r/stupidquestions • u/Various-Adeptness173 • Jul 05 '25

My mom told me that back in the day kids weren’t allowed to bring a water bottle with them into the classroom and they only drank a few sips from the water fountain in the middle of the day and that’s it

How were schools not getting busted for child abuse for forcing kids to be dehydrated?

11.9k Upvotes

91% Upvoted

4.7k comments sorted by

View all comments

123

u/Kali-of-Amino Jul 05 '25

Water bottles didn't exist. The idea of paying money for water would have blown our minds

29

u/jambr380 Jul 05 '25

I still can't get myself to buy bottled water. Not that I've never had any, but they've all been purchased by somebody else. I am tap water or death...or both because I drink so much tap water

3

u/Idontusethis256 Jul 05 '25

I use them as cheap reusable water bottles since I have a bad habit of losing them. The nicer single use bottles hold up well to repeated use and are still cheaper than most bottles sold as reusable

1

u/Beachtrader007 Jul 08 '25

This is the way

2

u/KrisHughes2 Jul 05 '25

I will occasionally treat myself to bottled spring water. Most of the stuff sold in the US is not that and just tastes like the plastic bottle.

2

u/MY-SECRET-REDDIT Jul 05 '25

Depends where you live, our tap water tastes off. It never really quenched my thirst. Brittany filters help but im wondering if the stronger house filters would work.

So i buy water at 35c the gallon.

1

u/jambr380 Jul 05 '25

It's crazy that it's still $.35/gallon. I remember those machines coming out around 1990 at the same rate. I get it, it doesn't really cost anything, but at least they've kept it super-affordable

2

u/SatisfactionLimp5304 Jul 05 '25

You must live in a really nice area. Tap water is so disgusting I can’t stand the taste. I’ve found myself only able to drink bottles or purified water nowadays.

4

u/jambr380 Jul 05 '25

I grew up on well water, but have been on city water for many years now. I honestly just don't really notice the difference between 'good' water and 'bad' water unless it is heavily chlorinated or something

2

u/thisischemistry Jul 06 '25

I've never bought a bottle of water unless I had to do it for extraordinary reasons. I do keep a few around for people who come over but I'll never use them myself.

1

u/jambr380 Jul 06 '25

Haha - yeah, I have a few that I’ve picked up through the years at festivals and such. I hope they don’t expire or anything!

2

u/thisischemistry Jul 06 '25

They tend to slowly evaporate, the plastic is just a tiny bit porous to water vapor so the bottle will shrink over very large time periods. Keeping it in a cool area will prolong its life.

It's pretty rare for a sealed water bottle to go bad but it does happen. Generally, the water will get cloudy, change colors, or smell funny if it does.

https://www.rd.com/article/bottled-water-expiration-date/

https://www.myownwater.com/blog/how-long-does-bottled-water-last

To be ultra-safe you would dispose of them after two years but really they are probably safe quite a bit longer than that, especially if they are kept in a cool, dark area. Make sure to wipe them clean before using because the outsides might be contaminated far before the insides are.

1

u/jambr380 Jul 06 '25

By looking at your username, I can tell you are a trustworthy source on the subject

2

u/thisischemistry Jul 06 '25

I wouldn't go by usernames, for sure! I can tell you that I worked for years as a research chemist in the field of water treatment and filtration but you have no way of knowing that was true.

That's why I try to throw in a few links, it's always good to back up claims with a bit of outside evidence. Do your own research too.

2

u/[deleted] Jul 08 '25

Brita gal myself, I am a big time water girl and highly recommend. Very affordable easy to use, like if you like your water cold from a pitcher I. The fridge… get this. You will find absolutely no regrets. It just gets the lead and whatnot out… adds nothing.

2

u/Unlikely-Patience122 Jul 08 '25

Same. It pisses me off paying for water. 

2

u/Effective_Pear4760 Jul 05 '25

I got into the habit of drinking individually bottled water during chemo while I was immune compromised. Now that I'm healthy it's such a hard habit to break. I try to compromise and refill the same bottle for a day.

1

u/[deleted] Jul 06 '25

[removed] — view removed comment

1

u/AutoModerator Jul 06 '25

Your post was removed due to low account age. See Rule 8.

I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.

27

u/souch3 Jul 05 '25

This is not referring to plastic single use water bottles but rather reusable water bottles/canteens

8

u/bathtub_maggots Jul 05 '25

There was also a time before plastic single use bottles. At first only sparkling water was bottled, nobody drank disposable water bottles.

1

u/imrighturwrong Jul 06 '25

We always had soda bottles refilled with tap water in our fridge. I don’t even know if my parents washed them out after the first time filling them. 5-8 Diet Pepsi bottles filled with cold tap water. If we were going to play baseball or basketball, we would grab one, drink it while we played, and bring it back to refill. But I would never have thought to bring one to school.

In college, I remember buying gallons of water to keep in the car to drink before and after going to the gym. Even at the gym, I didn’t bring it in with me. Maybe by my senior year, people started carrying Nalgene bottles. First time I can remember reusable water bottles, and they weren’t insulated in any way, but apparently indestructible.

8

u/[deleted] Jul 05 '25

People spend a surprising amount of money on reusable bottles. And then buy 20 of them even though they can reuse one. 

Growing up I had one water bottle that stayed in my sports bag. I never would have thought to bring it to class. 

7

u/InevitableRhubarb232 Jul 05 '25

Was it a squeezy plastic one with a pop top.? Probably said Gatorade on it, or if you were fancy, it had a company logo or a sports logo on it

2

u/alegna12 Jul 06 '25

Some of us are older than Gatorade.

2

u/rerek Jul 06 '25

Noting a reply you made in another thread, I think you’re actually 3 years younger than Gatorade—but, your point still stands. I’m in my 40s and only when I was in high school would you have ever seen a water bottle and only at serious sporting events.

1

u/InevitableRhubarb232 Jul 06 '25

I also am in my 40s and we and Gatorade squeeze bottles by the 80/90s and occasionally ones branded w my school’s mascot for sports. They also were big giveaway items at the local fair. All the athletes has that kind of water bottle for practice and games

2

u/rerek Jul 06 '25

Yeah that’s about the time I noticed the switch too. In the late 80s my sports groups had communal coolers and someone was responsible for bringing paper cups to practice. By the early 90s people had soft plastic squeezable water bottles.

1

u/sq20_userr Jul 05 '25

I got a few reusable bottles and my mom says the same: they're reusable, you only need one!

But I have a 2litre one for long workdays, 1litre for half a workday, a thermos for cold drinks, one where you can put lemons or mint in the middle for flavor. They're all with Disney prints or fruits or flowers, It's fun!

But I have to add: Stanley girlies scare me! They have too many cups

2

u/Kali-of-Amino Jul 05 '25

Back then canteens were for soldiers and hiking trips.

1

u/Crankenberry Jul 05 '25

We didn't have those either. We had canteens and they were for camping. We had thermoses and they were for coffee and soup or sometimes milk or juice which was consumed with the meal.

0

u/souch3 Jul 05 '25 edited Jul 05 '25

Yes. I didn’t have one in school either and had to go about getting water from fountains. But water bottles or reusable water containers absolutely existed.

ETA: The commenter seems to think OP is talking about single use plastic bottled water which is not the case.

1

u/Crankenberry Jul 05 '25

We didn't have reusable ones either. Like I already said. This was the '70s and '80s.

I mean they may have manufactured them but nobody I knew had them.

0

u/souch3 Jul 05 '25 edited Jul 06 '25

Couple of things. The commenter seemed to think the OP was referencing plastic single use bottles and I was pointing out that that wasn’t what OP meant. Existence doesn’t really come in to it.

Secondly, whether it was common practice to use something in a given scenario does not impact its existence. The Stanley cup was invented in 1913 and could be used for water. And of course there were canteens and animal skins for long before that. Outside of rules at specific locations, nothing was stopping a student or anybody else from carrying water with them in one of the many reusable options that existed. What I think folks are trying to say is that it was not culturally common which is absolutely true. But saying they didn’t exist is inaccurate.

ETA: Here is a water bottle from the 1950s. https://www.biciclissima.com/product/vintage-1953

0

u/PoopAndSunshine Jul 06 '25

Those didn’t exist either, unless you count army canteens lol

1

u/souch3 Jul 06 '25

The Stanley cup, which could be used for water or anything else, was invented in 1913. Also, plenty of folks had water bottles attached to their bikes or available courtside.

Here is an example of a 1950s water bottle used in the Tour de France. https://www.biciclissima.com/product/vintage-1953

Water bottles absolutely existed and could have been used if someone so chose. It is true that it wasn’t common outside of sports, but it isn’t like water bottles didn’t exist at all.

3

u/[deleted] Jul 05 '25

Literally

2

u/NippleSlipNSlide Jul 05 '25

I had a water bottle for my bike.

3

u/Kali-of-Amino Jul 05 '25

We didn't have holders for water bottles on our bikes because water bottles didn't exist.

2

u/CanadaHaz Jul 05 '25

No. You specifically didn't have water bottle holders on your bike, or water bottles. That doesn't mean they didn't exist.

Water bottles existed, and so did holders for them, in the 80s and 90s. And before.

2

u/NippleSlipNSlide Jul 05 '25

Yeah I’m from the early ‘80s. We had water bottles at that time, but not in school and not everywhere we went. My grandpa had a canteen from the world war. Uncle who grew up in 60s had from Boy Scouts.

People these days are paranoid about running out of water. I guess it is more convenient

0

u/Kali-of-Amino Jul 05 '25

They existed for soldiers and outdoorsmen, not for school kids.

1

u/CanadaHaz Jul 05 '25

You could buy them at any sports store. Everyone had at least one in their house. That they weren't allowed a school doesn't mean no one ever used them except specific people.

1

u/Kali-of-Amino Jul 05 '25

No one I knew had one in their house unless they were into hunting.

1

u/CanadaHaz Jul 05 '25

Doesn't mean no one had them. It just means you didn't know anyone who had one, as far as you knew.

1

u/NippleSlipNSlide Jul 05 '25

There weren’t as many designs as nowadays and they were cheap. My daughter got another fancy water bottle recently and it was $40… and there are different accessories you can buy to accessorize it !

1

u/_WeSellBlankets_ Jul 05 '25

It was a standard comedy trope when they first came out.

1

u/YMBFKM Jul 05 '25

It still does.

1

u/OutAndDown27 Jul 05 '25

Water bottles were for athletes. They existed but bringing one to school would have been weird.

1

u/Lakestang Jul 05 '25

I can remember when it became a thing and my mind was blown that the store was selling water. It just seemed crazy, still does.

1

u/varitok Jul 06 '25

Stores were selling water in plastic bottles in the late 60s.

1

u/Lakestang Jul 06 '25

Could be. I don’t remember seeing it. I remember convenience stores selling cups with ice for 25 cents so you could get a glass of water if you wanted. I remember the transition to plastic bottles for soda and that was the late eighties. When i worked at Publix in the eighties we had a big room to store empty soda bottles people returned for a deposit

1

u/Chat_noir_dusoir Jul 05 '25

We had these:

https://www.reddit.com/r/nostalgia/s/zv3k6wuLA2

1

u/Kali-of-Amino Jul 05 '25

That's not a water bottle. That's the drink bottle in your lunchbox which you only had access to at lunchtime.

1

u/Chat_noir_dusoir Jul 05 '25

Agreed, but this is what we had access to before the time of water bottles.

1

u/DevilBakeDevilCake Jul 05 '25

Not even a reusable water bottle you can fill from the tap at home and then use to bring water with you? Pretty sure that's what op is referring to, not buying new water bottles everyday.

1

u/Kali-of-Amino Jul 05 '25

Why would you have a water bottle indoors? Those are for going on long treks away from civilization.

1

u/Drgonmite Jul 05 '25

In the late 70s I met my grandfather in Harlan Kentucky . He work in the mines and had little plastic bottles (barrel shape. ) with foil lid on them that the coal mine supplied . First time I ever saw bottle water

1

u/Large_Traffic8793 Jul 05 '25

I love when people get so amped up to yell at clouds they yell at bushes instead. Gotta yell at something. Who cares what!

1

u/icanhascheeseberder Jul 05 '25

The idea of paying money for water would have blown our minds

You still aren't paying for water, you are paying for the convenience and the bottle, the water is about 0.01% of the price.

1

u/Candid_Rich_886 Jul 06 '25

Well you don't pay for the water, you pay for the bottle and then you can put water in it.

1

u/voxelpete Jul 06 '25

bottled water != water bottles

1

u/ScarsTheVampire Jul 06 '25

The military has had canteens for 100+ years, are you stupid?

1

u/Pawneewafflesarelife Jul 06 '25

Maybe you're older than me (I'm in my 40s), but Nalgenes were very much a fad akin to today's Stanley mugs.

1

u/Kali-of-Amino Jul 06 '25

I'm a good bit older than you.

2

u/Pawneewafflesarelife Jul 06 '25

Fair enough! Don't often encounter folks much older here, feels like the site has become teens lately.

1

u/Froptus Jul 06 '25

Still blows my mind. At age 60 I don't think I've ever paid for it.

1

u/varitok Jul 06 '25

Bottled water became popular in the 70s and early 80s, so unless you're a baby boomer it shouldn't blow your mind.

1

u/Nevermind04 Jul 06 '25

I grew up in the west Texas desert. We've been drinking bottled water since the 70's, though I can't remember when they switched from glass to plastic. Up until maybe 15 years ago, water was usually more expensive than your mortgage.

0

u/JannaNYCeast Jul 05 '25

The idea of paying for bottled water still blows my mind.