My Actifit Report Card: October 17 2025

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Why does a leech shrivel or die when salt is sprinkled on its body? Behind this lies a surprising chemistry—the process of osmosis. A leech is an aquatic animal, with a high water content (which is why a leech feels so soft to the touch) and a low salt concentration. When NaCl or common salt is sprinkled on it, the salt dissolves in the water and splits into Na⁺ and Cl⁻ ions. These ions greatly increase the concentration of the surrounding solution. As a result, the water inside the leech's body cells moves out, because water always moves from a less dense solution to a more dense solution—this is the basic chemical principle of osmosis.

As a result, the leech's cells lose their internal water, the pressure inside the cells decreases, and the entire body dries out. Eventually, the cells shrink and burst, and the leech dies.

This process is not a poisoning, but a pure chemical balance change. This basic principle of chemistry is not limited to the death of a joke, the same principle is used in food preservation—for example, salt is used to prevent the growth of bacteria when drying fish or pickles. So it can be seen that salt is not just a kitchen ingredient, it is an important element in biology and chemistry that helps to understand the balance of nature and the chemistry of life.
This report was published via Actifit app (Android | iOS). Check out the original version here on actifit.io

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