EU bureaucrats ban businesses from stating water is wet

Instapundit reports that the EU is banning claims that ingesting water can prevent dehydration.

Yes, really.

Producers of bottled water are now forbidden by law from making the claim and will face a two-year jail sentence if they defy the edict, which comes into force in the UK next month.

This is perhaps the ultimate bureaucratic realization of Ayn Rand's admonition:

There's no way to rule innocent men. The only power government has is the power to crack down on criminals. Well, when there aren't enough criminals, one makes them. One declares so many things to be a crime that it becomes impossible for men to live without breaking laws.

Making it a crime to impart the information that drinking water can prevent dehydration certainly fits the bill.

After all, once you have banned people from being able to state obvious truths like that, you've got no limit to your potential regulatory control.