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NEWS > SCIENCE > WATER MAKES THINGS WET, SCIENTIST PROVIDES DEFINITIVE PROOF

WATER MAKES THINGS WET, SCIENTIST PROVIDES DEFINITIVE PROOF

Feb 4 2008

Turku, Finland – It began as a girlhood observation for Anneli Joenvaara. As a six year old standing outside her parent’s home on the outskirts of Helsinki, a cloudy day turned into rainy one.

“It was at that point I realized something very strange was happening. My clothes were getting wet. It was something I had never experienced before and was quite shocked with it. I still remember that day very clearly, standing there in the backyard and watching as everything around me got wet.”

From then on it became an obsession for her. Going to school in Germany and gaining a degree in Anthropology she quickly turned her back on her field of study and began studying the effects of water.

“My father pushed me to be an Anthropologist. He was one himself. He could never quite understand my interest in water and getting wet. He was willing to just accept the fact and go on. I have been like that. I like to know what is going on and why it is going on. We never saw eye to eye on that issue.”

For many years Joenvaara worked with a grant from a mystery donor. When those funds dried up five years ago, she turned to the Finnish government for help. After some powerful lobbying on her behalf by Finnish celebrity and water aficionado Ransu Kankkunen, she was given a grant to continue her studies.

“Ransu was a life saver. Had I not been able to secure that grant years of research would have gone down the tubes.”

It has been rumoured by Finnish media that the two have been more than just business partners in the ensuing years. Joenvaara dismisses that talk.

“It is only an effort to downplay the effects of this research. By only associating me with my sexuality, it negates any work I might produce. The reality is this is important research and has been conducted with the utmost integrity.”

Indeed, not all are supportive of this research. Topias Valja, a powerful Helsinki politician led a vehement opposition to the government research grant. “It is not of great social importance to research this topic. A poor person does not care why they get wet beyond the fact that they have no roof over their head. Government funds need to be used for the people.” It should be noted that Valja is currently embroiled in a controversial cash for services scandal involving a notorious Helsinki night club.

Politicians are not alone in this criticism though.  Joenvaara’s own father came out against the use of public funds for this research.
“My father spent many years studying the working  relationships between the Finnish and Guyanese peoples while under stress. It is research he firmly believed in and also received public funding. It has always confused me as to why he protested my work.”

 Joenvaara’s personal relationship with her father remains something she is unwilling to discuss. As for other politicians, she has much harsher criticism. “Valja is a bully and always has been. It is not enough to just live in the world and not understand it. That is the value of science. We describe the world for others to understand. Water is the lifeblood of all life on this planet and any study that helps us understand is essential.”   

And where does she plan to go from here? “After the release of this work I have been receiving many requests for speaking engagements around the world. For now, that is what I plan to do. Spread the word to as many people as possible.” 

Anna Phillips, Science Correspondent

NEWS > SCIENCE > WATER MAKES THINGS WET, SCIENTIST PROVIDES DEFINITIVE PROOF