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What are your qualifications for discussion of water safety and comparitive plumbing ?
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i have a phd in great british plumbing and i have designed most of the plumbing in use today.

in looking around at the plumbing in the so called 'civilised' countries, i found that the pipes are put inside the walls. presumably this is for a 'neat' or 'uncluttered' look. then one day i went to the great city of paris and saw this beautiful building that the french call the georges pimpido centre. it has all of its pipes on the OUTSIDE. i thought that i could replicate this artistic concept in my plumbing designs and take a different approach than the so called civilised countries. additionally, my work also includes some wonderous features such as pipes that come out of the walls and just end there.

in my studies, i have also researched the use of these new 'mixer taps' in the so called 'civilised' countries. i decided that we need to keep things simple and take a different approach. people aren't intelligent enough to operate such complex 'mixer taps'. what people really want is cold water or hot water. we give them some choice but not so much choice that it confuses them with unnecessary options such as 'warm' or 'cool' water. Furthermore, there has not been enough studies to ensure that mixing foreign substances (hot water and cold water) does not create a hazardous substance.

finally, the so called civilised countries hook directly to their 'mains'. forget that. we wanted to take another approach. let's store the water up in the loft and distribute it to the taps in low flow drips. the so called civilised countries are so obsessed with this concept of 'water pressure'. i don't understand the need for such pressure. storing the water in the loft allows us to age it. everyone knows that wine gets better with age but only us britons know that water also gets better as it ages in our specially constructed vats.

So mixer taps and decent water pressure ensures safe water (which was the topic of conversation)? Thanks do much for your insight.

why does Volvic water which has been filtered through rocks for millions of years have a sell by date on the bottles?

The law(s) say(s) so.
And sparkling water in plastic bottles loses the bubbles within 1-2 years as carbon dioxide diffuses through PET.

Big Russ, I'm confused by you claiming that the Atlantans and Confederates burned Atlanta. I'm pretty sure it was Sherman.

Wow. Can't believe how many people decide on their own that "ok" and "safe" must mean the same thing. I know of plenty of places where water is potable and I could say 100% that it's intended to be "safe" - but I'd have to qualify an "ok". The poster used "ok", not "safe."

One thing's for sure after looking at this thread - either way, isn't any ignorance being resolved here on this one. I can't imagine that if this poster was simply naive about the world, that they'd ever come back here to ask another question, nor send any of their non-traveled friends this way either.

There's a mental picture I have of an angry old man screaming at people to get off his lawn. And by lawn, I mean forum.

<i>Can't believe how many people decide on their own that "ok" and "safe" must mean the same thing.</i>

But they can mean the same thing. Moreover, I don't think that the OP would ask the question if it were just a matter of taste.

And in this case, they absolutely mean the same thing. The 2 words are interchangeable in this context.

We don't know the context. But you can assume you know the context if you wish.

The context is the original question...is it OK/safe to drink the water...

*You* added the "safe" in order to add the context

No, I just meant they are interchangeable. I thought after I pushed the button I should have done that differently, so oh well. No one would ask if it's OK to drink the water and not mean is it safe to drink it, that's all. Not a big deal.

Clearly 'ok' means safe in this context.

Because the question was 'is it ok to drink the water'

not

'Does the water taste ok?'

Y'all are probably right. Maybe. I just don't know that people don't sometimes put things differently than they intend. Case in point, kwren's latest. (sorry, not to play gotcha, just saying...). For all I know, it's maybe even some regular having a go.

But on the chance that it wasn't intended to be some purposeless dig or ignorant insult at the entire countries of Scotland or Ireland, might they collectively survive the sheer indignation if we were to just answer the question. Even if just to deliver it with the usual veiled condensation this board is known for, rather than outright hostility? 5 words that end in a question mark hardly seems to warrant the energy.

Sorry. 7 words. Maybe the extra 2 will tip the scales.

<< usual veiled condensation >>

Did you perhaps mean condescension?

Maybe you should just accept that it's not for you to decide a) whether the Scottish should be offended or not by the question and b) how anyone should choose to answer.

You can provide your own viewpoint. You can't speak for anyone else.

no, condensation. It's all full of drips. (yes, I did, lol. damn spell check suggestions)

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RM67 - I have provided my own viewpoint. You're reading it as we exchange thoughts. So I guess it is for me to decide both points a and b, at least as much as it is for everyone to decide what they think of this woman's yes or no question.

For what it's worth, I see a certain amount of irony here in this dustup as it relates to national exceptionalism. Which I wouldn't bother mentioning if it weren't a concept so often leveled at others by those now upset. If someone were to have asked the same question about Romania (or plug in any number of countries), I feel certain not a poster here would have batted an eye, much less argued the intent or the OP's audacity for asking. Yet it has gone to the same trouble to make it's drinking water safe as most western countries. ("Geez, don't you know anything? We're somebody!" vs "well... it IS Romania after all...")

Yes, I agree that it *probably* was a safety question. I don't know for sure, and I don't care, but maybe so. If it was asked about any of the places I've lived, it would bother me - but everyone's sensitivity level is different. Granted. For me, I posted because I see that subtext going here - how could you ask that about US! - when in reality, we all have varying levels, in ever grayer concentric circles, about what we know about the parts of the world we've never been. But those circles are in different shades and lay out differently for each *person*.

So you'd <i>think</i> that the most logical thing to do when you really didn't know something was to ask those who did...

But if you had a look at this thread, you'd realize that'd be a pretty bad idea.

Our friends in Kansas do not drink the water out of the tap because the water is polluted by too much fertilizer that has worked itself into the ground water. However, I do not know if it is the official position of the authorities that the water is unsafe or if the water simply tastes lousy.

As a resource for anyone who reads this and isn't sure and now knows not to ask here, this is a pretty good resource for travelers around the world:

http://canidrinkthewater.org