Everyone knows the big questions. What is the meaning of life? To be or not to be? What happens when you divide by zero? However there is one question that has stumped Midwesterners for quite some time. Is it a bubbler or a drinking fountain?
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPhNuQKsQpq73CedN8S5XbK8IusNfy48rH420ZlYSR25TxryPx_hKzsGfb-bN8iIulzubJPe88rkqHA_DAkrWA827nXJ3aFxLiZI_qzp_QtNRpQ8m1ERMo-dXmqfJOqwjz4QqVPkvbBa9k/s1600/aiga_drinking_fountain_.jpg
The practice of calling it a “bubbler” is mostly a Wisconsin thing, although some Minnesotans have adopted it as well. If you call it a bubbler chances are you have lived in Wisconsin for some time. People such as myself who learned to speak outside of the state think of it as a “water fountain” or “drinking fountain”. People (in general) do not choose whether to say bubbler or water fountain. Rather they learn it that way and are just accustomed to calling it that.
To other people, the term bubbler means something completely different. Look up “bubbler” on Google Images and this is what you’ll find.
http://www.glasspipes.org/Images/FullSize/000194000/Img194775_custom_bubbler_with_bridge_and_marble.jpg
I would be amused to see a Wisconsinite ask for the bubbler in hopes of quenching their thirst and react after being taken to this.
Some body practices are learned because of media, and some are acquired because of what we view as attractive. And then some practices, such as the “bubbler” are learned because of where we are from. Each region has a slightly (or considerably) different culture, and body practices are part of that. Whether it’s the South’s “y’all”, the Boston accent, or the “bubbler” we are all objects created by the region we are from.
When I hear bubbler I think of the glass piece, I am from VA so I call it the drinking fountain. I also call soda coke but that is a different body practice. People in the UK also call it a bubbler.
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