So I pondered one of lifes greater mysteries..

[leftyman]

Ok, me and my wife ( who is a waitress mind you... ) go to the restaurant Saturday for breakfast.

we order our food and our drinks ( I order a ham and cheese omelette, wheat toast, coffee and a small milk), and I notice that we have glasses of ice water on the table.

So first comes our drinks, my coffee and her Pepsi, I start drinking my coffee she unwraps her her straw and enjoys her beverage

next food rolls in, along with my small milk..waitress ask's if we need anything else, I say "no we are all set" and away she goes.

So while Im eating I take a sip of moo juice and my wife is aghast.."eeww dont drink out of the glass without a straw!" she exclaims :Q

"DANGER! DANGER!" I think whats wrong?

She procedes to warn me of the germs and other unsavory characters that hang out on restaurant glasses.

So I procede to inform her that as a professional server of prepared food products, she should note the glasses of ice water sans straws, that proliferated on restuarant tables.

I also noted the fact that whatever she was afraid of on the drinking glasses was more then likely also residing on the coffee cups and dishes and silverware..

she said "No, thats different!"

I said " "

Which leads me to.. Is she somehow right? do most people use straws with their beverage of choice?

and if so why?

 

[chrisms]

I dunno... I don't like using straws. I feel like more of a man drinking straight from the cup, even at Burger King.

In Vietnam they give you a glass and a can of Coke and a straw, but no ice (you wouldn't want the ice). Its considered bad manners to drink from the can so you pour it into the glass, only to have the straw keep popping out at you. Makes no sense to me.

 

[I Saw OJ]

I dont care to use straws. Even when driving I have no lid and drink straight out of the cup.

 

[MmmSkyscraper]

I hate the straws, they're only good for flicking bits of drink at people you don't like on the next table.

 

[pontifex]

if the glass was full of germs, wouldn't they also be in the beverage you are drinking also?

 

[Aimster]

yes

working in restaurants the cups do not always get cleaan

whoever cleans them does it in a fast way.

A) rinse quickly
B) put in machine (does not always clean)

best to use straws

 

[UncleWai]

Originally posted by: pontifex
if the glass was full of germs, wouldn't they also be in the beverage you are drinking also?

No Wai!

 

[PHiuR]

eh...it's dirty either way.

 

[chrisms]

Originally posted by: Aimster
yes

working in restaurants the cups do not always get cleaan

whoever cleans them does it in a fast way.

A) rinse quickly
B) put in machine (does not always clean)

best to use straws

I don't know how true that is. I worked at a pizza place and sure we'd just rinse them out real quick to get any particles off, but then they get blasted for a couple minutes with near boiling hot water and soap. What more do you want?

 

[SonnyDaze]

Straws are for Coke only.

 

[skace]

If a glass from an industrial stength dishwasher isn't clean, then your sh!t at home is disgusting. Honestly, I worked busboy, and as gross as those plates are going in, they come out spotless. As much as I hated the place I worked at, I see no reason to question the glasses of all things. I'd more question what someone did to your food.

 

[vi edit]

Originally posted by: SonnyDaze
Straws are for Coke only.

Coke...or uh...Coke "classic"?

 

[slsmnaz]

Originally posted by: skace
If a glass from an industrial stength dishwasher isn't clean, then your sh!t at home is disgusting. Honestly, I worked busboy, and as gross as those plates are going in, they come out spotless. As much as I hated the place I worked at, I see no reason to question the glasses of all things. I'd more question what someone did to your food.

If the Hobart doesn't kill it then a straw won't confuse it! The water in there would take your skin off and you guys are worried about germs living?

 

[Amused]

Your wife was being irrational.

She is scared of touching her lips to the glass, but not scared of drinking the liquid in the glass?

Irrational.

And your points on the silverware and coffee cups were further proof.

The only sad part was she made you worried.

 

[leftyman]

Originally posted by: Amused
Your wife was being irrational.

She is scared of touching her lips to the glass, but not scared of drinking the liquid in the glass?

Irrational.

And your points on the silverware and coffee cups were further proof.

The only sad part was she made you worried.

who said I was worried?

 

[Amused]

Originally posted by: leftyman

Originally posted by: Amused
Your wife was being irrational.

She is scared of touching her lips to the glass, but not scared of drinking the liquid in the glass?

Irrational.

And your points on the silverware and coffee cups were further proof.

The only sad part was she made you worried.

who said I was worried?

Which leads me to.. Is she somehow right?

 

[leftyman]

Originally posted by: Amused

Originally posted by: leftyman

Originally posted by: Amused
Your wife was being irrational.

She is scared of touching her lips to the glass, but not scared of drinking the liquid in the glass?

Irrational.

And your points on the silverware and coffee cups were further proof.

The only sad part was she made you worried.

who said I was worried?

Which leads me to.. Is she somehow right?

I wanted to see what other people though or else I would have said:

"do I have anything to worry about?"

 

[Tifababy]

My dad sells Hobart dishwashers, no germs will live through a 5 minute wash in one of those things. Definitely more sanitary than your dishes at home (although what happens after it comes out of the dishwasher is up to that particular restaurant).

Would your wife freak out if you drank a beer without a straw? Because your man card should be shredded if you drink a beer through a straw.

 

[CityShrimp]

I think the whole straw thing is psychological. For some people, including me, it just feels more comfortable to drink from a straw than directly from a glass, especially at Asian restaurants. The straw was sealed, thus no one before you has sucked on it, where as multiple people has drank from them already.

Of course, it makes no difference since it's all the same in terms of hygiene, but it just feels better.

Oh, and also, I don't like to chew on ice, so I tend to use straws if available.

 

[leftyman]

Originally posted by: CityShrimp
I think the whole straw thing is psychological. For some people, including me, it just feels more comfortable to drink from a straw than directly from a glass, especially at Asian restaurants. The straw was sealed, thus no one before you has sucked on it, where as multiple people has drank from them already.

Of course, it makes no difference since it's all the same in terms of hygiene, but it just feels better.

Oh, and also, I don't like to chew on ice, so I tend to use straws if available.

why those particular restuarants?

 

[pennylane]

Originally posted by: leftyman
I said " "

How exactly did you say ""?

BTW, I try to use a straw whenever possible.

 

[leftyman]

Originally posted by: fanerman91

Originally posted by: leftyman
I said " "

How exactly did you say ?

BTW, I try to use a straw whenever possible.

if you knew my wife you would understand.

 

[Mellman]

i've heard other people say this (my mom included) i think it is more that the waiter/waitress touches the outside of the glass...and they may or may not have clean hands... Not that it makes much difference. Thats what i've heard though from people saying similar things to the OP's wife.

 

[Jeff7]

Originally posted by: pontifex
if the glass was full of germs, wouldn't they also be in the beverage you are drinking also?

It's no coincidence that the word "glass" contains the word "ass".




Really though, my response to this is also . If they are capable of cleaning the plates and silverware, I'd expect them to be able to clean the glasses.
And concerning the straw, who says that they have to be any cleaner? Even if they come individually wrapped, who's to say that there aren't rabid mice doing suicide dives into the injection molding machines that make the straws in the first place?

Originally posted by: Mellman
i've heard other people say this (my mom included) i think it is more that the waiter/waitress touches the outside of the glass...and they may or may not have clean hands... Not that it makes much difference. Thats what i've heard though from people saying similar things to the OP's wife.

They still use their hands to put silverware on the table, and they also use their hands to give you your plate of food.
Let's say they wear rubber gloves. One moment of forgetfullnes could have them scratching their head somewhere, or touching an unsanitized surface.
If you've got a normal immune system, you've probably got very little to worry about.