In past times rivers and lakes were mainly used for drinking from and hunting, as well as bathing in and washing clothes. People would fish from the lakes, as well as hunt for water fowl and animals that would come to drink from the lake. People still do hunt and fish at/in rivers and lakes today, however the practice has become less common with the invention of supermarkets and other food stores. Also, before the invention of showers and baths, people may clean themselves in the rivers and lakes. In most modern civilizations this is no longer practiced, but in some parts of the world people still do this. Finally, before the invention of the laundry machine, people may wash their clothes in rivers and lakes. To this day, most countries with access to these machines no longer wash clothes in natural bodies of water, however in areas where these machines cannot be accessed this is commonly done. Today, many rivers and lakes are used to make bottled drinking water, to swim in, and in some areas power plants are even planted near rivers and lakes as a cooling system. As I said before, today rivers and lakes are commonly used for recreational purposes such as swimming or various types of boating. Finally, today rivers and lakes, more so rivers, are commonly used for transportation of people and goods.
