Urine has had a bad rap in many cultures due to its association with the smell and disease-causing nature of feces, according to Jan-Olof Drangert of the University of Linkoping in Sweden. In his paper, “Perceptions, Urine Blindness and Urban Agriculture,” Drangert reports that this has not always been the case; throughout history, urine has been used for beneficial purposes.

He reports that in Sweden, urine has commonly been used to clean wounds and, to some extent, to drink as therapy. Recently urine has been shown to have a disinfectant property. In the Danish countryside in the 19th century, urine was stored and used as a detergent for washing clothes and yard dying. A century earlier, European artisans collected urine and canine excrement for industrial uses. U.S. military survival training manuals say it is safe to drink one’s own urine if no drinking water is available.