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Rome has at least 2,500 public fountains installed in the 1800s that dispense potable water. Remarkable that 150 years ago they didn't think to monetize these,

Rome has at least 2,500 public fountains installed in the 1800s that dispense potable water. Remarkable that 150 years ago they didn't think to monetize these, think of the missed revenues. Map: https://www.fontanelle.org/Mappa-Fontanelle-Roma-Lazio.aspx https://www.fontanelle.org/Mappa-Fontanelle-Roma-Lazio.aspx

redwall_hp 7y ago
Yeah, available drinking water is an essential social good, and one that municipalities typically invest tax money in. Let's stop trying to monetize everything.
- metalgearsolid 7y ago
  I thought I was missing some kind of joke when I read the parent comment.
- siruva07 7y ago
  Tell that to coke, pepsi, and nestle
erikpukinskis 7y ago
Did you all read the article? Their goal is to reduce plastic bottles, and they notes that bottled water is a Veblen good: people trust it BECAUSE there is a business model, more than they trust a random pipe that offers up free water. So they monetized the pipe, they say, not because they wanted money, but because they want people to stop giving money to their competitors (plastic/chemical companies). Please do question their motive, but at least understand what they are saying.
- siruva07 7y ago
  Thanks for reading :)
- imsofuture 7y ago
  People don't trust a random pipe that serves up free water literally because of the business model of selling a basic commodity like water. "Ewww look at that dirty TAP water ugh, get some beautiful island fresh water in this bottle!" Of course, it's the same water anyway, but now someone has made money off it. Capitalism (and since saying that word makes people so mad, let's say "capital seeking behavior" instead) is so hilariously perverse, we've now got advertisement supported tap water, because we advertised tap water v1.0 into obsolescence. And then realized tap water v2.0 (bottled water) actually had unintended consequences (plastic). So THIS time it'll work! Tap Water v3.0!
  - erikpukinskis 7y ago
    I agree with you, but it doesn’t really matter. As a group, we can’t go backwards in the Hegelian dialectic, only forward.
Youden 7y ago
I wonder what the most fountainous city is. Rome's population is 2.8M so that's 1120 people per fountain. Zürich has a population of 409k and 1200 fountains, so only 341 per fountain.

redwall_hp 7y ago

Yeah, available drinking water is an essential social good, and one that municipalities typically invest tax money in. Let's stop trying to monetize everything.

metalgearsolid 7y ago
I thought I was missing some kind of joke when I read the parent comment.
siruva07 7y ago
Tell that to coke, pepsi, and nestle

erikpukinskis 7y ago

Did you all read the article? Their goal is to reduce plastic bottles, and they notes that bottled water is a Veblen good: people trust it BECAUSE there is a business model, more than they trust a random pipe that offers up free water. So they monetized the pipe, they say, not because they wanted money, but because they want people to stop giving money to their competitors (plastic/chemical companies). Please do question their motive, but at least understand what they are saying.

siruva07 7y ago
Thanks for reading :)
imsofuture 7y ago
People don't trust a random pipe that serves up free water literally because of the business model of selling a basic commodity like water. "Ewww look at that dirty TAP water ugh, get some beautiful island fresh water in this bottle!" Of course, it's the same water anyway, but now someone has made money off it. Capitalism (and since saying that word makes people so mad, let's say "capital seeking behavior" instead) is so hilariously perverse, we've now got advertisement supported tap water, because we advertised tap water v1.0 into obsolescence. And then realized tap water v2.0 (bottled water) actually had unintended consequences (plastic). So THIS time it'll work! Tap Water v3.0!
- erikpukinskis 7y ago
  I agree with you, but it doesn’t really matter. As a group, we can’t go backwards in the Hegelian dialectic, only forward.

Youden 7y ago

I wonder what the most fountainous city is. Rome's population is 2.8M so that's 1120 people per fountain. Zürich has a population of 409k and 1200 fountains, so only 341 per fountain.