The Communal Cup
We’ve all heard about the issue of waste caused by disposable soda bottles and cans. Under Soviet rule, they had this efficient, if slightly stomach-turning solution: the communal cup soda fountain. There’s only one glass cup, and everyone uses it. When you’re done, you place it on the right side, upside-down, and it’s cleaned by jets of water, ready for the next thirsty person that comes along.
I should be clear that, to the best of my knowledge, the countries formerly under the U.S.S.R. don’t use this system anymore. The only reason I came across it was because one was in a statue park, where the communist-era monuments depicting Stalin, Lenin et al were gathered, along with other Soviet miscellany after their empire collapsed. The soda machine has been kept running, I assume, as a reminder of those times.
My girlfriend snapped a photo of it when she was in Lithuania a couple of years ago. Her brother (pictured) was the only one brave enough to drink from it, though in effect I suppose it’s no worse than drinking from a cup in a restaurant.
Tags: fun
September 5th, 2008
at 11:11 pm on September 5th, 2008
In the old days most public water fountains included a tin cup on a chain. In fact you can still see where the cup was attached on the lion fountain (no longer working) on the east side of Dorchester Square (Peel Park) facing the Sun Life building.
The dixie cup got its success from a study released in the 1930s that showed using a shared ladle, as they did on railroad sites, increased the spread of disease.
I could write a whole blog post about this stuff if I only had the time. Thanks for yours though, since I’d never heard of this “interesting” soviet device.
at 11:23 pm on September 8th, 2008
kinda reminds me of this tasty device:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/23506464@N04/2406412135/in/set-72157604528243261/
weeee!
neat post, Neale
at 10:44 am on September 10th, 2008
I’m very impressed in both of your knowledge in public self-serve refreshments.