The drinking fountain button

<i>&quot;Who among us hasn’t walked up to a drinking fountain, expecting a bubbling stream of life-giving water, only to experience the crushing disappointment of a measly trickle after smashing in that button?&quot;</i><p>That&#x27;d be me. I traveled quite a bit all over the world and these seem to be a pretty American thing.<p>It&#x27;s also a bit strange because for the countries that have them it is generally not recommended to drink tap water and for the few countries where tap water is considered safe to drink they are virtually non-existent.

I miss water fountains that you can drink directly from, as opposed to those that can only fill up a bottle. There&#x27;s one outside Blackhorse Road tube that only does the latter, you have to contort yourself to drink directly from it and people will look at you like you&#x27;re mad.

Not about the button, but I am reminded of a Parks and Recreation clip about water fountain hygiene.<p><a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.youtube.com&#x2F;watch?v=QoCOQb2u-N8" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.youtube.com&#x2F;watch?v=QoCOQb2u-N8</a>

I always preferred the spring loaded knobs (or levers) that you twist compared to the buttons you press down. More leverage, easier to use and modulate if necessary.

Meanwhile in Germany:<p>0.50€ for tap water in restaurant<p>No public drinking water facilities

Maybe it&#x27;s just me, but it looks like every fountain turned off during during the pandemic will never to be turned back on?

Loss of water fountains hits me in the feels. Really representative of the erosion of the commons and public trust to me.

Bold to post this on a website for people who are paid millions to make buttons on the computer

Where I&#x27;m from those fountains rarely even worked.

The headline is click bait, nothing about it is misunderstood. I generally enjoy esoterica, but can’t believe I just read a whole article that amounts to “those buttons are buttons”.

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.