The Best Thirst Quenching Drink

When you're mouth feels like cotton and your throat like the Sahara desert, getting your hands on the single most thirst-quenching drink becomes the only thing that matters in life. At times this dire, everything else can wait. Though the obvious route might be to reach for a glass of cold water—or stick your head straight under the faucet—a new study suggests a different approach. Regular water isn't what you need.

The most thirst-quenching drink, according to science, is everyone's favorite: a glass of cold seltzer.  

That's right, seltzer fanatics, it's time to raise your seltzer freak flag, because a study published in the Public Library of Science journal just confirmed what you've probably known in your heart of hearts all along: There's nothing better than seltzer when you're thirsty.

With 98 participants, the study determined how effective various beverages were at curing thirst by how much water the subjects reached for after trying a certain beverage. Temperature and carbonation were the two biggest factors that quenched thirst, over acidity or sweetness. So while you shouldn't reach for a glass of lukewarm flat water or a cold, sugary soda, a cold, purely bubbly water will do you right.

You knew there was a reason seltzer was a nonnegotiable part of your hangover routine.