Most Europeans know I guess, that ice creates in the fridge probably more bacteria than you have in yr butt, it will do it's work in yr body, ice also pretty much destroys yr liver/gall function, esp. when eating/digesting, one of the worse things you could do to yr body.
I'm a dual EU-US citizen, and this thread is uber-dumb. News flash: There are different customs in different countries as to which beverages are served at which temperatures. But there is certainly no universal disfavoring of cold beverages across the continent.
Corporate America figured out a long time ago that the average consumer is pretty dumb.
"Hmmm...how can I sell you a 24 oz. fountain drink for $3.49 but only give you 12 oz. of product? Yes! Fill half of the cup with ice and then promote the immediate gratification and satisfaction of an iced cold beverage. Cost to me, including the cup, is about 12 cents - $3.37 in profit!!!"
Ice waters down your flavored corn syrup/carbonated water drink and kills the flavor. It also leaves you wanting more since we tend to consume more of less satisfying foods. If it is bland, we gobble down more of it. Food, soft drinks, sugared coffee, booze, beer, etc. - we crave it if it is essentially flavor muted.
Right, that's why everyone's drinking Old Milwaukee and Folgers these days.
Do you have ice in your refrigerator? Have you tried drinks like soda and seltzer with and without ice? They are much more refreshing with ice at least when it's warm outside.
A 12oz Coke has 39g of sugar, it honestly needs some ice to water it down otherwise it's like drinking corn syrup straight from the bottle.
"Hmmm...how can I sell you a 24 oz. fountain drink for $3.49 but only give you 12 oz. of product? Yes! Fill half of the cup with ice and then promote the immediate gratification and satisfaction of an iced cold beverage. Cost to me, including the cup, is about 12 cents - $3.37 in profit!!!"
12 oz of ice is more expensive than 12 oz of water + syrup (which is strengthened in fountain machines to compensate for the ice anyways).
The reason they put ice in your drink is so it stays cold. An unbelievable scientific discovery by American inventor Frederic Tudor
That makes no sense. If you drink it right away it doesn't need to stay cold if it was in a refrigerator. And it it sits for a while the ice will melt and you will have a room temperature diluted drink.
I think it's because traditionally they didn't have much freezer space. They have dense cities and centers of towns where they bought produce and meat and fish on their way home so it's like doing a little shopping every couple of days, not like America where people are spread out and may have to drive 20 minutes to buy anything, so they stock up and even have an extra freezer.
I personally love ice and ice-cold water all day and iced coffee. I used to think my Asian parents were dehydrated cause they never drink water but they eat a low of stews and brothy type things so they're getting plenty of water from their food. I heard an Italian say there's enough water in produce. You don't have to carry around a 64 oz Yeti cup. But Americans don't have that much produce at its ripest. And we don't necessarily adhere to seasons. I will have iced coffee all year round cause it's not like it's cold inside. We have heat and crank up our AC so people are making braised short ribs in the middle of summer.
I lost 15lbs in England cause their soda was lukewarm and tasted like the can.