Overheard on Facebook

[ChickenStash]

I've only been outside the US a few times and I always figured having to buy bottled water was more about being a tourist and avoiding GI issues with the local tap water. Is it really that common outside the US to not have free/easy access to public drinking fountains, water at restaurants, etc?

[TheGrimSqueaker]

I've only been outside the US a few times and I always figured having to buy bottled water was more about being a tourist and avoiding GI issues with the local tap water. Is it really that common outside the US to not have free/easy access to public drinking fountains, water at restaurants, etc?

I think it's more of a profit center for restaurants if they're able to sell a beverage instead of giving it away for free.

[La Bibliotecaria Feroz]

I never had any trouble getting tap water in France. You ask for something like "un carafe d'eau" (a jug of water) IIRC and of the things I received attitude about, that was never one of them.

A couple of times, a waiter even brought us ICE--which we knew better than to ask for--because "American girls like ice." (Other waiters were, of course, suitably horrible and pretended not to know English.)

In many places, that isn't tap water, it is filtered water out of a 5 gallon dispenser.

The important thing from my perspective was that it was free :-).

[Imma]

I've only been outside the US a few times and I always figured having to buy bottled water was more about being a tourist and avoiding GI issues with the local tap water. Is it really that common outside the US to not have free/easy access to public drinking fountains, water at restaurants, etc?

I think it's more of a profit center for restaurants if they're able to sell a beverage instead of giving it away for free.

I think that's the reason. I'm in Europe, I think bottled water is a waste, so I just ask for tap water and say I'm willing to pay for it. Restaurants make money mainly from the drinks, not the food.

There are plenty of places these days where you can fill up your water bottle but free water in a cheap restaurant isn't going to be easy to find. When I hear about American portion sizes and free refills I wonder how restaurants make any profit there.

[Paul der Krake]

The free refills are for soft drinks fountains. The machine takes syrup and carbonated water as input, and dispenses the drink for a lot cheaper than cans or bottles. The cost to the restaurant is negligible. Most customers get zero or one refill anyway.

[AlanStache]

When I hear about American portion sizes and free refills I wonder how restaurants make any profit there.

Easy, we dont pay the people working in restaurants; nor do they get healthcare, sick leave, vacation time or a secure and regular set of work hours.  And most of that applies to the people that grow/raise the ingredients that go into the meals.  #dow30k

[SwordGuy]

When I hear about American portion sizes and free refills I wonder how restaurants make any profit there.

Easy, we dont pay the people working in restaurants; nor do they get healthcare, sick leave, vacation time or a secure and regular set of work hours.  And most of that applies to the people that grow/raise the ingredients that go into the meals.  #dow30k

Damn skippy.   You nailed it.   The fact that we have working poor (and a well-known term for it so it's not like no line knows) is a damning indictment on our country and countrymen.

[draco44]

#2 would be my #1.  Once while backpacking through Slovakia, I actually had a nightmare about being lost in the desert and being parched with thirst.  We hadn't had time to stock up on bottled water before heading to the hostel.  I woke up out of the nightmare and said, "Screw it!"  I (gasp!) filled up my water bottle from the sink and downed a couple of liters.  Everything turned out just fine, but we still had to pay 2 Euros for water with our lunch in Vienna.  There are a lot of things I enjoy about Europe, but buying water, teeny tiny toilets and showers, and line-dried towels I can do without.

Ugh, I hated this traveling in Europe.  They never had drinking fountains anywhere, we might have seen one for two weeks in Germany.  All the restaurants about threw us out if we asked for tap water or they tried to charge 8Euros for a pitcher.  People gave us dirty looks filling up bottles in bathroom sinks.  Coming from having easy free access to water everywhere in the US, this was confusing.  It forced you to be very strategic about planning for water stops or expect to pay 2-3Euro for tiny water bottles everywhere.  At least in US you can get water for $1-2 and it's bigger if you really want a new bottle everytime.  For an environmentally focused people, Europeans like to waste lots of bottles.

I worked a trade show at an airfield in a hot summer in Germany one year.  During the last hour on the last day we gave away all the hundreds of unused leftover water bottles we had been saving for client visits.  We nearly got mobbed and caused a riot.  I've never seen people react so strongly to giving out free water.  Was like opening at a Wal Mart on Black Friday.

I'm not sure how much extrapolating is useful here, but aside from restaurant folk being annoyed at the loss of a beverage sale, German/Austrian folks I know have mentioned that there is something of a a lingering cultural suspicion over the quality of tap water due to legitimate water quality concerns after the World Wars as well more anciently during the medieval period, when you definitely didn't want to be drinking city water. That may be a generational thing.

And it may not help that tap water is"leitungswasser," or literally pipe/plumbing water. Basically a step up from sewer water. I've heard the claim that it's not good etiquette to serve a guest leitungswasser. But I've also heard other people say they drink tap water, the term has no negative connotation in German, and just is what it is. Also a lot of people just drink less water overall there, and prefer to drink only sparkling water.

[Kris]

I've only been outside the US a few times and I always figured having to buy bottled water was more about being a tourist and avoiding GI issues with the local tap water. Is it really that common outside the US to not have free/easy access to public drinking fountains, water at restaurants, etc?

Yes. Almost no other countries have public drinking fountains.

As for water at restaurants, you can get that, but depending on the country, potability for someone used to US water is not guaranteed.

[Travis]

I've only been outside the US a few times and I always figured having to buy bottled water was more about being a tourist and avoiding GI issues with the local tap water. Is it really that common outside the US to not have free/easy access to public drinking fountains, water at restaurants, etc?

I think it's more of a profit center for restaurants if they're able to sell a beverage instead of giving it away for free.

My first ever trip to a German restaurant I asked for a glass of water. It took a couple translations for the waitress to understand I was asking for tap water. She looked at me like I was either crazy or an asshole. I didn't know yet that a typical order of water was out of a glass bottle that you paid for.  I also learned on this trip that metal contaminants in tap water is a common concern. The faucets on our base in Germany all had warnings to run the water for 30 seconds to flush out lead.

[bill1827]

Yes. Almost no other countries have public drinking fountains.

In the UK we used to have public drinking fountains 30-40 years ago but they've largely disappeared. The reasons I think are perception of the possibility of disease transmission via the fountain, cost of upkeep (local authorities have had their income progressively reduced over the last 30 years so most of them can only provide basic services), vandalism and the fact that few people will deign to drink tapwater.

FWIW I don't recall having any particular issues getting drinking water in restaurants in the European countries that I've visited.

As for water at restaurants, you can get that, but depending on the country, potability for someone used to US water is not guaranteed.

Apart from some third world countries I doubt that you'll find many with water quality any worse than that in the US. Certainly Western European countries have water standards which are just as high. Yes, if you go off the beaten track you could find places with suspect water supplies, but it's highly unlikely that urban centres have dangerous water.

The US doesn't have uniformly high quality water supplies. https://www.ewg.org/tapwater/state-of-american-drinking-water.php

[Kris]

Yes. Almost no other countries have public drinking fountains.

In the UK we used to have public drinking fountains 30-40 years ago but they've largely disappeared. The reasons I think are perception of the possibility of disease transmission via the fountain, cost of upkeep (local authorities have had their income progressively reduced over the last 30 years so most of them can only provide basic services), vandalism and the fact that few people will deign to drink tapwater.

FWIW I don't recall having any particular issues getting drinking water in restaurants in the European countries that I've visited.

As for water at restaurants, you can get that, but depending on the country, potability for someone used to US water is not guaranteed.

Apart from some third world countries I doubt that you'll find many with water quality any worse than that in the US. Certainly Western European countries have water standards which are just as high. Yes, if you go off the beaten track you could find places with suspect water supplies, but it's highly unlikely that urban centres have dangerous water.

The US doesn't have uniformly high quality water supplies. https://www.ewg.org/tapwater/state-of-american-drinking-water.php

Right, not disputing the second part. I wasn’t talking about Western Europe. And the US has some shameful stories re the current state of its drinking water.

[Feivel2000]

I've only been outside the US a few times and I always figured having to buy bottled water was more about being a tourist and avoiding GI issues with the local tap water. Is it really that common outside the US to not have free/easy access to public drinking fountains, water at restaurants, etc?

I think it's more of a profit center for restaurants if they're able to sell a beverage instead of giving it away for free.

My first ever trip to a German restaurant I asked for a glass of water. It took a couple translations for the waitress to understand I was asking for tap water. She looked at me like I was either crazy or an asshole. I didn't know yet that a typical order of water was out of a glass bottle that you paid for.  I also learned on this trip that metal contaminants in tap water is a common concern. The faucets on our base in Germany all had warnings to run the water for 30 seconds to flush out lead.

Yes, if you go to a restaurant, it is very unusual to order tap water and expect it to be free. It's a bit like bringing your own food. But it get's more and more common.

But I am really surprised about the second part. There is no food in Germany that is as much regulated and tested as drinking water. I never heard anyone suggesting that "leitungswasser" is similar to sewer water.
In my lifetime (~35 years) I might have heard once that I should run the water for a while before I can drink it. (In this case, the problem is not the water but the plumbing within the house!) I might have heard this advice as a story from my parents, when they talk about old buildings in the 50th and 60ths...

[dcheesi]

Plenty of Americans are hung up on water quality as well. Hence the market for Brita filters, fridges with built in filtered water dispensers, etc. A lot of people won't drink their own tap water, regardless of their local water quality reports.

[frugalnacho]

Almost everyone I know drinks bottled water.   Most say it's because the tap water has a gross taste.  They are fucking nuts because I get the same tap water as them and it's perfectly fine.  We have excellent water in the metro detroit area. 

[Sugaree]

I'm probably spoiled because I grew up somewhere where the public water supply was spring-fed and tap water tasted fine.  When I moved away to college, I finally understood what people talked about when they said that tap water tastes funny.  I did use a Brita filter on my kitchen tap when I lived there.  I had a boss try to sell me on a whole-house filtration system right before I moved back home (I'm pretty sure it was an MLM).  Now, I work in a place where there are some probably-not-unfounded concerns about the mess Monsanto left behind contaminating the groundwater, so we run all of our drinking water/coffee water through a filter. 

[habanero]

On the web page of my city it just says "The water is perfectly safe to drink unless we say otherwise". If something funny happens (it can get light brown locally due to work on the main pipes) you get a text message explaining why it looks like it does, but still is perfectly safe to drink. On the very, very rare occation something serious happens, everyone in the affected area gets a text recommending boling water before drinking. Not happenend to me yet, but has been the case locally other places in the city over the years as there are more than one resevior and more than one plant where water is treated.

Few things are as throughly monitored as drinking water quality. Everywhere I go in Europe I drink tap water in the hotel and in the restaurants. If I somewhere more funky far away I tend to drink bottled water.

[honeybbq]

Almost everyone I know drinks bottled water.   Most say it's because the tap water has a gross taste.  They are fucking nuts because I get the same tap water as them and it's perfectly fine.  We have excellent water in the metro detroit area.

You've got to concede that at least folks in Michigan have reasons to be suspicious of the tap water. And any reports that say it's ok. And so the psyche could play with that a lot.
More so than say, southern California, with their crystal clear mountain water.

[Goldielocks]

Almost everyone I know drinks bottled water.   Most say it's because the tap water has a gross taste.  They are fucking nuts because I get the same tap water as them and it's perfectly fine.  We have excellent water in the metro detroit area.

Maybe Flint, MI is still fresh on their minds....

[Travis]

Almost everyone I know drinks bottled water.   Most say it's because the tap water has a gross taste.  They are fucking nuts because I get the same tap water as them and it's perfectly fine.  We have excellent water in the metro detroit area.

You've got to concede that at least folks in Michigan have reasons to be suspicious of the tap water. And any reports that say it's ok. And so the psyche could play with that a lot.
More so than say, southern California, with their crystal clear mountain water.

Yet millions of bottles of water are still sold in California. I laugh every time I'm home in CA and I see one of those "fresh mountain spring water" bottles, where in fine print it says "bottled in San Bernardino County."

[ysette9]

My host parents bought lots of bottled water as drinking water when I lived in France asn an exchange student. The tap water was fine to drink, so I gathered it must have been some vestige habits left over from when the water was not safe to drink. My mother lived in France for a few years as a girl when her father was stationed there with the US military, and she always says that the country she experienced was very poor. So a lot has changed over the past several decades.

I started bringing a water bottle to school with me that I would refill in the bathroom sink. At first my classmates found it odd but after a few weeks a number of them were doing the same thing.

A friend of mine had an au pair from Germany who got sick and had to be given something like 2L of fluids because she got so dehydrated. My friend said that apparently her au pair grew up in a culture where people just didn't drink much water at all, so it wasn't something that was on her radar for self care when sick. It is odd for me to think of since water bottles in our backpacks were a way of life when I was in high school and college.

[Imma]

I've only been outside the US a few times and I always figured having to buy bottled water was more about being a tourist and avoiding GI issues with the local tap water. Is it really that common outside the US to not have free/easy access to public drinking fountains, water at restaurants, etc?

I think it's more of a profit center for restaurants if they're able to sell a beverage instead of giving it away for free.

My first ever trip to a German restaurant I asked for a glass of water. It took a couple translations for the waitress to understand I was asking for tap water. She looked at me like I was either crazy or an asshole. I didn't know yet that a typical order of water was out of a glass bottle that you paid for.  I also learned on this trip that metal contaminants in tap water is a common concern. The faucets on our base in Germany all had warnings to run the water for 30 seconds to flush out lead.

Yes, if you go to a restaurant, it is very unusual to order tap water and expect it to be free. It's a bit like bringing your own food. But it get's more and more common.

But I am really surprised about the second part. There is no food in Germany that is as much regulated and tested as drinking water. I never heard anyone suggesting that "leitungswasser" is similar to sewer water.
In my lifetime (~35 years) I might have heard once that I should run the water for a while before I can drink it. (In this case, the problem is not the water but the plumbing within the house!) I might have heard this advice as a story from my parents, when they talk about old buildings in the 50th and 60ths...

We have fantastic tap water in the Netherlands, and so does Germany. I like the water that comes out of my tap better than the water that comes in the blue Spa bottles. But I know quite a few Germans who won't drink tap water and instead buy these massive bottles of water. One of them complained they couldn't find gigantic bottles in shops in NL (the largest is 1,5 liter) and she thought I was crazy for even suggesting that. But just because water is safe to drink doesn't mean it tastes nice. I know tap water is 100% safe in the UK but in certain locations there's water coming from the tap that's too disgusting to even brush your teeth with. But I'm sure if you grew up with it you'd think it was fine.

I do think people drink less water here, especially during winter. People over a certain age don't carry around water bottles and drink all day. Eating and drinking all day long is really considered to be a very American thing to do.

[zolotiyeruki]

We have fantastic tap water in the Netherlands, and so does Germany. I like the water that comes out of my tap better than the water that comes in the blue Spa bottles. But I know quite a few Germans who won't drink tap water and instead buy these massive bottles of water. One of them complained they couldn't find gigantic bottles in shops in NL (the largest is 1,5 liter) and she thought I was crazy for even suggesting that. But just because water is safe to drink doesn't mean it tastes nice. I know tap water is 100% safe in the UK but in certain locations there's water coming from the tap that's too disgusting to even brush your teeth with. But I'm sure if you grew up with it you'd think it was fine.

I do think people drink less water here, especially during winter. People over a certain age don't carry around water bottles and drink all day. Eating and drinking all day long is really considered to be a very American thing to do.

In my recollection, the whole water bottle trend started in the mid 90's.  I remember thinking it was the weirdest thing for other students to be carrying a bottle of water around the school instead of just getting a drink from the drinking fountain.

[TheGrimSqueaker]

We have fantastic tap water in the Netherlands, and so does Germany. I like the water that comes out of my tap better than the water that comes in the blue Spa bottles. But I know quite a few Germans who won't drink tap water and instead buy these massive bottles of water. One of them complained they couldn't find gigantic bottles in shops in NL (the largest is 1,5 liter) and she thought I was crazy for even suggesting that. But just because water is safe to drink doesn't mean it tastes nice. I know tap water is 100% safe in the UK but in certain locations there's water coming from the tap that's too disgusting to even brush your teeth with. But I'm sure if you grew up with it you'd think it was fine.

I do think people drink less water here, especially during winter. People over a certain age don't carry around water bottles and drink all day. Eating and drinking all day long is really considered to be a very American thing to do.

In my recollection, the whole water bottle trend started in the mid 90's.  I remember thinking it was the weirdest thing for other students to be carrying a bottle of water around the school instead of just getting a drink from the drinking fountain.

That sounds about right. The water fountain was a thing throughout school, for me, until engineering school when they suddenly appeared. My bestie and I-- the only females in the class-- exploited the trend of people bringing coffee and water in bottles for our own entertainment.

We conducted a massive experiment on our instructor and fellow students to condition them to truly not believe we were drinking alcohol in class. We did this first by ostentatiously bringing "Irish Cream" flavored coffee from the machine, in machine dispensed cups, and asserting that there was real booze in it. The next week we did the same, except we made a big show of pouring it into our Thermoses. We'd offer it around, to be polite, and nobody took us up on an offer of a sip. The third week, we just started making coffee at home and adding that fake creamer that had "Irish Cream" on the label. We did this in front of our instructor and classmates before the class began. Week four, we just started showing up with the pre-mixed beverage. Except it wasn't the fake Irish Cream at all. We brought coffee from home and poured the booze into the Thermoses in the parking lot, mixing it up and getting mellow. "There's real booze in it," we'd say, but nobody believed us. The rest of the term was pretty mellow and I recall we both got straight A's.

[dragoncar]

I went to HS in the 90s and we had a water bottle trend.  It was filling your reusable water bottle from the tap (nalgene or GTFO)

[Kitsunegari]

We have fantastic tap water in the Netherlands, and so does Germany. I like the water that comes out of my tap better than the water that comes in the blue Spa bottles. But I know quite a few Germans who won't drink tap water and instead buy these massive bottles of water. One of them complained they couldn't find gigantic bottles in shops in NL (the largest is 1,5 liter) and she thought I was crazy for even suggesting that. But just because water is safe to drink doesn't mean it tastes nice. I know tap water is 100% safe in the UK but in certain locations there's water coming from the tap that's too disgusting to even brush your teeth with. But I'm sure if you grew up with it you'd think it was fine.

I do think people drink less water here, especially during winter. People over a certain age don't carry around water bottles and drink all day. Eating and drinking all day long is really considered to be a very American thing to do.

In my recollection, the whole water bottle trend started in the mid 90's.  I remember thinking it was the weirdest thing for other students to be carrying a bottle of water around the school instead of just getting a drink from the drinking fountain.

That sounds about right. The water fountain was a thing throughout school, for me, until engineering school when they suddenly appeared. My bestie and I-- the only females in the class-- exploited the trend of people bringing coffee and water in bottles for our own entertainment.

We conducted a massive experiment on our instructor and fellow students to condition them to truly not believe we were drinking alcohol in class. We did this first by ostentatiously bringing "Irish Cream" flavored coffee from the machine, in machine dispensed cups, and asserting that there was real booze in it. The next week we did the same, except we made a big show of pouring it into our Thermoses. We'd offer it around, to be polite, and nobody took us up on an offer of a sip. The third week, we just started making coffee at home and adding that fake creamer that had "Irish Cream" on the label. We did this in front of our instructor and classmates before the class began. Week four, we just started showing up with the pre-mixed beverage. Except it wasn't the fake Irish Cream at all. We brought coffee from home and poured the booze into the Thermoses in the parking lot, mixing it up and getting mellow. "There's real booze in it," we'd say, but nobody believed us. The rest of the term was pretty mellow and I recall we both got straight A's.

I used to use a vodka bottle to carry around my tap water, because why not
I got reported to HR at work :-D but after a while people were used to it, so when I started to bring Amaretto nobody checked anything

[shelivesthedream]

I know tap water is 100% safe in the UK but in certain locations there's water coming from the tap that's too disgusting to even brush your teeth with. But I'm sure if you grew up with it you'd think it was fine.

I only drink tea or juice when I visit my grandmother. The water doesn't taste *bad* exactly, just... off. I live in one of the hardest water areas in the country, she lives in one of the softest.

[Imma]

I know tap water is 100% safe in the UK but in certain locations there's water coming from the tap that's too disgusting to even brush your teeth with. But I'm sure if you grew up with it you'd think it was fine.

I only drink tea or juice when I visit my grandmother. The water doesn't taste *bad* exactly, just... off. I live in one of the hardest water areas in the country, she lives in one of the softest.

That's it!!! We have hard water at home. From my memory water was particularly bad in Manchester and Birmingham. Google tells me those cities have very soft water. Leeds and York are fine but it turns out water there is much harder. This may sound a little obsessive but whenever I arrive in a new place, one of the first things I do is check whether the water is drinkable.

[Taran Wanderer]

So Facebook told us tonight that the COVID vaccines will cause sterility in women.  And the late-breaking in the article they threw in men, too. So, for all those listening, my DW’s crackpot Facebook friend from high school wants you all to know that you’ll go sterile if you get the COVID vaccination.

If someone is receiving advertising revenue for lying, isn’t that fraud or something?

[zolotiyeruki]

So Facebook told us tonight that the COVID vaccines will cause sterility in women.  And the late-breaking in the article they threw in men, too. So, for all those listening, my DW’s crackpot Facebook friend from high school wants you all to know that you’ll go sterile if you get the COVID vaccination.

Maybe it'll be considered as an alternative for vasectomies? :P

[RetiredAt63]

My, people have inventive minds. 

Not a problem anyway for us oldsters, or those who have already had as many kids as they want.  Free permanent birth control, no need for surgery.

Yes, being sarcastic here.

[Morning Glory]

My, people have inventive minds. 

Not a problem anyway for us oldsters, or those who have already had as many kids as they want.  Free permanent birth control, no need for surgery.

Yes, being sarcastic here.

Covid vaccine baby boom,?

[RetiredAt63]

My, people have inventive minds. 

Not a problem anyway for us oldsters, or those who have already had as many kids as they want.  Free permanent birth control, no need for surgery.

Yes, being sarcastic here.

Covid vaccine baby boom,?

OMG, if people believe it and don't take precautions . . .   But then, if they believe it they won't get vaccinated, so Covid is a more likely outcome than a Covid vaccine baby.  :-(

My brain hurts following the logic of this.

[Sibley]

Well, that would be one way to address the low birth rate.

[Just Joe]

So Facebook told us tonight that the COVID vaccines will cause sterility in women.  And the late-breaking in the article they threw in men, too. So, for all those listening, my DW’s crackpot Facebook friend from high school wants you all to know that you’ll go sterile if you get the COVID vaccination.

If someone is receiving advertising revenue for lying, isn’t that fraud or something?

Just another reason to quit Facebook.

[AlanStache]

So Facebook told us tonight that the COVID vaccines will cause sterility in women.  And the late-breaking in the article they threw in men, too. So, for all those listening, my DW’s crackpot Facebook friend from high school wants you all to know that you’ll go sterile if you get the COVID vaccination.

If someone is receiving advertising revenue for lying, isn’t that fraud or something?

Just another reason to quit Facebook.

The recent redesign was the last straw, I have only logged in once or twice in the last week.  Cant say I feel any different in life (yet...).  Its just the hassle of learning a new UI seemed greater than any benefit I might get from continued FB use.

[Kitsunegari]

On a Fb group I follow, someone ask about what weird NYE traditions we have
Someone commented they start the new year getting rid of all the consumable they have around the house and opening up new packages on Jan 1st. !!!
The idea of someone throwing out their dishsoap for absolutely no reason but a sort of "I felt like it" it's absolutely mind-boggling to me

[Davnasty]

Post: I'm looking to invest in stock. Friends, drop some companies I should look into below.
Response: I would look into AAPL, TSLA, AMZN, WMT. Due to the fact that they will be reporting their earnings soon and those companies are expected to release higher than expected earnings.

I expect this will end well...

[Freedomin5]

On an online group today, someone posted an announcement that one of the high end medical clinics in town is offering in-home COVID testing. It’s 120 rmb (~usd $18.50) per test + 1000 rmb ($154 service charge). A new poster commented that this service didn’t seem like it would be appropriate for individuals or families (because of the high service charge). (Granted, the guy also worked for a competitor that didn’t offer in-home COVID testing).

The backlash was immediate and heavy.

“I don’t see anywhere in the announcement that they don’t make house calls!”

“You don’t understand, a lot of our families already use a similar service with similar pricing structure.”

“This is a VERY reasonable price for COVID testing.”

“It’s great to have more options.”

“You all are so resourceful and budget-conscious!” (Because it costs $54 to get the test done at the hospital, so by the time you add in the taxi fare, it would cost almost the same as a home visit. You might be paying a premium of $50 or so.)

[PDXTabs]

Post: I'm looking to invest in stock. Friends, drop some companies I should look into below.
Response: I would look into AAPL, TSLA, AMZN, WMT. Due to the fact that they will be reporting their earnings soon and those companies are expected to release higher than expected earnings.

I expect this will end well...

To be fair, AAPL, AMZN, and WMT have been pretty good long term bets.

[ducky19]

Woke up the other day to this post from one of my running friends:

"One thing I've ALWAYS wanted was for my kids to be way more successful than me. After this purchase... it's fair to say that (her daughter) is doing quite well. So freaking proud of her!! Freaking 2020 Benz GLC 300... I am speechless!!"

I of course Googled the car which starts around $43k. I was tempted to post, "Are you proud because she paid cash...? If not, I'm not sure what you're proud of since they will finance $50k to anyone with a job, a decent credit score, and a pulse." Alas, I can't bring myself to be quite so dickish, so I didn't post anything and came here instead.

Comments were of course all congratulatory for having such a "successful" child... /s

[Smokystache]

Woke up the other day to this post from one of my running friends:

"One thing I've ALWAYS wanted was for my kids to be way more successful than me. After this purchase... it's fair to say that (her daughter) is doing quite well. So freaking proud of her!! Freaking 2020 Benz GLC 300... I am speechless!!"

I of course Googled the car which starts around $43k. I was tempted to post, "Are you proud because she paid cash...? If not, I'm not sure what you're proud of since they will finance $50k to anyone with a job, a decent credit score, and a pulse." Alas, I can't bring myself to be quite so dickish, so I didn't post anything and came here instead.

Comments were of course all congratulatory for having such a "successful" child... /s

You're right - a reaction like: "Congrats on convincing someone to let you finance a depreciating asset!" isn't going to go over very well on Facebook. You're right that perhaps the child has enough money to stroke a check for it ... but I'll bet it is much, much more likely that they are leasing it because the payments are lower.

[jinga nation]

Woke up the other day to this post from one of my running friends:

"One thing I've ALWAYS wanted was for my kids to be way more successful than me. After this purchase... it's fair to say that (her daughter) is doing quite well. So freaking proud of her!! Freaking 2020 Benz GLC 300... I am speechless!!"

I of course Googled the car which starts around $43k. I was tempted to post, "Are you proud because she paid cash...? If not, I'm not sure what you're proud of since they will finance $50k to anyone with a job, a decent credit score, and a pulse." Alas, I can't bring myself to be quite so dickish, so I didn't post anything and came here instead.

Comments were of course all congratulatory for having such a "successful" child... /s

You're right - a reaction like: "Congrats on convincing someone to let you finance a depreciating asset!" isn't going to go over very well on Facebook. You're right that perhaps the child has enough money to stroke a check for it ... but I'll bet it is much, much more likely that they are leasing it because the payments are lower.

Quite a few people mistakenly refer to their lease as a purchase. People at my workplace say "I have only x payments to make on my vehicle before I get another one." Many of us are "why would you do that if you paid it off?" And their reply would be "no, i have to turn it in and get the latest model." That's when we realize it is a lease.

Also, a lot of the luxury marque vehicles are leased. This is a list from 2019: https://cartelligent.com/blog/which-car-brands-are-most-often-leased-2019/

[merula]

Also, a lot of the luxury marque vehicles are leased. This is a list from 2019: https://cartelligent.com/blog/which-car-brands-are-most-often-leased-2019/

Do you think this is because the people who want these cars can't afford the payments to buy it outright so they lease instead to drive the brand they want at a cheaper monthly price-tag, or because they're the kind of people who want the dealer to deal with maintenance, etc. and are going to want a new car anyway?

[SwordGuy]

Also, a lot of the luxury marque vehicles are leased. This is a list from 2019: https://cartelligent.com/blog/which-car-brands-are-most-often-leased-2019/

Do you think this is because the people who want these cars can't afford the payments to buy it outright so they lease instead to drive the brand they want at a cheaper monthly price-tag, or because they're the kind of people who want the dealer to deal with maintenance, etc. and are going to want a new car anyway?

I think it's probably yes to both.    Many of them couldn't handle "unexpected" repair expenses because they've already loaded up their credit to the max because they want all the new and shiny things.

[jinga nation]

Also, a lot of the luxury marque vehicles are leased. This is a list from 2019: https://cartelligent.com/blog/which-car-brands-are-most-often-leased-2019/

Do you think this is because the people who want these cars can't afford the payments to buy it outright so they lease instead to drive the brand they want at a cheaper monthly price-tag, or because they're the kind of people who want the dealer to deal with maintenance, etc. and are going to want a new car anyway?

I think it's probably yes to both.    Many of them couldn't handle "unexpected" repair expenses because they've already loaded up their credit to the max because they want all the new and shiny things.

It is faster and cheaper to look rich and successful by leasing certain brands, than by saving and investing.
The Millionaire Next Door mentions the 2 comma folks having a Toyota Camry, Ford/GM sedan/truck, nothing flashy but solidly reliable.

[Just Joe]

Being owner #2 of a lease vehicles can be nice if a person picks a reliable brand... 45K miles and like new. And half the price of the new vehicle. Most are good for 250K miles if treated well.

We still really like our 20 year old used car b/c its cheap and reliable. Keeps the miles off of our nicer vehicle.

[merula]

Being owner #2 of a lease vehicles can be nice if a person picks a reliable brand... 45K miles and like new. And half the price of the new vehicle. Most are good for 250K miles if treated well.

We still really like our 20 year old used car b/c its cheap and reliable. Keeps the miles off of our nicer vehicle.

I was in the market for a car after mine was totaled, and as it would happen the first model year of Chevy Bolt was coming off of 3 year leases. I have been pretty happy with it but I'm also further convinced that leasees are worse at basic car ownership than your average driver.

Key example: the windshield washer fluid wasn't working a few days after we bought it. Couldn't find anything visibly wrong, so we took it back in. As it turned out, the previous owner moved from California to Minnesota. CA bans antifreeze wiper fluid (except in the mountains?) because it's not needed and a contributor to smog, but as you might imagine, MN has a slightly bigger concern about freezing temps than about smog.

The prior owner didn't flush the freezable wiper fluid out in the fall/early winter, so the whole assembly cracked and the dealer didn't catch it. At least it was under warranty.

[habanero]

The prior owner didn't flush the freezable wiper fluid out in the fall/early winter, so the whole assembly cracked and the dealer didn't catch it. At least it was under warranty.

As it turned out, the previous owner moved from California to Minnesota. CA bans antifreeze wiper fluid (except in the mountains?) because it's not needed and a contributor to smog, but as you might imagine, MN has a slightly bigger concern about freezing temps than about smog.

Thx, I never really ever hear about this actually happening - the one I buy is rated down to -15c but it can ocationally get colder when in the mountains. No damage done so far on my cars.

Many years ago we hired a car in Milan, Italy to drive into the swiss alps. When we were due to leave the ski resort the car wouldn't start and desipite us combined having an awful lot of university credits in various engineering subjects none us had a fucking clue what had happened. So we called the local garage, the dude tried starting the car and just said "diesel is frozen". Turn out they don't add the anti-freeze stuff to it in Italy so if it gets cold enough, it freezes.

[ysette9]

So Facebook told us tonight that the COVID vaccines will cause sterility in women.  And the late-breaking in the article they threw in men, too. So, for all those listening, my DW’s crackpot Facebook friend from high school wants you all to know that you’ll go sterile if you get the COVID vaccination.

Maybe it'll be considered as an alternative for vasectomies? :P

I’m curious how they “figured this out” considering the vaccine presumably hasn’t been on the market long enough to collect long term data such as impact on fertility? Maybe the snake oil, oh sorry, essential oil, told them?