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Revision as of 00:17, 6 December 2002 by John Price (talk | contribs) (awkwarder but correcter)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)A water pipe or bong is a device used for smoking cannabis. Water pipes derive their heritage from the classical Arabic hookah, which was originally designed for smoking tobacco and other flavored smoke producing materials. The water serves to cool down the smoke and traps some of the heavier and more soluble particulate matter, keeping it from entering the smoker's lungs. For this reason, some users claim that cannabis smoked through a water pipe is safer than many other recreational drugs.
A gravity bong is a similar type of pipe that uses water. They are almost all home-made and are rarely available commercially. A gravity bong is made of two different containuers, most typically a bucket and two-liter soda bottle. The bottom of the bottle is cut off, and the cap is made into a device capable of holding the substance to be smoked. The bucket is filled with water, and the bottle placed in the water so the missing side is underwater and the cap, filled with the to-be-smoked substance, is above it. The substance is lit by one person while another slowly and steadily raises the bottle, careful not to bring the edge of the open bottom above the water level. The increasing volume of waterless-space inside the bottle pulls smoke from the cap into the bottle. The cap is taken off, and one person inhales the smoke inside the bottle.
For information on pipes used to transfer water, see pipe and pipeline transport.