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What Happens If You Jumped Into a Pool Full of Stomach Acid?

What If | December 14, 2025



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It’s as strong as battery acid and can melt steel. But it lives inside of us and helps digest our food. This is stomach acid. Is stomach acid dangerous? If it’s this powerful, why doesn’t it hurt us? And what would happen if we jumped into a pool full of the stuff? That’s right. Stomach acid is compared to battery acid in terms of the damage it can do. It can range from a 1 to 3 on the pH scale, meaning it’s extremely acidic. That’s because stomach acid’s main component is hydrochloric acid, which is a highly corrosive substance. The reason it can live inside us is due to a special mucous membrane that lines our stomachs. But what would happen if we covered all our skin with it?

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Transcript and sources: https://insh.world/video/what-if-you-jumped-into-a-pool-full-of-stomach-acid/
Music: http://bit.ly/whatif-music

Watch more what-if scenarios:
Planet Earth: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_-HhCwYD7rc&list=PLZdXRHYAVxTJCzxwmCq0NNpYq9N9wyb2l
The Cosmos: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gfuJyVkMH_g&list=PLZdXRHYAVxTJno6oFF9nLGuwXNGYHmE8U
Technology: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CS3bBO05fpU&list=PLZdXRHYAVxTIeRY3JtgXgoGqSEB7kDdKO
Your Body: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QmXR46TrbA8&list=PLZdXRHYAVxTJNsV9FFeNAKl2ySsHj8GZO
Humanity: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fdCDQIyXGnw&list=PLZdXRHYAVxTIFnvmOeWbv-Mt8zFxSCSvZ

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What If is a mini-documentary web series that takes you on an epic journey through hypothetical worlds and possibilities. Join us on an imaginary adventure — grounded in scientific theory — through time, space and chance, as we ask what if some of the most fundamental aspects of our existence were different. Produced with love in Toronto by https://underknown.com
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