1. It was collected by the Confederacy during the US Civil War to help the Selma (AL) Nitre Works make gunpowder. Women were urged to save the contents of their chamber pots, which were collected. ("Ladies! Save your pee for the Con-fed-er-acy!" was NOT the slogan used.)

2. Because of its mild antiseptic properties it was long used to wash battle wounds. ("Here, Sir Edmund, let us cleanse your facial gash.")

3. Bees are attracted to the sugar in the urine of people with diabetes. This was used for years as a postitive test for the disease.

4. Doctors used to claim that they could diagnose and cure diseases simply by looking at bottles of urine. ("Hector, you've got measles, your mother-in-law's down with glanders, your wife's pregnant, and your horse has diabetes.")

5. Various diseases DO affect the urine, changing it's color, smell, specific gravity, and what you see in the microscope. Liver dysfunction, for example, can turn urine very dark to black.