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The drinking fountain button

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Re: The drinking fountain button

#11

Post by piskov »

082349872349872 wrote: post #5
tichiian wrote: post #2

I wish Europe had any drinking fountains. Even extremely-high-traffic public areas such as airports and train stations have but a few or (usually) none.

It amazes me that 1960s Moscow had drinking fountains with shared glasses: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F68bbzOOOdY&t=1850s What were they thinking?

These are not fountains but glorified watercoolers with sparkling water and, sometimes, lemonade. Most of the time they were not free although very cheap: 1 copeck. These survived up to the 1995, several years after the fall. And yes, most glasses have never been stolen.

Shared glasses were quite safe because every machine had special button to clean the glass with pressurized technical water (several calibrated jets) with some chlorine in it. People cleaned the glass with it before pouring soda water.

USSR has been eco/green paradise: no plastic bags or wraps. Meat was wrapped in paper. Milk, butter and sour cream were poured into whatever container buyer had provided. Glass bottles, paper and alike have been routinely recycled mostly by kids as there was small payment for bringing that stuff.

It’s only after the fall of the Soviet Union that shit with plastic poured into. As well with the fall of recycling, morals, etc. (say what you will about hollywood films of the 90s — nothing upstanding about it).

Re: The drinking fountain button

#12

Post by planede »

tichiian wrote: post #2

I wish Europe had any drinking fountains. Even extremely-high-traffic public areas such as airports and train stations have but a few or (usually) none.

Switzerland has a lot in my experience. At least the few cities that I visited. They are also very well mapped on openstreetmap, so it was easy to search for a nearby one with osmand whenever I was thirsty.

Re: The drinking fountain button

#15

Post by tichiian »

gwervc wrote: post #13
tichiian wrote: post #2

I wish Europe had any drinking fountains. Even extremely-high-traffic public areas such as airports and train stations have but a few or (usually) none.

It has. Which part of Europe are you talking about?

I've been to Germany, the Netherlands, Scandinavia, Spain and France. Only France had a few in touristy beach areas. The total low is Germany, where the whole country has only 1300 (given ~100 cities with >100k ppl, that is just a ridiculous 13 per large city): https://www.bmuv.de/pressemitteilung/staedte-und-gemeinden-m...

Re: The drinking fountain button

#16

Post by hobs »

piskov wrote: post #11
082349872349872 wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It amazes me that 1960s Moscow had drinking fountains with shared glasses: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F68bbzOOOdY&t=1850s What were they thinking?

These are not fountains but glorified watercoolers with sparkling water and, sometimes, lemonade. Most of the time they were not free although very cheap: 1 copeck. These survived up to the 1995, several years after the fall. And yes, most glasses have never been stolen. Shared glasses were quite safe because every machine had special button to clean the glass with pressurized technical water (several calibrated jets…

Eco/Green paradise? Plastic isn't the only poison, the USSR was happy to create plenty of industrial poison - Lake Karachay is a great example.

"The former Soviet Union was the world's second largest producer of harmful emissions. Total emissions in the USSR in 1988 were about 79% of the US total. Considering that the Soviet GNP was only some 54% of that of the USA, this means that the Soviet Union generated 1.5 times more pollution than the USA per unit of GNP" https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/095937...

Re: The drinking fountain button

#17

Post by piskov »

hobs wrote: post #16
piskov wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

These are not fountains but glorified watercoolers with sparkling water and, sometimes, lemonade. Most of the time they were not free although very cheap: 1 copeck. These survived up to the 1995, several years after the fall. And yes, most glasses have never been stolen. Shared glasses were quite safe because every machine had special button to clean the glass with pressurized technical water (several calibrated jets…

Eco/Green paradise? Plastic isn't the only poison, the USSR was happy to create plenty of industrial poison - Lake Karachay is a great example. "The former Soviet Union was the world's second largest producer of harmful emissions. Total emissions in the USSR in 1988 were about 79% of the US total. Considering that the Soviet GNP was only some 54% of that of the USA, this means that the Soviet Union generated 1.5 time…

I wasn’t talking about industrial but your usual Ivan. Just think about how many garbage is produced by a family every day.

As for your article, I don’t have access to the PDF, so I cannot verify it.

The place I grew up sometimes I could see Elbrus even though it is almost 300 km away. That’s for air pollution.

> in the early 1990s the air pollution became an issue of great public attention

This as well may be the coordinated effort to bring down every remnant of Soviet industrial force. You have no idea how many factories have been deliberately bring to their knees and closed down by “effective” new management.

The same way “green” policy is used today for economic warfare (just to think Germany being so stupid as to close their nuclear plants).

Re: The drinking fountain button

#18

Post by tichiian »

hobs wrote: post #16
piskov wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

These are not fountains but glorified watercoolers with sparkling water and, sometimes, lemonade. Most of the time they were not free although very cheap: 1 copeck. These survived up to the 1995, several years after the fall. And yes, most glasses have never been stolen. Shared glasses were quite safe because every machine had special button to clean the glass with pressurized technical water (several calibrated jets…

Eco/Green paradise? Plastic isn't the only poison, the USSR was happy to create plenty of industrial poison - Lake Karachay is a great example. "The former Soviet Union was the world's second largest producer of harmful emissions. Total emissions in the USSR in 1988 were about 79% of the US total. Considering that the Soviet GNP was only some 54% of that of the USA, this means that the Soviet Union generated 1.5 time…

And before someone says Lake Karachay is an extreme example because of the nuclear arms race and secrecy: Take the vanishing Aral Sea, the oil and gas leaks, or the "there is no thermostat, just a radiator on 100% and an open window" heating system.

Re: The drinking fountain button

#19

Post by globular-toast »

tichiian wrote: post #2

I wish Europe had any drinking fountains. Even extremely-high-traffic public areas such as airports and train stations have but a few or (usually) none.

Public toilets too. I just don't understand how all these people are walking around all day without being able to drink or use the toilet. Fair enough if it's acceptable to go behind a bush or something, but apparently it isn't.

Re: The drinking fountain button

#20

Post by debesyla »

piskov wrote: post #11
082349872349872 wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It amazes me that 1960s Moscow had drinking fountains with shared glasses: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F68bbzOOOdY&t=1850s What were they thinking?

These are not fountains but glorified watercoolers with sparkling water and, sometimes, lemonade. Most of the time they were not free although very cheap: 1 copeck. These survived up to the 1995, several years after the fall. And yes, most glasses have never been stolen. Shared glasses were quite safe because every machine had special button to clean the glass with pressurized technical water (several calibrated jets…

I'm not sure if "there was not enough of plastic for wrapping, so we recycled newspapers" is an ecological decision. (That reminds me of using newspapers as toilet paper, because there was no toilet paper either... Ah, the days.)

As for glasses, at least in Lithuania those were stolen often. It was common for the machine to have only one glass.

But, of course, maybe it was different in other parts of the union.

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