I just got back from my first trip to Europe and one little thing they have are plastic water, soda, juice, etc bottles where the cap stays on the bottle. You just twist the cap and then it pops up and you don’t have to put it down, lose it, etc. Why don’t we have these in the US?
What other useful things do you find in other countries that we’re missing out on?
I’d really like to keep this non-political so please avoid topics like universal healthcare and whatnot.
Spent a few months in Buenos Aires a while ago. There are few outdoor parking lots, because most apartment and office buildings have their own parking garages. Aesthetically, it makes the city such a pleasant place to walk around in. What incredible foresight the urban designers had! I’ve often wondered who came up with this and whether any other major cities in the world have implemented a comparable policy so effectively.
Hah! As someone who spent decades of my adult life outside of the US, I often ask myself, “why don’t we have folders like this (except 8.5” x 11" instead of A4) in America?"
Now that I live in the US again, I’ve searched repeatedly at Office Max, and even on Amazon I have to buy A4 size (much better than nothing, but not quite right).
The lack of these incredibly useful clear plastic folders remains a mystery. They are ideal for organizing categories of papers, leaving them visible and secure, but with individual pages easily added or removed.
One example of how I use them is to organize sheet music for my Javanese gamelan class. When we learn new pieces, people inevitably leave their music at home, or don’t have a copy that shows the part for particular instruments - whatever. It’s so nice to simply go to my folder that contains multiple copies of the notation people might want, securely held, and easily pull it out.
“Regular” American style folders don’t work the same - manila folders allow papers to slip out easily, and since they are not transparent you can’t easily see what’s inside. The plastic folders that are sealed on three sides are awkward - inserting or removing a single sheet is a PITA.
Totally different product: large thermos bottles (not single-serve, but containers that can hold enough liquid for 10-20 servings) are a trillion times better in Asia. When I lived in Indonesia, I used to heat drinking water the day before a big social event, and put it into a thermos receptacle. 24 hours later, people could easily serve themselves steaming hot water for tea or instant coffee. In the US, I can’t find water receptacles of the appropriate size - water cooler dispensers don’t have anywhere near the level of insulation needed to maintain hot or cold temperatures for long periods of time.
If I had been smart, when I left SE Asia I would have brought lots of folders and a couple of large thermos receptacles with me for use in the US, but it never occurred to me that such useful items would be unavailable. I remain mystified that they are not.
Those are very common on water bottles in the US. But I’ve never seen them on other products. Maybe because the pop-up tops restrict the flow a bit and Americans like to chug their drinks?
At restaurants they bring the payment processing to you, right at the table. Your card is never out of your sight/possession. It’s the standard across most of Europe IME. I’ve never seen this in America.
Cambro has a line of Thermal Insulated Beverage Dispensers. The Enviro Group I’m with has used them forever for our Festivals and events. They come in many sizes and colors and keep coffee hot for a very long time and cold beverages cold.
Some of these must date back to the early 90s and still work. They even stack for transport.
Not sure about hot water, hot enough for tea 24 hours later. But hot coffee 8-10 hours later I can attest to.
Is it possible that the thermoses you’re talking about were the old vacuum insulated ones like from the 60s? My father had one that was better than any plastic and foam combo made later. But these were a lot more fragile. You can still get those in the quart size for coffee/soup. Someone might have a larger gallon version still. I would try Yeti.
That is slowly catching on here. I first saw it in a Pizzeria Uno of all places, but several local places started using these. But it is still rare.
It happens all over America now. Probably 2/3rds of the restaurant tabs I pay are via the mobile gizmo the server carries in their apron & hands to me to tip & pay. And I buy a LOT of restaurant meals in a lot of different cities.
But yes, the USA is a decade or two behind the rest of the world in this.
I can’t tell what the folders you are talking about are like - they can’t be manila folders except made of transparent plastic because papers would still slip out easily and they aren’t sealed on three sides. I though maybe they are sealed on two sides, but that doesn’t seem like it solves the “papers slipping out” issue.
This is a very new thing and wasn’t implemented by the beverage companies for the customer’s convenience, but forced by a EU law that was introduced to avoid littering by thrown away caps and to ensure that the caps are recycled with the bottles. Soon people started complaining that the attached caps make drinking and pouring harder (which is bullshit) and of course blamed it on the out-of-touch Brussels bureaucrats. 
Here’s what they look like:
I find them a little annoying as the cap can rotate around the bottle and rest on your face if you’re taking a swig from an almost empty bottle. That said, if it reduces waste I can deal.
This reminds me of when beverage can pull-tops where changed so the top was retained on the can, rather than being something you fully separated then either threw away (often on the ground) or dropped into the can, hoping not to get it lodged in your throat later.
IIRC that changeover happened in the mid 1970s to great howls of outrage. Somehow Western Civilization has survived the ~50 years since. I expect we’ll survive retained caps on single use PETE bottles too.
If you live in a largish city with an Asiatown, i can almost guarantee the Asian grocery stores there will have a whole wall of these for sale.
They ARE sealed on two sides, and paper slippage doesn’t seem to be a problem - perhaps the static from the plastic holds things more tightly than a card manila. They’re not really designed for great wads of paper.
I have used these for years in office work.
They must be available somewhere, I see those all the time at my son’s music school! I’ll have to ask his instructor where she gets them, although I suspect probably the same place they get their other music equipment.
I think that Europe has shown that the way to replace paper $1 bills with coins is to create a $2 coin. And make both $1 and $2 coins reasonably sized.
Exactly.
Yes, those look right!
@What_Exit - thanks for the suggestions, those look like they’d work.
We have plenty of torx and square available and they work great for high torque, impact gun installations. I know there are arguments that Robertson is the best, but I haven’t had issues with the first two I mention so I don’t feel like I’m missing out. All three are way better than any Phillips screw.
If you buy products made in the US that include fasteners for assembly or installation they won’t be torx or square. They will be phillips and you’ll either have to make them work or replace them.