Hey folks!

Reading the title, you must be wondering “Finshots, what kind of silly question is this?”

Fair enough, who would even doubt water’s wetness? However this is one question that has genuinely stumped scientists for years. And once you start thinking about it, it might start messing with your head too.

Most scientists define wetness as a liquid’s ability to stick to a solid surface. So, water itself isn’t wet. It makes things wet, which is the essential difference.

So, when you spill water on your shirt, the shirt gets wet. The water did the wetting. But was the water itself wet? That’s like saying fire is burnt. So by this logic, water is the cause of wetness and not the thing that’s wet.

But not everyone agrees. If you define wet simply as made of liquid, then water qualifies as wet by default since it’s literally a liquid. Well, again, not everyone agrees. Because there is also a third camp that defines this question in a different way.

Some folks say wetness is the cooling sensation you feel when water touches your skin and starts evaporating. By that definition, water isn’t wet on its own but becomes wet when it interacts with us. Now, this is where things get interesting.

Not all liquids are equally good at making things wet. It depends on a tug of war between two forces. One pulls water molecules towards the surface they land on (adhesion) and the other pulls them towards each other, keeping them bunched up as droplets (cohesion). When adhesion wins, things get soaked and when cohesion wins, the water beads up and rolls off.

That’s the principle that works on raincoats. Raincoats are designed to weaken adhesion, so cohesion dominates, which is why water forms droplets and slides off instead of soaking the fabric. And this isn’t just about raincoats. Different liquids play this tug of war differently. In fact, alcohols are actually much better at wetting surfaces than water is.

So, do you still think water is wet? It’s less of a physics question and more of a semantics problem. Here, science and everyday language don't meet properly. This creates the most fun part of the debate which even scientists find hard to agree upon.

Here’s a soundtrack to put you in the mood…

Akela by Bharg

This recommendation comes from within our team. Siddid, our social media content bro, introduced us to this track. Thanks for the recommendation, Siddid!

What caught our eye this week

Are unsubscription mazes finally coming to an end?

Last year, Amazon found itself staring at a staggering $2.5 billion lawsuit.

Not because a package went missing or a product broke, but because people found it a little too hard to cancel their Amazon Prime subscriptions.

Regulators alleged that while signing up was quick and seamless, cancelling felt like navigating a maze. Multiple clicks, confusing options, and just enough friction to make you reconsider. Internally, the process was even nicknamed the “Iliad Flow”, a not-so-subtle reference to how long and complicated it was.

But here’s the good part.That era might finally be coming to an end.

Across the world, regulators are stepping in with a simple idea: If it’s easy to subscribe, it should be just as easy to unsubscribe as well.

Take the UK. New rules expected to roll out next year could require companies to offer one-click cancellations, send clear reminders before renewals, make refunds simpler and more transparent.

There's even a new 14-day cooling-off period. So if you forget to cancel a free trial and get charged, you can still get your money back. The government estimates these changes will save UK consumers a collective £400 million a year as right now, of the 155 million active subscriptions in the UK, nearly 10 million are believed to be unwanted.

That means no more hunting for the “cancel” button. No more second-guessing whether you actually cancelled.

And it’s not just the UK. The European Union has already started cracking down on manipulative design. In the US, regulators are actively taking companies to court over deceptive subscription practices. Even in India, guidelines introduced in 2023 officially recognise “subscription traps” as unfair trade practices, with newer rules tightening things further in important sectors like finance.

For years, subscription based businesses have quietly optimised for one thing — getting you to say yes. That’s why it became the default business model. And design wasn’t just about making things easy. It was about making sure you stayed.

But now, there’s a shift happening.

The same systems that once made it hard to leave are being redesigned to let you go quickly, clearly, and without friction.

Which means that the power is slowly moving back to the customer. And that’s quite refreshing.

You no longer have to remember to cancel three days before renewal or click through five different screens. And most importantly, you don’t have to wonder if “cancel” really means cancel.

You just… cancel.

It sounds simple. Almost obvious. For the first time in a long while, the internet is being nudged toward something that feels a little more fair.

Readers Recommend

This week, our reader Haritha Santhoshi Andalam, recommends reading The Anxious Generation by Jonathan Haidt.

It’s a non-fiction book that tells readers about how the internet and social media changed childhood, replacing real-world play. According to the author this change is a key driver behind the surge in anxiety, depression, and mental health issues among young people.

Thanks for the recommendation, Haritha!

That’s it from us this week. We’ll see you next Sunday!

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