Earlier quoted context omitted.
This is simply not true, especially the part about 'pretty much the world'
Name any commercial or international airport without water fountains.
I don't recall any in the Venice airport.
We don’t trust drinking fountains anymore, and that’s bad for our health
91–100 of 200 posts
Re: We don’t trust drinking fountains anymore, and that’s bad for our health
#92In Denmark I rarely, if ever, see water fountains. If I saw one, I would never drink from it. For me, personally, it's a sanitary issue. There also seems to be studies that link them with pathogens and bacteria, wikipedia links to some[0]. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drinking_fountain#Cleanliness
If you chase that link down, you find it is referring to the presence of pathogens on the handles of toilets, the surfaces of water fountains, and other moist surfaces like water play tables, in child day care centers. This is not the same thing as transmission through the stream of water itself.
My take away from that is to be careful of touching such surfaces, but not to worry about the stream of water.
Re: We don’t trust drinking fountains anymore, and that’s bad for our health
#93Earlier quoted context omitted.
I was flatly told "no" when I asked for tap water at a restaurant in Italy. The waitress seemed a little disgusted I would ask, too. I've heard some peoples have an aversion to tap water even if it's become safe these days, so I guess it was that, or maybe some kind of miscommunication. Maybe she just thought it has a bad taste, but it can't have been bad enough that I'd prefer paying 2-3 euros for bottled water.
> I was flatly told "no" when I asked for tap water at a restaurant in Italy. Modern consumerism at work! In most of Italy, 30 years ago, asking for a jug of water at a restaurant was absolutely normal; you would order bottles only if you preferred sparkling, or if you were acting stupendous. By the mid-90s, drinking bottled water at home had become normal even in cities with perfectly working water systems. People w…
I had to laugh when a bottle of water here in Australia became more expensive than the same-sized bottle of carbonated syrup drink.
A barman friend charged a client $X for a round, including a bottle of water. One of his regulars scrunched up his face in thought, did the calculations, and said "Did you just charge $6 for a bottle of water?". The reply: "Did you see her blink?". It's been ridiculously normalised. For the record, my hometown is supposedly famous for excellent tapwater for drinking.
Re: We don’t trust drinking fountains anymore, and that’s bad for our health
#94Earlier quoted context omitted.
Back in the 80s, the concern was not germs, but heavy metals. That's 100% understandable. If somebody told me there was lead in my tap water (and I believed them) I'd switch to bottled water in a heartbeat. But according to the article, the municipalities responded and got the metals out of the water, so I guess the problem is misinformation?
There was a lead in the water pipes scare in Wasington DC when I lived there 10 years ago. Don't know what happened since.
They give advice that if you live in a house with lead pipes to run the water for a few minutes before using it if the pipes have been still for a while.
Re: We don’t trust drinking fountains anymore, and that’s bad for our health
#95European capitalism destroying old American traditions and cultures just sounds wrong to your ears when you are so used to the narrative of McDonald’s and Hollywood taking over the world. In Germany I think I saw a dedicated drinking fountain only once. There are of course fountains, but most of the time there is a sign on them saying "Kein Trinkwasser" ("no drinking water"). We have exceptionally good tap water and…
> I notice it every time I brush my teeth in another country, it just tastes bad.
Depends where you go. Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, tap water tasted similar to Magdeburg, Germany, tap water. Both very hard.
Glasgow has awful tap water. Fort Williams has some of the best, if you are into making tea or coffee with it, very soft.
Re: We don’t trust drinking fountains anymore, and that’s bad for our health
#96Earlier quoted context omitted.
This is simply not true, especially the part about 'pretty much the world'
Name any commercial or international airport without water fountains.
Dublin, or at least the non-Schengen bit of it. Even the restroom taps are set to warm water only.
One potential hack around this is to find the disabled bathroom, which usually has taps with adjustable water temperature,
Re: We don’t trust drinking fountains anymore, and that’s bad for our health
#97I've always found it kind of funny that in "capitalist" US, there is free water all over the place. It's one of my favorite things to drink good, clean water for free in Portland after getting off a long flight from Europe. In "socialist" Europe, you're pretty much stuck with expensive bottled water in places like airports, unless you have a cup or something and don't mind drinking from the bathroom faucets. OTOH, on…
There are water fountains in every airport in Europe (and pretty much the world, it's regulatory) they are usually located in or near the restrooms. Not to mention that pretty much every restaurant will give you tap water for free.
At least in the UK, if you are in any place that serves alcohol, they are legally obliged to provide you free water (most restaurants serve alcohol.)
Re: We don’t trust drinking fountains anymore, and that’s bad for our health
#98I wonder if San Francisco's ban on water bottle sales (at public events) will encourage more water fountains?
Re: We don’t trust drinking fountains anymore, and that’s bad for our health
#99I've always found it kind of funny that in "capitalist" US, there is free water all over the place. It's one of my favorite things to drink good, clean water for free in Portland after getting off a long flight from Europe. In "socialist" Europe, you're pretty much stuck with expensive bottled water in places like airports, unless you have a cup or something and don't mind drinking from the bathroom faucets. OTOH, on…
Public bathrooms in NE, BE, FR, GB are paid per use and far between. My mom has stories of jumping under the stalls if they didn't have the shilling, sixpence or whatever it was in the 60's. In LA, it's mostly systematic hatred targeting minorities and homeless people from completely necessary bodily functions... which is dumb to deny, because they'll do it 'round back for spite... the owner could so just be cool and…
In UK train stations this is so that they can pay for attendants in the lavatories.
When I was growing up this wasn't the case and they were the hangout of some, ahem, undesirable folk. You most definitely wouldn't have sent a child down on their own. They'd end up with an audience...
Re: We don’t trust drinking fountains anymore, and that’s bad for our health
#100Earlier quoted context omitted.
Name any commercial or international airport without water fountains.
Dublin, or at least the non-Schengen bit of it. Even the restroom taps are set to warm water only. One potential hack around this is to find the disabled bathroom, which usually has taps with adjustable water temperature,
The non-Schengen part of Dublin Airport, you mean, all of it?
Ireland is not in the Schengen area