NationStates Jolt Archive

The school banned water bottles because students could use them to sneak booze into school. So one enterprising student decided to do a science experiment and took a swab from the toilet and a swab from the water fountain. To the surprise of the school, the Petri dish used for the water fountain swab grew a lot more of the bad stuff than the toilet.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,280474,00.html

So, will you drink from the toilet or the water fountain?

I don't drink from water fountains.........I have only let my children drink from the ones at church because I know them to be clean. Those nasty ones at the park though? heck no! who knows when they were last cleaned?! I see parents refilling sippy cups from those and I wanna puke.

No real surprise - toilets get flushed and there's a regular cleaning cycle.
Fountains just get left there to get dirty until someone bothers to fix it.

People were SURPRISED by this?

Nope.

Something never mentioned: More bacteria, yes, but which ones?

People were SURPRISED by this?

Nope.

Something never mentioned: More bacteria, yes, but which ones?

yeah, I was thinking that.

there is more bacteria in my kitchen sink than in my toilet, but the stuff in the bathroom is decidedly more nasty.

This is assuming, the toilets are actually well maintained. If they are not, err well .. eww.

At my school the toilets are usually covered in bugs, ketchup, and other various food items (usually french fries). They aren't really indoor; they are in the building, but open to bugs flying in and whatever. I usually use the bathrooms in the cafeteria because of this, because they're usually much cleaner. But we're allowed to have water bottles here.

this is appalling, sneeking booze into school is a time honoured tradition.

this is appalling, sneeking booze into school is a time honoured tradition.

I declare you to be the victor of this thread.

Whoa, there's actually a school where kids bringing beer to school is a problem?

Whoa, there's actually a school where kids bringing beer to school is a problem?

Typically, when the school says something is a "problem" then it probably means like three kids did it.

Isn't that because they stick bleaches and other things that make the water unfit for human consumption down toilets, whereas they can't do that in fountains.

I'll stick with Guers Iced Tea..

Hasn't stopped the special kids from drinking from either... The always have to make mouth contact with the nozzle too.

This study annoys me because the conclusions are all messed up. It doesn't take into account the pathogenicity of the cultured bacteria nor whether the cleanliness of the fountain would have passed government mandated safety levels. It also doesn't account for other pathogenic microorganisms, such as amoeba, yeast and viruses. The fountain could have simply been harbouring a whole lot of harmless E. coli.

Infinite Revolution has pointed out the real travesty with this particular school though. Being pissed on school property is like a rite of passage.

Makes sense. Suppose a kid gets swirlied. We don't want him catching any nasty diseases. ;)

What doesn't kill you makes you stronger. If you don't expose yourself to less than deadly viruses you are much more likely to develop allergies and will have an overall less capable immune system.

The other thing is, you typically don't drink the pool of water that has formed in a water fountain. You drink a stream that comes out under pressure.

I'd be more worried about getting lead poisoning than getting an infection. And I mean honestly, it was a high schooler's science fair project, these things don't exactly have the most credibility; especially at a school where they have problems with drinking during the day.

(It's usually vodka or gin btw, the clear liqueurs)

What doesn't kill you makes you stronger.

Unless, of course, what doesn't kill you is polio or something.

Unless, of course, what doesn't kill you is polio or something.

But you're mentally and emotionally stronger.

The only case I can think of where something didn't kill someone and they got no stronger for it was Terry Shiavo.

She's the exception that proves the rule. :)

assuming the toilets there are actually cleaned, I think we could expect that they use a bleach product,which would have a residual effect in killing micro organisms subsequent to cleaning.

I cant recall ever seeing a water fountain cleaned,however.

I don't care, I've been drinking from water fountains my whole life and so far it hasn't killed me or make me sick.

But the school banned bottle water? Well at my rich ass white-flight school, bottled water is sold for $1.05 and the morons there buy it every single day.

Whenever I ask why they don't get free water over there, they answer,"That water is disgusting! It's like so gross! Lol! OMG! My friend that is like driving her new Caddilac Escalade that her parents bought her is texting me, hang on."

Of course, there is absolutley nothing wrong with the water fountain's water, these pussies just want there bottled water because it tastes better. I hate them, they're dipshits.

Whoa, there's actually a school where kids bringing beer to school is a problem?

beer? you can't hide beer in a water bottle.

vodka? yeah. I did that for a while, but I was too buzzed to drive home for lunch so I had to figure something else out.

Bourbon and coke in my soda bottle? worked great.........

hmm. my school just forbids any water bottles that aren't see through.

beer? you can't hide beer in a water bottle.

vodka? yeah. I did that for a while, but I was too buzzed to drive home for lunch so I had to figure something else out.

Bourbon and coke in my soda bottle? worked great.........

So you won't drink from a water fountain but booze is good to go? That makes a shit load of sense.

So you won't drink from a water fountain but booze is good to go? That makes a shit load of sense.

I'm confused about why you're confused by this.

I'm confused about why you're confused by this.

Which is worse for you?

So you won't drink from a water fountain but booze is good to go? That makes a shit load of sense.

well, I don't do it now.

Which is worse for you?

as far as which is cleaner?

alcohol is cleaner than dirty water.

as far as which is cleaner?

alcohol is cleaner than dirty water.

That is a big assumption and that's not answering the question. But you already kind of answered it in your other post.

Its the bleach and other stuff in the toilet water that makes it cleaner, but I bet it provides a MUCH greater health risk than the fountain water... unless it has Hepatitus in it. I had no problems drinking from a water fountin indoors, but won't touch an outdoor one. I seriously have not the slightest concept of if when or how it was cleaned or tested by health inspectors.

thank you!

I carry my own water with me everywhere anyway......

Its the bleach and other stuff in the toilet water that makes it cleaner, but I bet it provides a MUCH greater health risk than the fountain water... unless it has Hepatitus in it. I had no problems drinking from a water fountin indoors, but won't touch an outdoor one. I seriously have not the slightest concept of if when or how it was cleaned or tested by health inspectors.

How would you survive if there weren't sanitized water sources then? Just because it looks dirty doesn't mean it's dangerous. You can purify water with dirt for gods sake.

I don't think he is talking about a "have-to" situation, I think he means if there is a choice, he wouldn't.

Like the people who refuse to bring their own water to the park and then refill their toddler's sippy cups out of the bird crap crusted outdoor water fountain.

Its the bleach and other stuff in the toilet water that makes it cleaner, but I bet it provides a MUCH greater health risk than the fountain water... unless it has Hepatitus in it. I had no problems drinking from a water fountin indoors, but won't touch an outdoor one. I seriously have not the slightest concept of if when or how it was cleaned or tested by health inspectors.

How would you survive if there weren't sanitized water sources then? Just because it looks dirty doesn't mean it's dangerous. You can purify water with dirt for gods sake.

I don't think he is talking about a "have-to" situation, I think he means if there is a choice, he wouldn't.

Like the people who refuse to bring their own water to the park and then refill their toddler's sippy cups out of the bird crap crusted outdoor water fountain.

Yeah, thats what I meant. If It was drink the bird crap incrusted fountain's water or die... I'd drink it. But if I don't have too.. no way.

I don't think he is talking about a "have-to" situation, I think he means if there is a choice, he wouldn't.

Like the people who refuse to bring their own water to the park and then refill their toddler's sippy cups out of the bird crap crusted outdoor water fountain.

Your immune system isn't going to be able to handle it if it's your first time coming into contact with a microorganism and it's a "have-to" situation.

Its the bleach and other stuff in the toilet water that makes it cleaner, but I bet it provides a MUCH greater health risk than the fountain water... unless it has Hepatitus in it.

There's also the fact that with bleach and other cleaner agents used on toilets, anything that DOES survive there has got to be one helluva bacteria and probably more than capable of wreaking havoc on an unsuspecting human body.

I'd rather take my chances with the water fountain, but hey, here's a radical idea: how about not needing to drink during school hours thanks to having working kidneys? :p

Your immune system isn't going to be able to handle it if it's your first time coming into contact with a microorganism and it's a "have-to" situation.

I drink well water. Its got lots of stuff in it and tstes quite nasty. But at least I can certify that there is some kind of purification and I won't get sick from it. There is however no way I can certify short of the proper testing that the birdshit flavored water is really drinkable. I can tell you flat out that toilet water isn't though

I drink well water. Its got lots of stuff in it and tstes quite nasty. But at least I can certify that there is some kind of purification and I won't get sick from it. There is however no way I can certify short of the proper testing that the birdshit flavored water is really drinkable. I can tell you flat out that toilet water isn't though

You're probably going to dismiss me and say "it could never happen to me" but if you are stranded somewhere and are in a survival situation, you will have to drink river water (if you get the opportunity) and birds and fish will have crapped in it. You will also have to eat pleasant things like grubs and snakes. Clean? Not really. Better to have your immune system ready for it.

but if you are stranded somewhere and are in a survival situation
----
Better to have your immune system ready for it.

You'll still get diarrhea before your body adjusts. Better take a good cache of toilet paper with you if you plan to get stranded somewhere. :D

Oh, and snakes are actually safe to eat since very few bacteria and viruses infecting snakes will infect mammals at least after digestion... would be more dangerous to eat mice. ;)

One of the water fountains in my school doesn't even working.
Try and imagine the state that it's in now with no water to get rid (most) of the stuff that people put in it.

One of the water fountains in my school doesn't even working.
Try and imagine the state that it's in now with no water to get rid (most) of the stuff that people put in it.

What the fuck are you talking about.

You're probably going to dismiss me and say "it could never happen to me" but if you are stranded somewhere and are in a survival situation, you will have to drink river water (if you get the opportunity) and birds and fish will have crapped in it. You will also have to eat pleasant things like grubs and snakes. Clean? Not really. Better to have your immune system ready for it.

Eating my sister's cooking is enough to prepare any man for a survival situation.

Its the bleach and other stuff in the toilet water that makes it cleaner, but I bet it provides a MUCH greater health risk than the fountain water... unless it has Hepatitus in it. I had no problems drinking from a water fountin indoors, but won't touch an outdoor one. I seriously have not the slightest concept of if when or how it was cleaned or tested by health inspectors.

Indeed. The "test" results are definately misleading.

Firstly, the water in toilets, as you stated, not only has bleach in it, but chemicals that are designed to kill off organisms. Ingested, this can make a person very ill.

As well, it did not test for what types of bacteria, as stated previously.

So really, this test proves nothing more than more bacteria lives in tap water than in toilet water. Which only makes bloody sense, and is not surprising. Hell, I'd be willing to bet that bottled water would produce the same results(It's glorified tap water in a bottle, god damn it).

wait...Fox actually reported something that is truthful and has a tiny bit of actual importance?!!? When did this happen? Doomsday is upon us!

You'll still get diarrhea before your body adjusts. Better take a good cache of toilet paper with you if you plan to get stranded somewhere. :D

Oh, and snakes are actually safe to eat since very few bacteria and viruses infecting snakes will infect mammals at least after digestion... would be more dangerous to eat mice. ;)

Well, flowing water is safer to drink than still water, at least. I'd take my chances at a river long before I drink water from a lake.

What doesn't kill you makes you stronger. If you don't expose yourself to less than deadly viruses you are much more likely to develop allergies and will have an overall less capable immune system.
That's not true, there's plenty of debilitating illnesses out there which can severely hamper your life. Also, the whole allergy thing is more true of persistent infections like parasites. That's a reason why Western cultures have more allergies than less developed countries - it used to be that pretty much everyone had worms at one point or another and our IgG didn't go absolutely fucking crackers at the first sign of anything with an anitgenic epitope i.e. anything. God bless the mast cell.

The school banned water bottles because students could use them to sneak booze into school. So one enterprising student decided to do a science experiment and took a swab from the toilet and a swab from the water fountain. To the surprise of the school, the Petri dish used for the water fountain swab grew a lot more of the bad stuff than the toilet.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,280474,00.html

So, will you drink from the toilet or the water fountain?

The bacteria count may be lower but the chemical and other harmful substances are probably a lot higher

[quotehe petri dishes with fountain water were swarming with bacteria. The sample from the toilet was clean, probably because the toilets are doused with cleansing chemicals daily.[/quote]

thank you!

I carry my own water with me everywhere anyway......

And when did you last clean it? Do you worry about the plastic leaching into your water? Do you worry about the fact that plastic doesn't recycle very well, as there aren't many uses for it?

People should get over this fear of germs and bacteria. They're out there, they're in your mouth, they won't kill you. You have them in your stomach, and you need them there.

Buying bottled water is really silly, I have to say.

I don't trust the water fountains, especially because of the rumors. Kids aren't bringing alcohol and if they are, the cause needs to be attacked not the symptom.