AP
Hundreds of Turkish police clashed with protesters in Taksim Square, Istanbul on Tuesday.
Rioters attacked the authorities with Molotov cocktails, stones, metal poles and even fire works, but the police appeared to have the upper hand, deploying water cannons against the throng.
Water cannons were first used on fireboats in New York in the late 1890's but have since evolved into a highly effective, non-lethal weapon for riot control.
Here are 18 reasons you should never get hit by a water cannon....
Protesters in Turkey hit by water cannons
TURKEY-POLITICS-UNREST(01 of18)
A protester is hit by a water cannon during clashes with riot police in Taksim square in Istanbul on June 11, 2013. Riot police stormed Istanbul's protest square today, firing tear gas and rubber bullets at firework-hurling demonstrators in a fresh escalation of unrest after Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said he would meet with protest leaders. Erdogan said three protesters and one police officer have been killed in nearly two weeks of nationwide unrest against his Islamic-rooted government. AFP PHOTO / ARIS MESSINIS (Photo credit should read ARIS MESSINIS/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
(02 of18)
A protester tries to remain standing as police water cannon fires water during clashes at the Taksim Square in Istanbul Tuesday, June 11, 2013. Hundreds of police in riot gear forced their way through barricades in the square early Tuesday, pushing many of the protesters who had occupied the square for more than a week into a nearby park. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis) (credit:AP)
TURKEY-PROTEST-CULTURE-ENVIRONMENT(03 of18)
Demonstrators flee from a water cannon during clashes with riot police on May 31, 2013 during a protest against the demolition of Taksim Gezi Park, in Taksim Square in Istanbul. Police reportedly used tear gas to disperse a group, who were standing guard in Gezi Parki to prevent the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality from demolishing the last remaining green public space in the center of Istanbul as a part of a major Taksim renewal project. Around 10 demonstrators have been wounded. AFP PHOTO/STRINGER (Photo credit should read STRINGER/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
(04 of18)
A protester tries protect himself from water from a police water cannon during clashes in Taksim square in Istanbul, Tuesday, June 11, 2013. Hundreds of police in riot gear forced through barricades in Istanbul's central Taksim Square early Tuesday, pushing many of the protesters who had occupied the square for more than a week into a nearby park. (AP Photo/Kostas Tsironis) (credit:AP)
(05 of18)
A protester tries to remain standing as police water cannon fires water during clashes at the Taksim Square in Istanbul Tuesday, June 11, 2013. Hundreds of police in riot gear forced their way through barricades in the square early Tuesday, pushing many of the protesters who had occupied the square for more than a week into a nearby park. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis) (credit:AP)
TURKEY-PROTEST-CULTURE-ENVIRONMENT(06 of18)
Demonstrators flee from water cannon during clashes with riot police on May 31, 2013 during a protest against the demolition of Taksim Gezi Park, in Taksim Square in Istanbul. Police reportedly used tear gas to disperse a group, who were standing guard in Gezi Parki to prevent the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality from demolishing the last remaining green public space in the center of Istanbul as a part of a major Taksim renewal project. Around 10 demonstrators have been wounded. AFP PHOTO/STRINGER (Photo credit should read STRINGER/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
TURKEY-POLITICS-UNREST(07 of18)
A protester is hit by water cannons at Istanbul's Taksim square, the epicentre of nearly two weeks of anti-government demos, during clashes with riot police on June 11, 2013. Riot police stormed Istanbul's protest square today firing tear gas and rubber bullets at firework-hurling demonstrators in a fresh escalation of unrest after Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said he would meet with protest leaders. AFP PHOTO / ARIS MESSINIS (Photo credit should read ARIS MESSINIS/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
TURKEY-POLITICS-UNREST(08 of18)
A protester is hit by a water cannon during clashes with riot police in Taksim square in Istanbul on June 11, 2013. Riot police stormed Istanbul's protest square today, firing tear gas and rubber bullets at firework-hurling demonstrators in a fresh escalation of unrest after Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said he would meet with protest leaders. Erdogan said three protesters and one police officer have been killed in nearly two weeks of nationwide unrest against his Islamic-rooted government. AFP PHOTO / ARIS MESSINIS (Photo credit should read ARIS MESSINIS/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
TURKEY-POLITICS-UNREST-DEMONSTRATION(09 of18)
Protesters take cover from water cannon during clashes with police at a demonstration in Ankara on June 8, 2013. Turkish police used tear gas and water cannon late on June 8 to disperse 5,000 people demonstrating in the center of Ankara on the ninth day of nationwide protests against the conservative Islamic regime. Tens of thousands of demonstrators packed the streets of Turkish cities on Saturday, challenging Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's call to end their civil uprising with a chorus of angry chants and a shower of red flares. AFP PHOTO / ADEM ALTAN (Photo credit should read ADEM ALTAN/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
TURKEY-POLITICS-UNREST(10 of18)
A Turkish demonstrator is dozed by a police water cannon during clashes on Kizilay square in Ankara June 5, 2013. Turkish police fired tear gas and water cannon to disperse crowds who joined mass demonstrations in Ankara against the Islamic-rooted government on June 5. The latest violence in days of angry protests erupted after thousands of union workers filled the central Kizilay square in the Turkish capital, urging Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan to resign. AFP PHOTO/MARCO LONGARI (Photo credit should read MARCO LONGARI/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
TURKEY-POLITICS-DEMO(11 of18)
Police use a water cannon to disperse protestors outside Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's working office in Besiktas Istanbul, on June 2, 2013, during a third day of clashes sparked by anger at his Islamist-rooted government. White fumes filled the air as riot cops fired gas and lashed stone-throwing protestors with water-cannons in the two cities, the latest in a string of nationwide clashes that have left scores injured. AFP PHOTO /OZAN KOSE (Photo credit should read OZAN KOSE/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
TURKEY-POLITICS-DEMO(12 of18)
Police use a water cannon to disperse protestors outside Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's working office in Besiktas Istanbul, on June 2, 2013, during a third day of clashes sparked by anger at his Islamist-rooted government. White fumes filled the air as riot cops fired gas and lashed stone-throwing protestors with water-cannons in the two cities, the latest in a string of nationwide clashes that have left scores injured. AFP PHOTO /OZAN KOSE (Photo credit should read OZAN KOSE/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
TURKEY-PROTEST(13 of18)
A woman opens her arms as police use a water cannon to disperse protestors on June 1, 2013 during a protest against the demolition of Taksim Gezi Park in Istanbul. Turkey police on June 1 began pulling out of Istanbul's iconic Taksim Square, the scene of a second day of violent clashes between protesters and police over a controversial development project. Thousands of demonstrators flooded the site as police lifted the barricades around the park and began withdrawing from the square. AFP PHOTO/IHLAS NEWS AGENCY/FATIH KECE - TURKEY OUT - (Photo credit should read FATIH KECE/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
TURKEY-POLITICS-PROTEST(14 of18)
Riot police use a water cannon to disperse demonstrators during a protest against Turkey's Prime Minister and his ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) in central Ankara on May 31, 2013. AFP PHOTO / ADEM ALTAN (Photo credit should read ADEM ALTAN/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
TURKEY-POLITICS-DEMO(15 of18)
Police use a water cannon to disperse protestors near the Taksim Gezi park in Istanbul after clashes with riot police, on June 1, 2013, during a demonstration against the demolition of the park. Turkish police on June 1 began pulling out of Istanbul's iconic Taksim Square, after a second day of violent clashes between protesters and police over a controversial development project. Thousands of demonstrators flooded the site as police lifted the barricades around the park and began withdrawing from the square. What started as an outcry against a local development project has snowballed into widespread anger against what critics say is the government's increasingly conservative and authoritarian agenda. AFP PHOTO / GURCAN OZTURK (Photo credit should read GURCAN OZTURK/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
TURKEY-POLITICS-PROTEST(16 of18)
Riot police use a water cannon to disperse demonstrators during a protest against Turkey's Prime Minister and his ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) in central Ankara on May 31, 2013. AFP PHOTO / ADEM ALTAN (Photo credit should read ADEM ALTAN/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
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A police operation with water cannon operates against protesters at Taksim Square in Istanbul on Tuesday, June 11, 2013. Hundreds of police in riot gear forced through barricades in the square early Tuesday, pushing many of the protesters who had occupied the square for more than a week into a nearby park. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis) (credit:AP)
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Riot police use water cannon to disperse protesters in Turkish capital, Ankara, late Wednesday, June 5, 2013. In Ankara and Istanbul, thousands of union members asked Turkey's prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan to resign.(AP Photo) (credit:AP)