Science Saturday

Joshua Marshall has a devastating post about the Administration's all-consuming yet pathetic attempts to smear Richard Clarke, who brought much-needed honor and dignity to the Reagan, G.H.W. Bush and G.W. Bush White Houses. As ever, Josh's insights are spot on. I believe, however, that Josh is wrong on one point:

"Maybe instead of being 98% water like the rest of us [Richard Clarke is] 98% wax."

Now, I'm no Ira Flatow, or even that disturbing, unitard-wearing Slim Goodbody, but is the human body actually 98 percent water? A number of sources say "no." Almost all 'net sources I could find say the human body is 50-75 water. Those are the stats from the International Bottled Water Association and the American Dietetic Association, the Yale-New Haven Hospital, UC Davis Medical Center. Tufts and, according to this site, Al Gore.

On the other hand, here's a Ph.D. who makes the 98 percent claim in terms of molecular composition.

I realize I'm giving Bill Frist all the ammunition he needs to accuse Josh of perjury and sedition, but as a kitten-molesting M.D., Frist should know this already. In any event, this site holds everyone accountable, without fear or favor.