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Comment by bookofjoe | Hacker News Reader

"bubbler" OMG the only place in the U.S. that calls a drinking fountain a bubbler is Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where I grew up.

>By the early 1960s, news reports highlighted the fact that calling a bubbler a bubbler was the sure sign of being a Milwaukeean.

https://www.jsonline.com/story/life/green-sheet/2020/02/25/w...

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I went to MSOE after growing up in Southern California. Bubbler was a key way to identify those from Milwaukee and immediate surroundings. It's such a precise locator; even more so than calling I-5 the 5, just as accurate, but the 5 gets you to like Santa Barbara and south, where bubbler cuts off just over the Milwaukee county line. A Racine native drinks from a fountain like everyone else; Brookfield natives might use a bubbler.

Bubbler is used in many parts of Wisconsin, not just Milwaukee.

I moved to Milwaukee a couple years ago. I can confirm this is a thing, and it's very weird. I've got a friend from Reedsburg who says it's common there, too.

As soon as I saw that comment in the Reddit post, I clicked on the guy's profile to see if they're from Wisconsin. Wasn't obvious at a glance.

Bubbler is used in many parts of Wisconsin, it isn't just Milwaukee by any means. I grew up in Brillion (2.5 hours north of Milwaukee) and everyone there (and the surrounding area) calls it a bubbler.

Eastern Massachusetts calls it a bubbler as well.

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