Why does bottled water cost more than gasoline?

[mrmitchell]

The only reason I ever saw of getting bottled water was if you were away from home and wouldn't be drinking it at home. And even then, get the cheapest kind.

Other than that, enjoy your almost-free tap water while thinking about all the idiots who buy it...

[Pekka]

I saw something awesome today. I just came back to Helsinki for the weekend and on the way I stopped to get something to eat. Bottled water, 1.20 Euros. YEAAAH! Even better, 0.5 liter pepsi 2.20 Euros! THE BEST IS YET TO COME. Battery energy drink 0.33 liters (can).... can you guess? 3 ****ing EUROS! WOohoo!

You can get these little cheaper from a grocery stores of course, but this was just a small place to eat, nothing fancy at all. Rock.

[chequita guevara]

Here in Florida, the water is god awful. Since much of the soil here is sand, water goes right through, and it gets into the aquafer pretty quick; weeks, not years. So it doesn't get filtered very well. Aslo, there's a very high concentration of sulfur in the water here, so water from the tap has a tendency to smell like rotten eggs. Even my Britta filter can't get it all, but it does make things much better.

Bottled water is wonderful.

[Arrian]

Gallon of Gasoline: ~$1.75
Liter of water: ~$1.50

Liters in a gallon: I don't give a ****.

Our gasoline prices remain low because the cost of remediating the contamination caused by gasoline refining/storage/distribution is not included. That stuff gets paid for by a combination of: the government via the EPA or relevant State agencies (so just other taxes instead of a gas tax), Insurance companies (and we'll just raise premiums to compensate), and maybe even the polluters themselves if they're solvent - which will then result in a rise in prices from them. In the end, we just end up paying for it in a different way.

-Arrian

edit: the above is a simplification, of course. SOME of the cost of environmental remediation is paid for by the gasoline taxes we have through things like the Superfund.

[Main_Brain]

I vaguely remember discussing the issue with my American (military) neighbours.
It has to do with stricter European Water regulation enforcements.
/Rest of Post cutted

[Q Classic]

it's a vast plot to keep those things that drive cars fueled.

this is how the auto industry assures that it will have enough raw materials to continue and justify their production of the gasoline-guzzlers: if there are enough water-guzzlers, then there will be enough gas-guzzlers, even with a drop-off rate that could be rather high.

[Q Classic]

now that i think about it, the american auto industry even does the same thing gas companies do. they put different grades of water out.

man, they're clever.

[Ben Kenobi]

I'd like to thank this poster for his literary excellence. Nice story!

Don't strain yourself Lancer with all that back-patting.

[Spiffor]

Originally posted by Azazel
O-kay.......

Oh, the pissing contest was just beginning to be fun

[Gangerolf]

0,5 litre bottled water... ~$1. that's $2 for a litre. but you can get 1,5 litre bottles for ~$2, IIRC.

1 litre of petrol... ~$1,2

Bottled water is actually more expensive here. I don't think many people in norway buys bottled water though. I mean, why the hell would you when you can get excellent tap water for free.
I buy fizzy mineral water all the time but I guess that doesn't count as "bottled water".

[Ãskallin]

Bah here's something called Iceland Spring that's supposed to be clear spring water from a jokull or something but it tastes worse then tap water.

We have the best water in the world(even better then the norse and the finnski

[Gangerolf]

doesn't icelandic tap water taste like sulphur? at least it smells like rotten eggs, or so i've heard

[Chemical Ollie]

At home, the tap water is excellent. Despite that, I prefer to drink a certain brand of mineral water (Ramlösa) due to it's high mineral content. It's excellent to cure a hangover, and tastes even better than the tap water at any other time.

I travel quite a lot to the US for business and one thing keeps me curious - why do they, by default, serve tap water that tastes like the swimming pool even at fancy restaurants if you don't particularly ask for expensive bottled water. Yeah right, as if I really wanted that chlorine flavour with my tasty red wine and delicious grilled meat?

[Arrian]

To be honest, the water I get at restaurants here tastes fine to me. That means either: 1) it's bad but I'm used to it so I don't notice; or 2) the water here in New England is better than the water wherever you were dining out.

-Arrian

[Chemical Ollie]

Well, I've been to numerous places, but I remember the tap water in Chicago or Santa Barbara being almost as bad as the water in Orlando or New Orleans. And until late 2000, my company payed all the food, so I went for filet steak or lobster as often as I could. I'm surprised those fancy places serves chlorinated mud to drink with the dinner if you don't particularly ask for bottled water.