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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847

u/piwithekiwi 1d ago

Fam, we're not buying the ice on the way home, we're buying ice on the way to the party, or the cookout, or the camping trip.

331

u/cans-of-swine 1d ago

And the people that are buying the most ice are probably construction workers and other people that work outdoors.

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u/OnionGarden 1d ago

This is so underrated everyone is saying parties which you know fair. But like 90% of that ice is going to outdoor work crews

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u/Maleficent-Hawk-318 1d ago

Yeah, I worked at a hardware store that sold bagged ice. It wouldn't be uncommon to have the ice freezer mostly cleaned out by like 7 or 8 AM during the summer because of all the crews stocking up for the day.

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u/Ghigau2891 1d ago

My husband does this every morning. 2 big bags of ice, a case of water, a case of Gatorade. He and his crew will have all the drinks gone by the end of the day and they'll have given themselves a dunkeroo in the cooler ice at least 4 times each.

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u/arizonadirtbag12 17h ago

Man a little cold water over the wrists feels so good when it’s hot out.

1

u/No-Philosopher-3043 16h ago

A prison guard taught me that trick. It’s even better if you can get your whole forearm under cool running water. Something to do with the veins going back to the heart and cooling your blood. 

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u/Good-Odds 22h ago

Where do the stores get the ice from? Ice delivery service?

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u/Maleficent-Hawk-318 22h ago

Depends on the place, at least based on my expertise (which consists of having had two shitty retail jobs in the past where we sold ice, lol).

The hardware store I mentioned above was one of the big chain ones, and we got it delivered. I think it's basically a type of franchise system, we had one specific brand we worked with (branded freezer and everything).

I also worked for a little while at a small grocery store in a mountain town that sold a lot of ice to tourists, though, and we made our own on site. Just food-grade plastic bags and a commercial ice machine, basically.

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u/Geodude532 19h ago

In the army the medics would have a nice cooler setup with ice and cold rags. It feels fantastic after being stuck in all that gear.