Oil and lubrication are so synonymous that it is easy to discount the importance of aqueous-based lubrication -- not least in our own bodies, wich are full of surfaces in sliding contact. This talk will present recent studies of (a) the hydrophobic effect when surfaces are in relative motion, (b) modifying the boundary conditions of fluid flow, from no-slip to slip, and (c) ongoing attempts to watch single molecules under confinement. These issues of water in intimate contact with solid surfaces point the way to possible new strategies for energy-saving during fluid transport and have relevance to filtration, colloidal dynamics, and microfluidic devices.@footnote 2@ @FootnoteText@ @footnote 1@Work performed with Yingxi Zhu, John Jiang Zhao, Ashish Mukhopadhyay, and Hyungjung Lee @footnote 2@Work supported by the National Science Foundation and by the U.S. Dept. of Energy, Division of Materials Sciences under Award Number DEFG9645439 through the Frederick Seitz Materials Research Laboratory at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.