Each year Americans buy 50 billion water bottles. Of that 50 billion, only 23% are recycled, leaving 38 billion water bottles to go into landfills. Those bottles are worth over a billion dollars in plastic. Some bottled water comes from springs or aquifers, most comes from municipal water sources, which is simple tap water. You can taste the difference right? Penn and Teller did a study to prove that what you think you can taste is, in fact, Bullshit!
Let's start out by exploring some popular bottled water brands and their sources:
Dasani-Owned by Coca-cola, introduced in 1999, filtered tap water.
Aquafina-Owned by Pepsico, introduced in 1994, purified tap water.
Pure Life-Owned by Nestle, purified well and tap water.
Ice Mountain-Owned by Nestle, well water.
Poland Spring-Owned by Nestle, spring water.
Arrowhead-Owned by Nestle, spring water.
According to a report called "Take Back the Tap," 64% of bottled water is really just municipal tap water and costs 2000 times more.
In the early 2000's Penn and Teller did a show on Showtime called Bullshit! The premise of the show is to get to the bottom of controversial topics. While I don't agree with every conclusion Penn and Teller arrive at, the show is interesting and usually quite humorous. Season one, episode seven, debunks the perceived notion that bottled water tastes better than tap water. Penn and Teller decide to offer people dining at Piacere restaurant designer water. They have a water menu as well as a water steward to assist in water selection. Fancy.
The water menu offers:
Mt. Fuji 4.75 per Bottle
From the highest reaches of Japan, this refreshing water is
known throughout the Far East for it's clean and bracing
flavor as well as it's restorative power as a natural diuretic
and anti-toxin.
L'eau Du Robinet 4.75 per Bottle
Pure, brisk and unmistakably French, this running water
is bottled directly from the source, while its natural
minerals and nutrients are still at their most potent. Its
aggressive flavor and brash attitude make it a perfect
complement to meat and poultry.
The menu also offers Zen Water, Amazon-Brazilian Rain Water, and Agua de Culo. People try these different water selections and give rave reviews such as: "clean, has flavor to it, doesn't have an after taste, it does feel glacier, glacier oriented, a very fresh taste, it's crisper, it has a sort of kick, it's really good, fresher, pure, I can taste the minerals, better than tap water, seems smoother than tap water", and "better than LA County water."
What isn't revealed until the end is that all of the water came from an outdoor hose on a porch at the restaurant. They got people to drink water with a spider in it and agree that it tasted good. The people are all shocked but laugh because it was all in good fun. What they don't tell you and I will, is that L'eau Du Robinet is French for 'tap water' and Agua de Culo is Spanish for 'ass water.' You're welcome.
My two cents: First of all Penn and Teller are fantastic. I once saw them live in Las Vegas and it was amazing. The point is that bottled water is extremely wasteful and serves no real purpose. If people were forced to pay 2000 times the amount for bottled water, they would be outraged but because of slick marketing, they happily hand over their money. Buy yourself a stainless steel thermos and fill up before you leave your house. Just for the record, if anyone thinks they can actually taste that their water is "glacier oriented," they are a first class conceited a**hole.
Rating: I give bottled water four out of five possible slow claps. Bottled water is at least, if not more, wasteful than K-cups.
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