered what they believe to be older water, thought to be at least 500 million years older than the previous discovery.

It is not known what this water tasted like, but given how bad the first water was, we suspect it was not good.