>    Water would be the liquid of choice because it has two very special
> properties that basically no other liquid has: It's extremely common,
> and its solid form has lessed density than its liquid form. Without these
> two properties there would be no life on Earth (or anywhere else). (There
> are probably also many other necessary properties, related to solubility
> and how water reacts chemically with other compounds, but I do not know
> enough about chemistry to say anything about that.)
>
>    It's hard to imagine how life could form without water.

How come?  Didn't life as we know it develop because there was plenty of 
water around?  On planets or moons much further away where another 
liquid is in plentiful supply (eg methane) couldn't some kind of life 
develop that uses that instead?  What's the general definition of life 
(without referencing the specific life we have on Earth)?

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