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blahinator180 t1_ivemb6d wrote

Yes we do, bubbler is a brand name (like Kleenex or tempo for tissues). Here and southern Wisconsin we call them bubblers.

Edit: EvidentlyI am wrong and just perpetuating a myth. Apparently no one’s knows, though it might have something to do with the bubble valve in the faucet head. Apparently some companies describe the head of a drinking fountain as a bubbler.

As to why we, Wisconsinites, and Australians use the term for a drinking fountain; no one knows. Not that that is going to stop me from using the term, and passing it on to my kids.

https://www.sheboyganpress.com/story/news/local/2014/10/31/sheboygan-history-bubblers/18254395/

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Kryptonthenoblegas OP t1_ivemw48 wrote

Oh sweet nice to know that some of you guys also use the 'correct' term lol. I didn't know it was from a brand name though, I assumed it's because the water kind of 'bubbles' up.

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MargaretDumont t1_ivexdf6 wrote

Wait what??? This is from a brand name? Lifelong Rhode Islander here and had no idea this is why we say it!

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Pedromac t1_ivez9mm wrote

Yeah the company that made the Bubbler brand of water fountains was in Wisconsin. So they call them bubblers too. And of course Massachusetts and RI bought them, so we can them bubblers.

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orm518 t1_ivf9c1g wrote

I thought the brand name thing was an old wives tale.

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pinktwinkie t1_ivfma68 wrote

Maybe, i think Chicago and Elkay have water fountains listed as bubblers in thier catalog

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lazydictionary t1_ivfthuv wrote

It is not a brand name. The other poster is wrong.

The origin of the name is a mystery.

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_CaesarAugustus_ t1_iveqlmx wrote

Wait…I had no idea this was a proprietary eponym situation! I love those. Thank you.

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ellathefairy t1_iverxam wrote

I didn't either! But as a Rhode Islander who grew up in Massachusetts, i also have always called them bubblers.

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lazydictionary t1_ivftap8 wrote

It's not. That's an incorrect urban legend.

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_CaesarAugustus_ t1_ivfx59x wrote

I’m not sure where you got that from, lazy dictionary, but I did find info regarding a “double bubbler” fountain from WWI and how people came to call water fountains “bubblers” because of it. Maybe it’s a blend of the two? Some people had already called it that, and some came to call it that after the dual-stream water fountain.

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pvdcaveman t1_ivfvqdv wrote

I’d like some proof that Bubbler was a brand name. Reasonable google search indicates that this is absolutely not true.

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sandsonik t1_ivjk3d5 wrote

I always thought it was strange that it's just us and Wisconsonites who use the term, separated as we are by so many states. Cool to hear it's an Aussie thing too.

Water fountains are those things with statues in public parks. Pretty to look at, but you don't want t to drink from them!

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