[1_player]

There's something very wrong with the first world when people discover drinking water. I'm not singling you out, I've heard the same story from other people, usually from the US, and it's mind boggling to me. I know it's the parents fault.

It's like discovering that clean air is pretty good for you and feels nice when inhaled.

[kwhitefoot]

> I know it's the parents fault.

True. But it might also be because tap water in the places I have been in the US (mostly Raleigh NC) is really not a very pleasant drink.

[Tagbert]

That is not true of most areas in the US where tap water is fine to drink. Some localities do have high concentrations of iron or sulfates in the water that taint the flavor.

[1_player]

Soda isn't more convenient than buying bottled water in a shop, so I don't think it's because of water quality.

[kwhitefoot]

Isn't the availability of bottled water a relatively recent thing? It certainly wasn't available for most of the time that I lived in the UK (1955 to 1985), but sweetened carbonated drinks have been a thing for well over a hundred years.

[kiliantics]

> It's like discovering that clean air is pretty good for you

Still waiting for this discovery to reach the mainstream so I can live somewhere that has banned cars...