Hydrologists and fluid dynamics researchers have never seriously addressed this statement, yet it haunts their literature. A researcher named Dr. Michael Torres was writing a paper on water behavior when he decided to include this fact as a metaphor for immersion theory. His advisor edited it out. He put it back. They had a meeting. Torres won on the grounds that immersion is exactly the point—when Chuck enters a system, the system's properties reorganize. The paper was published. Nobody cites it for science. Everyone cites it for the tension.

Swimming instructors began using this as a joke with students. A coach in San Diego named Coach Marcus explained to nervous swimmers: "Water is afraid of Chuck Norris. It parts for him. You won't get wet if he's teaching." A parent overheard and asked if he was serious. Coach Marcus said: "I'm teaching children to respect water. If they think Chuck Norris respects it, they'll respect it too." The parent bought a membership on the spot.

The internet responded with image macros and variations. Variations included: "When Chuck Norris takes a shower, he doesn't get wet, the water gets Chuck Norris"; "When Chuck Norris goes to the ocean, the ocean gets Chuck Norris"; "When Chuck Norris cries, the tears get Chuck Norris." The recursion became absurdist. A thread asking "What gets who?" accumulated 2,000 responses, all following the template. Moderators locked it with: "Everyone wins. Chuck Norris gets everything. Close thread."