Talk:Drinking fountain

Very common around Boston too
Everyone in and around Boston referrs to a drinking fountain as a bubbler almost universally, so it's not just a Wisconsin term.

http://cfprod01.imt.uwm.edu/Dept/FLL/linguistics/dialect/staticmaps/q_103.html backs that up, maybe someone can change that? 80.60.169.221 18:01, 28 May 2007 (UTC)

RI Pronounciation
SlugFest, this is not an article about Rhode Island pronounciation. A person from RI, would write "bubbler". Of course, there are those of us who pronounce it with the dropper "r", but we know that the "r" is in there. To imply otherwise, is mildly insulting.Wspta 19:20, 8 December 2006 (UTC)
 * Why do people keep putting that asinine aside about New England pronounciation back in? I hope they're trying to be funny. I'm taking it out. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 209.59.32.198 (talk) 21:01, 6 May 2007 (UTC).

Still in use
Granted, I'm conscious of it, but I still use the term 'bubbler' to refer to a drinking fountain, I live in southeastern Wisconsin and I'm 24. I think a lot of other people still do, too. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 68.74.196.150 (talk) 04:41, 14 December 2006 (UTC).

Bubblers or not?
Are those pictures actually of Bubblers&trade; or just generic drinking fountains? If not, given the scope of the article, they should be taken out. A picture of a real Bubbler&trade; should be used. - Keith D. Tyler &para; 21:24, 13 September 2007 (UTC)


 * "Bubbler" is not a trademark for any type of drinking fountain (ref: USPTO search). Merenta 22:58, 13 September 2007 (UTC)
 * I added a link to Kohler's online catalog showing the only thing they call a "bubbler" today. They use the word as a generic, not as a trademark. Merenta 17:26, 17 September 2007 (UTC)

Australian bubblers
I've added a few links featuring Australian bubblers, which are a distinct kindergarten memory from stinking hot schooldays in the '60s. It was fun to hold your thumb over the hole and squirt other kids in the eye. At my primary school in Sydney the water pressure was disturbingly low. To have a drink you had to pucker up unhygienically close to the metal and the nasties in the bowl! No idea how to add all this to an intelligent article, though. CallMeHenry 15:03, 8 October 2007 (UTC)

Kohler, yes; Harlan Huckleby, no
The story crediting Kohler employee "Harlan Huckleby" as the inventor of the bubbler looks increasingly dubious. I haven't found a single print source verifying this; the original claim seems to derive from a website called "thebubbler.com", billing itself as "Wisconsin's Information Source", which has gone offline Internet Archive page url and had no sources to begin with. Since there was a real, famous Harlan Huckleby, and he was a Packer, I'm pretty suspect of this whole angle. --Dhartung | Talk 22:08, 5 June 2013 (UTC)

Dubious
This article claims that Kohler's 1889 "Bubbler" gives the original name for the device. Yet Metropolitan Drinking Fountain and Cattle Trough Association claims that organization was called "Metropolitan Free Drinking Fountain Association" before 1867. If that is so, the name "drinking fountain" predates "bubbler". Unfortunately, neither article cites a source. Cnilep (talk) 02:18, 13 June 2013 (UTC)

Trademark
A Google search for the claim that Kohler trademarked the name "Bubbler" returns lots and lots of blogs and a few Wisconsin newspaper stories making the claim. Many of these appear to come from Wikipedia. A few actually cite Wikipedia; others don't, but have very similar wording. I suspect that those news stories not based on Wikipedia are based on sources that ultimately are based on Wikipedia.

A search of the United States Patent and Trademark Office Trademark Electronic Search System returns five trademarks for "BUBBLER", three "THE BUBBLER", and two "BUBBLERS". This includes names for beverage dispensers such as The Bubbler, "IC 011. US 013 021 023 031 034. G & S: Beverage dispensers, namely, commercial refrigeration and heating units which stir and dispense soft drinks. FIRST USE: 20070930. FIRST USE IN COMMERCE: 20070930" and Bubbler, "IC 011. US 013 021 023 031 034. G & S: aerated watering systems for pets. FIRST USE: 20050331. FIRST USE IN COMMERCE: 20050331". None of these are held by Kohler. Trademark is usually refused for a similar mark applied to a related service.

It is therefore highly doubtful that Kohler or one of its employees trademarked the name "Bubbler" or "The Bubbler". Cnilep (talk) 00:06, 16 June 2013 (UTC)

geographical distribution
The introductory paragraph states that drinking fountains are commonly found in schools, libraries and other public buildings. While on my trip to the united states i saw a great number of these, in Germany they are extremely uncommon. As far as i know that is true for most european countries. Could we add something about the geographical distribution? Thank you.178.8.90.49 (talk) 00:39, 27 August 2013 (UTC)

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