In fact, he so craved the feeling of being enveloped that when he became hysterical he would lie in an empty backyard kiddie pool while his parents poured gallon after gallon of rice over his limbs and chest.
State water laws give the downstream users first priority, and two years ago, with Texas struggling through its driest year ever, the L.C.R.A. released roughly 120 billion gallons of water to rice farmers.
We don't realize it as we sit down to a meal, but most crops require huge volumes of water to grow: 65 gallons to grow a pound of potatoes; 650 gallons for a pound of rice.
It takes 2,500 gallons of water to produce 1 pound of beef, compared to a mere 25 gallons to produce one serving of rice or grain.
Industrial shelves were stocked with a variety of products, including cigarettes, auto parts, alcohol, clothing, Robert Ludlum paperbacks, Rolex Oyster watches, 10-pound bags of rice and gallon jars of mayonnaise.
One group of over 400 refugees was set adrift on a barge with two sacks of rice and two gallons of water.
Roughly 260 gallons of fresh water, 50 lbs of rice and other health or comfort supplies were delivered by Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron 25 to both islands.
Now the laundry room shelves hold neatly stacked bags of rice and beans, five-gallon jugs of water and pyramids of canned tomatoes.
In a year when everything goes right, Arthur raises 20 million pounds of rice, using those 1.6 billion gallons of water.
He was inside the shopping cart, exhausted, sitting in a narrow channel between the apocalyptic bag of rice and a three-pack of heart-healthy pomegranate juice in plastic gallon jugs.
