This is a bubbler (a bubbler-brand bubbler, too!):
iirc from the last time this came up, they were super popular in the "bubbler"-using regions so the name stuck around to describe all drinking fountains, not just bubblers.
this post was submitted on 17 Apr 2026
474 points (99.6% liked)
196
6257 readers
2331 users here now
Community Rules
You must post before you leave
Be nice. Assume others have good intent (within reason).
Block or ignore posts, comments, and users that irritate you in some way rather than engaging. Report if they are actually breaking community rules.
Use content warnings and/or mark as NSFW when appropriate. Most posts with content warnings likely need to be marked NSFW.
Most 196 posts are memes, shitposts, cute images, or even just recent things that happened, etc. There is no real theme, but try to avoid posts that are very inflammatory, offensive, very low quality, or very "off topic".
Bigotry is not allowed, this includes (but is not limited to): Homophobia, Transphobia, Racism, Sexism, Abelism, Classism, or discrimination based on things like Ethnicity, Nationality, Language, or Religion.
Avoid shilling for corporations, posting advertisements, or promoting exploitation of workers.
Proselytization, support, or defense of authoritarianism is not welcome. This includes but is not limited to: imperialism, nationalism, genocide denial, ethnic or racial supremacy, fascism, Nazism, Marxism-Leninism, Maoism, etc.
Avoid AI generated content.
Avoid misinformation.
Avoid incomprehensible posts.
No threats or personal attacks.
No spam.
Moderator Guidelines
Moderator Guidelines
- Don’t be mean to users. Be gentle or neutral.
- Most moderator actions which have a modlog message should include your username.
- When in doubt about whether or not a user is problematic, send them a DM.
- Don’t waste time debating/arguing with problematic users.
- Assume the best, but don’t tolerate sealioning/just asking questions/concern trolling.
- Ask another mod to take over cases you struggle with, if you get tired, or when things get personal.
- Ask the other mods for advice when things get complicated.
- Share everything you do in the mod matrix, both so several mods aren't unknowingly handling the same issues, but also so you can receive feedback on what you intend to do.
- Don't rush mod actions. If a case doesn't need to be handled right away, consider taking a short break before getting to it. This is to say, cool down and make room for feedback.
- Don’t perform too much moderation in the comments, except if you want a verdict to be public or to ask people to dial a convo down/stop. Single comment warnings are okay.
- Send users concise DMs about verdicts about them, such as bans etc, except in cases where it is clear we don’t want them at all, such as obvious transphobes. No need to notify someone they haven’t been banned of course.
- Explain to a user why their behavior is problematic and how it is distressing others rather than engage with whatever they are saying. Ask them to avoid this in the future and send them packing if they do not comply.
- First warn users, then temp ban them, then finally perma ban them when they break the rules or act inappropriately. Skip steps if necessary.
- Use neutral statements like “this statement can be considered transphobic” rather than “you are being transphobic”.
- No large decisions or actions without community input (polls or meta posts f.ex.).
- Large internal decisions (such as ousting a mod) might require a vote, needing more than 50% of the votes to pass. Also consider asking the community for feedback.
- Remember you are a voluntary moderator. You don’t get paid. Take a break when you need one. Perhaps ask another moderator to step in if necessary.
founded 1 year ago
MODERATORS
Thank you! Bubblers were created and patented in Wisconsin, too, so I'm glad we are keeping the name alive.
Wife still uses bubbler to this day. It was (is?) a brand name.
This reminds me of the similar map of names for soft drinks. You have your soda vs coke, but I live in one of the "pop" regions which is admittedly a larger area than these little "bubbler" enclaves.
I mostly switched over to "soda" once I went to college though. A nationwide and international assortment of group members will encourage that.
The worst are the places that call every soda "Coke."
The concept makes me irrationally angry.
load more comments
(3 replies)
Fireflies, lightning bugs, and glitter bats
Glitter bats? ...That's him officer!! Get em!!!
glitter bats
That's fucking delightful! 😄
Somewhere an emo band has just found their new album title.
load more comments
(1 replies)
Wait til you hear that one random tiny state calls milkshakes "cabinets"
One common, but unsubstantiated, explanation is that the soda jerk or pharmacist kept the coffee syrup in one of the polished wooden cabinets behind the counter.
The good old days when you had service minded jerks rather than the unpleasant ones we have today 😄
My grandmother was a soda jerk for a time. Also did the switchboard for telephones too!
Living in northern Minnesota, drinking fountain and water fountain get used interchangeably. And I've only known one person that used bubbler regularly. But they weren't in their right mind most of the time.
And ain't nothing IDs a Minnesotan faster than hot dish vs casserole or even worse, Duck Duck Grey Duck vs Duck Duck Grey Goose. We WILL go to war over that stuff.
You mean Duck Duck Goose.
Ahhhhh no, Duck Duck Grey Duck!
Duck Grey Duck vs Duck Duck Grey Goose
So it HAS to be grey, but it's debatable whether or not it's vodka? Americans are weird sometimes 🤔
Where I'm from in the US it was always duck duck goose, a kid moved to our school and said grey duck once. Poor kid didn't hear the end of it until middle school
Funny enough, there's a brand of vodka made in Minnesota called Grey Duck.
There is no debate. It's Grey Duck and Grey Duck only! ;):) And why would anyone drink vodka? A bottle of water has more flavor and will dilute your orange juice cheaper and just a well.
load more comments
(4 replies)
Yeah, I grew up in Wisconsin closer to the Minnesota border, so I used both as well. When I moved to Eastern Wisconsin, I solidified on "drinking fountain" because people here call it a "bubbler" and tease you more about "water fountain."
Oh yeah, and I remember getting blank stares in college when mentioning that we had a lot of hot dish growing up. I didn't realize how regional that phrase was.
Hotdish is a term that will instantly mark you as a Minnesotan. And tater tot hotdish is our state food and religion. Everyone makes and eats it. Sadly, lutefisk and potato klub are fading away as more of us old timers die off. But lefse is still hanging on though.
load more comments
(1 replies)
"is there a water fountain here?"
"Yeah, at the entrance to the neighborhood in the retaining pond"
Water fountain is the ornamental thing you see in a park with multiple tiers full of gross water and coins.
What do they call a water fountain if it’s not the drinking kind?
And having lived in the “bubbler” zone, I’ve never once heard it called that. Must be disappearing.
A fountain. Drop the word water, as you aren't drinking from that.
That's because they spelled it wrong. Asked someone from the Boston area. It should end in -a not -er
At least for the area of Wisconsin I grew up, it does end in -er.
I grew up near the triple point so I change phases between drinking fountain and water fountain while encountering the occasional bubbler
People in New Hampshire watching the Bluey episode "Bin Night"
I've not seen that episode, but I'm guessing they use the word bubbler in it? That's definitely what we call them in Australia. Or at least here in Brisbane where I'm from, and Bluey is set.
load more comments
(2 replies)
It's disappointing when these are cut off at the Canadian border. Canada is influenced by both the UK and the US, and has been drifting towards the US over recent decades. Plus, Canada has some really weird dialect areas like Newfoundland.
It would be interesting to see which terms drift north of the border, and which ones stop at the border. How hard is the border when it comes to dialects? Does the fact that people live most of their lives on one side of the border mean that the language doesn't tend to drift across it? Or do people hear their neighbours talk and begin to adopt some terms? My guess would be that these days it's more influenced by what's on TV or on the Internet.
load more comments
(3 replies)
Smells french.
I'm from bubbler country! Idk why but I like it. I know drinking fountain makes more sense tho
elbow pasta?
Aka Zippy-Doodlers, aparently.
TIL the rest of the country uses weird words. Macaroni? They nammed Zippy-Doodlers and Orangey Goopey after the president of France???
You mean the water discharging reservoir?
I live in Australia and I use these interchangeably for some reason, but ive mainly been calling them “water bubblers”, not sure why though lol, nobody here calls it that.
Abreuvoir
No thanks, I already ate
view more: next ›