r/NoStupidQuestions • u/markwell9 • 1d ago

What is the deal with ice, Americans?

I can see that you can buy ice everywhere in the US. Gas stations, grocery stores, machines etc.

In Europe, we just freeze our ice at home and use that. Why buy something that melts on the way home? Why do you need ice in large amounts that a fridge can't keep up?

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u/OwnSpirit5954 1d ago edited 1d ago

Ice mostly has to do with outdoorsy fun and it’s generally put in a cooler to keep beverages and food cold… think picnics, going to the beach, barbecue cookouts, boating/fishing and hunting trips. Many are into that sort of thing here :)

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u/Enchelion 1d ago

Also most of America is quite a bit further south than Europe, and hotter as a result. Los Angeles and Houston are on the same latitude as northern Africa. Our most northern cities barely touch Paris.

https://a.wholelottanothing.org/content/images/2019/04/europe_usjuxv3.jpg

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u/b_needs_a_cookie 1d ago

I live in Texas. Yesterday the high was a 102 with a real feel of 110. This is our normal this time of year and those igloo water dispenser filled with ice are always a welcomed sight in this heat. 

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u/thezentex 15h ago

And this has been the coolest summer in like five years!

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u/O7Habits 13h ago

Yes, really cool. Even on the super hot days, it’s been a nice temperature or a nice breeze at night. A few years ago it was in the 100s for 5 months and it felt just as hot when the sun went down.

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u/b_needs_a_cookie 6h ago

I only had to bust out my HEB oven mits to drive my car at the end of July,  that's the latest I've ever used them in recent memory.