Thanks to a festival called “Spring Scream” Taiwan’s water supply is now spiked with all manner of drugs (least of which is caffeine) which are not being removed during the water purification process and finding their way into drinking water and the bellies of fish.
Here’s something you should know before you book your flight to visit: While the water supply is seeing “big spikes” in contaminants such as ecstasy and ketamine, it’s unlikely that you’re going to get a free high just from drinking it. Unless you drink a hell of a lot. And even then, that high will probably come from drinking too much water, which is not a very good high (says the person who once drank three gallons of water in one day and then worried he was going to die from a burst bladder). The concern, however, is that having these contaminants in the water over a long period of time may affect those who are using it, changing people into mutant superheroes (not really) and messing with the ecosystem (yes really).
The new findings have been published in the latest issue of Environmental Science and Technology. “Spring Scream,” unlike other events studied, seems to draw the most people to areas near water, with an estimated 600,000 partygoers attending the festival.
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