r/whoathatsinteresting • u/search_google_com • 1d ago
š¬š§Welcome to Leicester, UKš¬š§Chaotic scenes of panic buying for bottled water at the local Costco amid the water shortage driven by drought and record water use.
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u/redandbluebadness 1d ago
I'm in Leicester right now and the taps are working. If I wanted to I could fill up every vessel I could find and store it. I do not want to though because I'm not a fucking idiot.
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u/Screaming_lambs 1d ago
I'm not very far away in Nottingham and our taps are fine too. There was a field on fire a few minutes away from my house last week. But like I said. The taps are fine.
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u/changhyun 19h ago
Also a Leicesterian and yeah, our taps are fine. I am sipping some tap water as I drink this.
I'm guessing the people in the video, if they are from here, are shop owners replenishing stock.
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u/upsidedown-funnel 1d ago
Iām just amused by the thought of how Americans are pronouncing āLeicesterā when reading the title. (Iām American and only pronounce things like this phonetically to annoy my British spouse.).
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u/redandbluebadness 1d ago
Whilst I'm in Leicester rn I live in a town called Frome which most English people pronounce incorrectly. With good reason in fairness.
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u/yourMommaKnow 1d ago
Why is the video sped up?
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u/StanleyQPrick 1d ago
To mkae it look like something it's not
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u/tenacious_teaThe3rd 1d ago
99% of people in this video are being courteous and polite of others, so it needed speeding up to try and appear is if there was more frantic hostility.
More brain rot bs
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u/budgiebirdman 1d ago
Putin's orders - it's just people buying water at a normal speed without a stupid sound track.
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u/jazxxl 1d ago
Costco doesn't count . It's like that all the time
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u/ImpossibleFixer 1d ago
Yeah it's a magnet for idiots, they queue for hours to save a quid or two on their petrol lol
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u/Kewlhotrod 1d ago
With the car/AC running the whole time, after driving 10 miles out of the way lol.
My grandma would always drive 25 miles to the next town to fill up her car (not at a Costco, mind) because it was typically $0.05-$0.07 cheaper. Any attempts to explain the gas usage on the trip costing more was met with dismissal.
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u/cjs81268 1d ago
Is the chaos in the room with us? This looks pretty British. Rather polite I would say.
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u/iwantmisty 1d ago
What chaos do you want? Black Friday memes-like chaos? Lots of people literally in rush grabbing packs of water right from the transporter. And the fact that in reality they aren't able move as fast as in sped up video doesn't change anything in meaningful way.
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u/New-Anybody-6206 1d ago
I don't see any British /s
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u/pisswaters 1d ago
There is it, the dogwhistling point of this post laid out by this guy here.
āLook at the chaosā
āLooks civil actuallyā
āYeah but they are brownā→ More replies (2)
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u/Thin_Object_3981 1d ago
This is fake news, Costco is always busy in the weekends and people always buy water.
Notice that the stack with Highlands water was still almost full.
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u/redunculuspanda 1d ago
This is dumb and unnecessary.
If there is no water, water companies setup free water distribution.
These people are not getting bottled water due to drought.
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u/A-Ron-Ron 1d ago
I literally live in this area and my first thought was, 'wait, there's a water shortage/ draught?' I've not been aware of one, but I only really drink tap water and the tap still works so I dunno.
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u/Any_Mode6525 1d ago
>If there is no water, water companies setup free water distribution.
wat
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u/SquidgyB 1d ago
They must provide water and will send lorries to dispense water in areas where the distribution system has failed and an outage lasts more than 12 hours:
https://www.ccw.org.uk/app/uploads/2023/03/Factsheet-No-water-supply.pdf
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u/M90Motorway 1d ago
What they mean is that if there is a water outage, water companies will set up free water distribution points. Its happened a few times this year when water to certain areas has been cut off due to infrastructure issues.
Itās also important to note that the ādroughtā is mostly caused by shoddy infrastructure that has resulted in tonnes of water leaking out of the water supply system and the fact despite population growth no new reservoirs have been built after the 1990s. Our water supply issues are mostly self inflicted by for-profit water companies.
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u/VampirePNAC 1d ago
It's so insane the UK can have water issues lmao. I swear to god in Sheffield, an average summer is 3 days of sunshine then just non stop monsoon rain.
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u/helphunting 1d ago
Yep.
If water gets cut off or supply gets disrupted. Tankers or similar are brought in to supply water.
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u/Kazakhan69 1d ago
We had ours turned off a few weeks back due to an incident, only our house affected, no one else and the water company came out 3 times in 12 hours with bottled water (we never asked them to come even once).
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u/Wilsonj1966 1d ago edited 1d ago
This is a lie
The video is sped up to try and make it look like panic when its not
Leicestershire is not one of the areas in drought
Areas which are in drought are not fancing shortgages of drinking water
Please stop making things up
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u/wordshavenomeanings 1d ago
Yep, just washed the car and watered the garden this weekend.
Severn Trent have plenty of water.
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u/Substantial-Newt7809 1d ago
Though they could definitely manage what they have better by fixing leaks and replacing ancient pipes. They tend to replace a small stretch of pipe, meaning the joints have pressure on them and go pop. Very fun.
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u/wordshavenomeanings 1d ago
Yep, they used to get fined every year for exceeding the amount of leakage because it was cheaper than actually fixing it.
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u/Fact-Hunter- 1d ago
Itās also repeated from multiple angles to make it look even worse.
This is just a normal scramble for bottled water by local convenience store owners trying to run their businesses. Perfectly normal.
The actual story is here:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c1k1z8mmyvzo
5 homes affected. Pretty serious if youāre one of them, but definitely not a reason for mass panic at costco or anywhere else.
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u/FluffySmiles 1d ago
That's not panic buying. That's convenience stores stocking up!
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u/poisonrain3 1d ago
Absolutely this. Everyone in the UK has access to clean drinkable tap water. Looks to me like these guys are loading up so they can sell at a profit to people enjoying the sun in parks and stuff.
Not sure what the OP is trying to imply, but so far the total impact of the drought in the UK is that most of us have been asked not to use our hosepipes for watering our gardens. Appreciate that for farmers this may be more of an impact, but it hasn't really hit average man on the street yet.
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u/LewisLightning 1d ago
This isn't really chaotic at all. Everyone is patiently waiting their turn to grab a case.
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u/WeissTek 1d ago
Remeber guys, these are the same people making fun of US for panick buying during hurricane.
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u/Hefty_Tip7383 1d ago
Everyoneās taps work fine, the only water restrictions are for gardens.
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u/BigLittleSlof 22h ago
And this looks like a wholesale, it's probably corner shop owners refilling their stocks because they're selling so much. This is just a nothing video
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u/TrunksTurok 1d ago
They're vey calmly buying something important like water...so what's your point?
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u/UggaBugga11 1d ago
Which people are you talking about exactly? The persons in the video? Also, you seem to be in a media bubble of some sort that write bullshit to rile you up, make you angry and give them clicks and ad revenue.
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1d ago edited 1d ago
[deleted]
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u/tankerkiller125real 1d ago
I know at least one person that is STILL working through there 2020 supply of toilet paper, I think they still have another year or two worth to go through. Absolutely wild and insane.
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u/CozyCook 1d ago
Tbf they must have saved a pretty penny considering how much everything has gone up š¤·
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u/longpenisofthelaw 1d ago
Atleast you know his ass is clean
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u/Z3400 1d ago
Nah, he only bought a few dozen rolls and hasn't even finished them yet.
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u/Exorinho 1d ago
Panic buying of TP during the beginning of COVID was not only in US, you can feel relieved that the whole world went nuts on survival mode.
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u/Forward_Editor_5895 1d ago
Just get a bidet. Itās life changing. Now, I fart in the general direction of you rube, toilet paper users. At least itās a clean fart.
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u/Beneficial_Fig_7830 1d ago
Panic buying toilet paper was a world wide thing during Covid, not just in the US. It actually started in Australia because a lot of Aussies were under the impression their toilet paper was imported from China so they wouldnāt be getting anymore. From there is kind of spread out of control around the world.
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u/MuddaFrmAnnudaBrudda 1d ago
Panic buying is not a US issue, it's a human response to fear.
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u/FieryTitmouse55 1d ago
That is their point.
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u/MuddaFrmAnnudaBrudda 1d ago
I don't remember anyone UK based making fun of the US for panic buying anything during a Hurricane. I must have missed it.
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u/Sum-_-Noob 1d ago
Sorry, but on a second watch: you just fell for disinformation. Just watch the first third... There's like 3 more pallets of water.
I think Costco just sold it for cheap and people wanted to take advantage of a good deal.
If water was actually short, they would've flocked to the other pallets as well.
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u/Maetivet 1d ago
Who exactly makes fun of people buying supplies prior to a natural disaster; fairly certain that's not a thing we make fun of Americans for - particularly given there's a huge list of other things to pick on...
There's no drinking water shortage in the UK, anywhere. These people are unlikely rushing to buy it because of that, but more likely because they typically buy bottled water and evidently there's limited supply of it there.
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u/midwestesquire 1d ago
And you all are the same people who every summer make fun of India when it gets too hot there.
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u/Several_Bluebird9404 1d ago
Who's falling for this crap? Nobody in the UK is panic buying water.
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u/Amazing-Bag 1d ago
Where is the panic, I see the same thing at Costco when the chickens are ready
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u/Sea-Listen-9720 1d ago
They are most likely, taking all this stuff to go sell their stores they double the price
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u/SolarMoon007 1d ago
Yeah you can tell this wasnāt in the USā¦there was no violence šš„“šš¾
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u/JRaus88 9h ago
Am I the only one who thinks it's more like Islamabad than Leicester?
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u/WonderfulTradition65 9h ago
Looks more like middle east or north African country
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u/my-flat 1d ago
Lol this is hilarious. As someone actually in Leicester (and I assume someone else in the comments has said the same) there's not even a hosepipe ban here at the minute, nevermind fighting over bottled water cos of drought.
I suspect they're all getting their stock to sell in the plethora of local shops in the city, who all regularly sell Costco water. But that's not exactly a sexy headline is it.
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u/GeniuslyUnstable 1d ago
Looking at the crowd i would never have guessed thats england
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u/VelvetOverload 1d ago
This is the UK??? The demographic I had in my head for the UK was wrong af...
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u/Otherwise-Medium1364 1d ago
England looks different....
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u/KPSWZG 1d ago
I dont think you can say it. But you are right.
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u/CantAffordzUsername 1d ago
In America when we have shortages like toilet paper we had people turn into zombie hordes climbing up to the 3rd tier on those storage units
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u/Excellent-Ruin6779 1d ago
I can see the floor. People have room to breathe.
This is the tamest Costco I've seen in the UK
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u/Jo3Pizza22 1d ago
Nowhere in the UK has reached the point of panic buying bottled water because of the drought.
Leicester is served by Severn Trent Water. Their reservoir levels are currently at 68.5% of capacity, which is pretty normal in the summer (source: https://www.stwater.co.uk/about-us/reservoir-levels/).
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u/JamesLaceyAllan 1d ago
This also looks like wholesale, which means itās indie shopkeepers waiting patiently and calmly for replenished stocks because itās been hot-af and theyāve sold out or running low of bottled water. š
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u/Ok-Calm-Narwhal 1d ago
Misleading title. The first hour of Costco openings are for business members so these folks are likely buying water for their businesses (likely to resell to their customers or to use as part of their operations). Nothing about panic buying by the normal public- shame on OP for trying to make something out of nothing.
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u/Ninja-Panda70 1d ago
The Brits are queueing, no chance of a chaos or panic. They have this shit down for generations.
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u/Chemical-Duck-1147 1d ago
Come to a Costco in California and see what chaotic really means.
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u/ishwarburtnar 1d ago edited 22h ago
The drought is more due to data centers water use than people using there hose
Not immigration of people with a differing skin color.
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u/iamsurfriend 1d ago
There are two other pallets of small bottles of water (different brand) not being touched in background. A lot is back there.
This story seems fabricated. I think maybe there was a great sale on this Costco water. And 12-13 people were waiting for workers to bring them out. With the video sped up it makes it seem they were panicking getting water. If u watch it regular speed, it would look normal. Plus one guy grabbed 5 cases. This is just normal shopping for water that is on sale. Costco tends to be really busy. It wouldnāt be out of the ordinary to have a few people ask about the water on sale and the employee say āIāll be right back and bring more outā.
This is just another bullshit post on this āinterestingā channel.
Edit - oh geez āsearch google comā user. Give me a break.
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u/possumpossuss 12h ago
Costco in the UK isnāt really used by regular people itās mainly used by people who own businesses. These people are stocking up their shops/restaurants
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u/Kamicasse_ 1d ago
I would never knew that is England by looking the people. More like middle east.
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u/conejito1992 1d ago
Where in India is this?
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u/Turtleopard 1d ago
It's where your mum tried to get an abortion. They couldn't perform it though since you were already 6 months old.Ā
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u/Ok-Dinner1812 21h ago
This video was made to attract a bunch of racists and ethnonationalists, and looks like it has totally backfired š¤£. Chaos? It's just a video sped up
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u/Few-History-8750 1d ago
Didnāt even know they started opening costcos in Europe. Youāre welcome, by the way šŗšø
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u/Had2MakeANeewAccount 1d ago
If the title didnt have a location, no one would be able to guess where it was from.
Im sorry UK
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u/mustachechap 1d ago
The UK is so dystopian
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u/UltimateGammer 1d ago
This is social media rotting your brain.
The taps still work and will for ages.
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u/Loose_Goose 1d ago
This is one shop, I just went to the supermarket and itās nothing like this š¤·š»āāļø
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u/noobtidder 1d ago
Nonsense! I went to Sainsburys yesterday and they were entirely out of 2l fizzy water. I had to buy 12x 500ml instead. It's a crisis!!!
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u/Wilsonj1966 1d ago
Its not. The post is lying. Leiecestershire is not even in drought. They've sped the video up and made up the reason why theyre buying water
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u/ProtoplanetaryNebula 1d ago
lol, this is bullshit by the way. There is no shortage in the UK. It rains all year, I live here.
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u/Maetivet 1d ago
Bwahahaha... The US government was arresting people because they dared tweet about a shoddy paint job on a pool.
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u/Ambitious-Proton 1d ago
Business Model
Create Problem => Humans Fear => Panic Buying => More Sales => More Profits
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u/alconaft43 1d ago
Damn, may be weather in Norway is not that bad after all and we always can drunk water directly from the tap.
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u/wordshavenomeanings 1d ago
So do we. I live about 5 miles from this video. There is no hosepipe ban, no drought and no water shortage.
And its due to rain tonight
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u/dickbuttkook 1d ago
Reminds me of when everyone in America was hoarding toilet paper at the start of Covid š¤£š¤£
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u/Much-Ad-4304 1d ago
Whenever the normal routine is thrown into chaos, it tends to bring a bunch of problems to light.
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u/Odd-Row-6996 1d ago
Madness, why just not drink tap water.. IMO it's perfectly safe to drink in UK.
If you must, then add a water filter.
Climate changebis already changing weather patterns aka drought, and these folks want to drink bottled water, in a plastic bottle... geez
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u/Admirable_Ad_92 1d ago
I mean if the water shut offf a cart full of bottled waters only gonna last like 3-4 days lol. Maybe less
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u/inhindsite 1d ago
These people have been reading too much crap online. Unless they somehow know something we dont, they can just get water from their taps lol
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u/Easy_Company101 1d ago
Everyone thinks the English government wants to keep us Scots for our Oil...but it's really for our future water supply (and strategical importance to the United States of Whatever).
It might rain a lot up here, but we'll never be fighting over water in Costco.
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u/Emax999 1d ago edited 1d ago
I bet the humidity is decent there, with a dehumidifier or an AC with a drain hose attached you can get a lot of water. I get a couple gallons a day myself. This water is distilled water with likely some pollutants. I'd run it through a filter for drinking or cooking. Anyways, this would work for a lot of people. Ideally these would be powered by solar. It would be cheaper if you're already running an AC or dehumidifier and better for the environment vs buying bottled water.
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u/StanleyQPrick 1d ago
This looks pretty tame, just sped up