GiveMeTap (YC W15): Free Water And Footfall Data For Stores, and It Helps Africa | Hacker News Reader

GiveMeTap (YC W15): Free Water And Footfall Data For Stores, and It Helps Africa

techcrunch.com

31 pointsthewaterguy13 comments

> San Francisco has now banned plastic water bottles at public events and spaces,

Wait, is this a joke? SF doesn't permit me to carry a plastic water in public?

Of course it's a joke (well, bad reporting from TechCrunch - I am shocked, just shocked, to discover that) -- the actual restriction is that you can't SELL new single-use single-serving plastic water bottles (below 21oz) on city property. I wouldn't be surprised if this just 'gentrifies' bottled water sellers in food trucks into only selling the 1L bottles for $5+ instead of having more readily available smaller bottles.

Nope, it results in events like cirque du soliel selling cheap aluminum reusable water bottles for $6 (with what is likely an insane margin) and offering a fill-it-yourself water fountain.

Unless you brought your own it costs twice as much as a normal plastic water bottle likely would, and you have to wait in TWO abysmally long and slow lines to get your beverage vs one.

A small piece of trivia: Pubs (an abbreviated form of 'Public House') in the UK are required by law to serve the public, including non-customers, fresh running water, as well as, allowing use of bathrooms, for free.

Most coffeshops in the US will gladly fill a water bottle with water. I've done this too many time to remember. I've never been turned down. It's not shopping and asking It's simply walking in and politely asking to have the bottle filled.

This outfit makes it easier to get water from other kinds of merchants I guess -the kind ho also have drinking water available.

This reads like satire on how basic human interactions are repackaged for an 'increased consumer and retail value proposition'.

I can't wait for the app that "connects lost consumers with local geographic knowledge in a sharing-economy-marketplace of ideas" aka asking for directions.

"Despite the growth in reusable water bottles, keeping them refilled is tough. Ironically, consumers either end up buying a plastic bottle of water, are forced to use a toilet to refill, or feel obliged to buy something from a store before asking for a refill of water."

What?

Sounds like incredibly bad phrasing. Being charitable, we can assume they meant filling in a bathroom sink, not a toilet itself.

in the English speaking world outside the US, the "toilet" refers to the entire bathroom, not the piece of porcelain. This also explains why "use the toilet" is considered crude in the US but not outside. In the US it refers to the physical act of defacating, but elsewhere it is equivalent to "go to the bathroom"

For those who, like me, have no idea WTF that means, here is the full headline from the story: YC Graduate GiveMeTap Offers Free Water And Footfall Data For Stores, And It Helps Africa.

That exceeds HN headline limits, so the submitter had to try his hand at headline writing.

Note: the title has been changed to be more descriptive. I'd delete my above remark to reduce clutter, but it is too late.

It would be a cool feature to be able to mark a comment when you write it to auto self delete if the title or link is changed or if the submission is killed.

Now, a replacement for water fountains that requires a smartphone, an Internet connection, and payments.

The app helps you find the fountains. It's not required to use them.

hmmm, interesting..

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