❓ Is It Illegal to Put Soda In Water Cups?

[@ThePaintballgun]

1/20th of a penny for 16oz of water, yet some people will happily pay $5 for a bottle of Fiji water.

[@CaptainAlliance]

Don't Even Bother Because it's apparently "artisan water"

[@ThePaintballgun]

That just means it's from a special type of well with natural positive pressure I'm pretty sure. Pretty deceiving.

[@rush2795]

10:20 this ain't vsauce haha

[@Jabrils]

+rush2795 greetings comment, I have been waiting for you. hahaha - Jabril

[@darkridge]

So, put water in your water cup, then take the free lemon wedges and free sugar packets and make lemonade.

[@Jabrils]

+darkridge this is my remedy for any sit down restaurant, but shhh don't tell anyone aha - Jabril

[@chiepah2]

So if in-n-out gives you free water, make free lemonade?

[@mannyistheman2221]

To the guy speaking in this video you are dead wrong it is stealing. It's just that the owner decided not to get into a fuss over a few cents. But if you ask for a water cup and you use it for reasons other than water, your obtaining property through fraud and false pretense. Hence you are committing theft. It would be extremely petty theft and it may not be a big deal one time but it can become a big deal to a business when hundreds if not thousands of people are depriving them of 3 to $10,000 in Lost revenue because people aren't paying for their sodas.

[@-_IT_-]

Yes, it is illegal for putting soda in a water cup, not because it was a water cup, but because that person did not pay for the soda, which is stealing. Petty, but still stealing.

[@magottyk]

The company knows what percentage of its customers will break the "social contract" and cost it into their meal price average, "free" is not free. Any given chain will make decisions based on their market share. Those customers that live by the water cup social contract are subsidising those that don't, if only 10% of customers break the social contract, then that only adds 3.5 cents to the cost of each customers meal, so if each customer averages a $6.00 spend per meal, it's only adding $0.5% to the total price of each meal, a negligible amount vs the goodwill generated by the "free" offering. Even if 50% break the water cup social contract it only adds 16.5 cents or about 2.5% to the total cost of a $6.00 spend. Oh and chains which won't buy by the 5 gallon BIB will be buying by the thousands of gallons so reduce that $77 per 5 gallon significantly (numbers ranging from $40-$65 from checking various forums but about $50 seems to be the concurrence regarding bulk). It's not really a social contract, but rather a consequence of peoples overdeveloped sense of morality. If they really wanted customers to only put water into water cups, then they'd issue water cups in a distinguishable size and colour. i.e. those that paid for fizzy drinks get an upmarket cup allowing policing by evidence of sight of the soda thieves misusing their water cups, or at least introducing an extra measure of guilt reducing the incidence. Of course this policy may reduce market share and profits, so by not putting soda into your water cup, you are in fact reducing the companies market share and profitability. So how dare you just drink water, the nerve of some people.

[@HandledToaster2]

no u go to jail

[@conjecturemm]

hey, look up "tradgedy of the commons." it's basically when something is free and people use it so much that it loses value. or when everyone fills their water cups with soda and then subway starts charging for the cups. also loved the patreon line haha

[@Jabrils]

+Conjecture just read up on this, great knowledge asset! Thanks Mattman. - Jabril

[@CTSSTC]

Exactly what I was thinking while watching this ^__^ Think I learned this in sociology class way back when, or maybe it was psychology

[@thevorce2457]

At McDonald's, I got a smoothie and I noticed that it was a water cup, so I was like, imma get some sweet tea, cause that smoothie cost more than a damn water. And sum bitch saw me and is like "that's a water cup" and I looked at her like "bitch, I ain't getting soda, I'm drinking sweet tea.:

[@LindaMerchant-bq2hp]

I understand your anger

[@reyosorio1432]

This man could probably talk about toilet paper for 2 hours 🤣

[@ThatBrownNerd]

Haha this turned out great

[@esodan]

that was a pleasant surprise

[@Atari5732]

I think legally, if you are suffering from dehydration or heat exhaustion, companies are required to give you water. Otherwise they could be sued if you were dying from lack of water and they refused it to you.

[@Paxmax]

Jabril, you forgot to include the price of CO2 into soda price. (On the other hand burger joints probably have better prices on syrup than those you presented)

[@Jabrils]

+Paxmax you know, I debated with myself during research if I was going to or not, & I decided not to because it was the only variable that didnt need to be resupplied. You buy the compressor, pay it off, & from there its all just electric bill. I didn't want to include electricty because then i'd feel obligated to include shipping, ordering labor, etc etc you get the point xD - Jabril

[@Paxmax]

SEFD Science oh, just a compressor? I think you are in the future, gettin' CO2 from atmosphere isn't quite practical and here yet. They will be having CO2 tanks at burger joints. I have no idea how much CO2 cost on their scale... Home soda stream costs about 8-9 cents per 16oz. In Sweden.

[@mariovelez578]

9:18 - wait... how did you do all that math and go back home but still stay at the same spot in In-n-Out? edit: now try putting water into a soda cup

[@ErinP79]

Man, I wish we had in&out in NJ. I went to Burger Bros with my kids the other day, and they gave me "free" water with my meal purchase. I was SO excited. my son had a $5 chocolate shake.....he's lucky I love him

[@Jabrils]

+EMP sounds rather tasty man, but yeah in-n-out is always a nice go-to spot for me - Jabril

[@JonathanLopez-ph4ee]

Lol that ending. Thank you for this video man. All appreciated. :D

[@Jabrils]

+Jonathan Lopez No i appreciate you Jonathan. - Jabril

[@JonathanLopez-ph4ee]

Cool cool. Keep it up with those pranks Jabril! SEFD Science

[@saltydawgs387]

Omg your videos are great! I'm glad the KZbin algorithm let me run into you. Keep up the great work man!

[@seanaperdue8989]

I thoroughly enjoyed this episode I can't wait for the next one!

[@Jabrils]

+Seana perdue Thank you for all of the love Seana, next episode is planned to be halloween based! :D - Jabril

[@FIGURESKEIGHTZ]

This is a really good video man. Keep up that high production!

[@Jabrils]

+FIGURESKEIGHTZ Thanks Figuresk8z! - Jabril

[@og64crayonpack89]

It's always good to know facts like these, they're interesting. 👍

[@amira9057]

great video fam. you deserve alot more views... looking forward to the next.. keep it up...

[@Jabrils]

+Amir A much love to you Amir, new upload in the next few days. - Jabril

[@jackmehoff7311]

Enjoyed this, great video man 👍

[@MattCole]

Interesting. I know when I worked part time for Pepsi, I had learned the 20 oz soda bottles were (probably still are) the most profit selling product. We could get one for a quarter at the plant. Considering the fact they are not giving them away, the product cost at least a quarter each to produce.

[@kennethhunter2010]

Okay, this was the funniest shit I've seen in a while. I would have never come upon your site if it wasn't for Physics Girl and now I am so glad I did. You have great talent. It's your voice. I enjoy the content of your videos but it is the way you convey it to us that keeps us hooked. Please continue on. If there is a way I can help you with a contribution I will make one.

[@tempest_dawn]

That water pun earned my thumbs up before the video even started.

[@spikes1529]

love the videos keep up the good work.

[@goblinreal4058]

that moment when the advertisment loads quicker than the video

[@123amsterdan456]

Dude, you had me hooked with 10 seconds. Imidiate subscribe! Whis is amazing haha

[@Jabrils]

+Filipe Prates Thanks for the love Filipe, I hope you enjoy what's to come! - Jabril

[@ericjacklin2968]

Walk into mc Donald's with a old mc d's cup and pretend you just bought it

[@bruceliu1657]

You forgot the CO2 fizz and the rent cost of the machine.

[@YOOOYUUUUU]

rent cost cancels out

[@skylerbond56]

A lot convert air into c02 now

[@foggylight187]

Sorry for replying on a 2 yr old comment, but for anyone new poking around, they need to rent the machines regardless of the current hypothetical situation

[@godofthedesecrated7449]

That's right! You may think your getting away with it at the time but ohhhh will it catch up with you! Peace! Oh, nice lil setup your compadre had at the table, changed my life!

[@robindude8187]

Since you asked, I've never put anything other than water in my water cup, and I never will. I'm not rich, I'm poor, but I still understand that it _is_ stealing. ... Now, I'm going to go download some movies via torrent, because that's totally _not_ stealing. ... Uhm. ?????

[@Sykotik_]

+Robin Dude piracy is weird though. You gain access to something without paying for it, but yet there is no material loss from the company. They didn't spend any money to produce that exact rendition of 1's and 0's you then possess. The only costs are the server hosting the download and your internet connection. And most pirates wouldn't have bought their product anyway, so its not even a case of lost profit.

[@robindude8187]

MoDeRaTeLy SoLuBlE It gets even weirder when you find the cases where people pirate whatever it is and then go out an purchase the thing after. It's still weird, though, you're right. Digital information has really thrown a wrench in several ideas about what things are.

[@FrillzTV]

Really digging this series!

[@Jabrils]

+FrillzTV Thanks Frillz, new one next week - Jabril

[@rtx3]

This is the greatest video I’ve ever watched.

[@hundrorounds]

Has my life really come to the point to where I'm watching a video on how much businesses are losing when you put soda In a water cup vs putting water in a water cup. Great...

[@Jabrils]

+bearded bassin yep. Welcome. - Jabril

[@hundrorounds]

Jabrils you know what. Since you replied to me, I'm going to subscribe to your channel.

[@Jabrils]

hey thanks, I hope you like software, games, & machine learning :D - Jabril

[@-_IT_-]

You forgot to calculate the price of soda when the cups are filled up with ice, displacing the soda with even more water. So when you get a cup full of ice before soda, you are getting much less but are paying the same price as if you were to fill the cup up with soda.

[@cagedbutterfly93]

these videos are so well put together

[@Jabrils]

+cagedbutterfly93 Thank you caged butterfly, i look forward to bring you more videos, & I really hope you find your way out of that cage. :) - Jabril

[@cagedbutterfly93]

LOL Thanks bro. But I doubt I will be freed from my cage

[@christianboiser3904]

finish watching all of your videos .. thanks for good stuffs

[@Jabrils]

+Christian Vincent Boiser Christian thank you man. Just uploaded a new video now, & another one next week. I hope that you enjoy your stay! :D - Jabril

[@robertcoyle1532]

Dude you are a f *ing genius! So much information I don't even give a shit about but presented in a way that I can't stop looking!

[@JamesAllenQuinn]

When he was getting the soda I was so uncomfortable. I guess I'm always scared that an employee is gonna be like "hey you can't do that! get outta here!" Awesome video btw! I came for the coding content initially, but dude you're hella funny and smart, love the videos. I'll keep watchin!

[@LindaMerchant-bq2hp]

Everyone else pays their soda bill why free soda you should get

[@tylersheehy3918]

Correction the soda from bag travels from in back by flexible pipes to the mishing then thair is a cooler and carbnizer that gives it the fizzey bublsonce a year the carbnizer has to be replaced

[@BuckeyeStormsProductions]

I literally LOL'd at the end. Watched it twice.

[@Jabrils]

haha wait which part? - Jabril

[@rustykoenig3566]

remember, if you use ice, the 5:1 ratio goes up some more because you put less soda in the cup.

[@freddyt55555]

Interesting video of a seemingly uninteresting topic. BTW, you misspelled "receipt" at 10:46. :)

[@Jabrils]

+ft55555 arg, blasted double checking haha. - Jabril

[@loneponderer495]

Makes people who buy water in bottles look even stupider since most Bottle water is just tap water anyway. Yes they filter it but how much do filters cost? Not enough to justify the cost that's for sure.

[@FasterZone7]

How the fuck is this not viral?

[@spencerdoyley8143]

I really like the way he edits his videos. Does he produce his own music?

[@Jabrils]

Glad you're enjoying the content Spencer, & yes I do also produce some of the music but can you tell which? :D - Jabril

[@atticusnari]

That ending was hilarious lmao

[@MiotaLee]

Uh. for some reason at 13:00 the video started over for me. that vas very confusing. (and no, I didn't accidentally hit the 0 key)

[@simpleraps316]

Just found you great channel 😂 I'm so late😂

[@ssppeellll]

375,000 meals per year works out to just about one meal served every one and half minutes, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. That's some brisk business!

[@truenekrogirl]

Great video!!!

[@ImpendingDeathProd]

He stole that! Priceless ^^

[@NaudVanDalen]

Wait, it isn't illegal? Doesn't 16 oz of soda normally cost like $2? You normally have to pay for soda to get soda. You're stealing the amount of money the soda costs. Where I live I have to pay like €2.50 for every single 50 cl cup of soda at McDonalds (don't have In-N-Out). No refills. It's weird how with the BIB, their Coca Cola isn't even THAT much cheaper than Coca Cola bottles in the supermarket. 1 liter costs $0.69 when using BIB, but about 1 euro when buying 2 liter bottles in the Netherlands where I live. Even buying those means making plenty of profit when selling soda at €2 (often more like €2.50-€3!) per 20 cl like most restaurants do. Insanely expensive. Literally 10 times the cost price. At least give us 30 cl. At least McDonalds is relatively cheap for 50 cl. Never buy the 20 cl cup. It's only like €0.50 cheaper for half the drink.

[@scooterbraunsworstie]

Is this how math problems are made?

[@mariovelez578]

yeah so Jabrils can make videos

[@danielsifuentes-bradford8028]

If they end up charging for putting soda in a water up I wonder if you can get unlimited refills once charged

[@dingalong14]

1:31 Eughh, those polygons.

[@ImperiaGin]

I went a sonic near where I live in Georgia and they charged like 25 cents for tap water . Wasn't a big deal

[@ElchiKing]

Until this video I didn't even know what "water cups" (in the restaurant sense not a cup with water) are. Well played, Germany. No free refills, no water cups, no service. (OK, it's not that bad, but you get the point)

[@Jabrils]

very interesting Elchi, - Jabril

[@KilWilShow]

I felt like I woke up when I found your channel. I just wish I found you back in 2015 lol

[@TheSkepticalBastard]

Okay, the ending actually made me lol, damn

[@Jabrils]

+Triggered haha which part? - Jabril

[@spaceearthandtech3247]

I've never put soda Inna water cup

[@andypanda8259]

Giving away free drinks might in the long run, generate more revenue from dedicted customers returning. You have to spend money to make money.

[@b00t6]

Subscribed!

[@foggylight187]

Stay true to the contract, but, if they're charging for a WATER CUP already, I'm taking that soda!

[@MergatroidS]

lol answering the important questions

[@blo0dchild]

I don't like soda; I only drink water. So I came to this video to discover wtf a water up even is. OOH YOU MEAN A COURTESY CUP!!!

[@blo0dchild]

So you get away with it by calling it that instead of a water cup. By saying water cup, you kinda tell yourself it's only for water.

[@pbp6741]

Tap water isn't used to make soda. Soda water is. Soda water is carbonated which makes your soda fizzy. Liked your colaboration with Physics girl.

[@Jabrils]

Thanks for the latter half Paul, & to address the former half, while it is a fallacy for me to argue that all places practice this, when I used to work in the food industry, we used tap water that ran through carbonation machines, then mixed with soda syrup. But again, I can understand that not every place uses this practice, but I am almost positive that In-N-Out does. - Jabril

[@pbp6741]

Your store carbonized its own water, thus converting tap to soda water, which then enters the soda. How much does it cost to carbonized the tap water? There's the cost of the carbon dioxide which is made through an industrial process and delivered to them plus there is depreciation on the carbonizing machine plus there is the cost of the electricity to run the machine. All that needs to be added to your cost of a soda.

[@rjf432]

Geeeez that imperial measure system is driving me crazy

[@disastergirl888]

It's not illegal to charge for tap water in the US? D:

[@Jabrils]

its not illegal hehe, a company can charge for whatever they want, even a oxygen tax. I'm sorry. -Jabril

[@Paxmax]

Have different barcodes on soda/water cups, if water cup is placed under soda tap sound the alarm of shame!

[@Jabrils]

+Paxmax i legit love this idea haha - Jabril

[@loganarencibia3771]

If it's not illegal for putting Soda in a water cup then it's free

[@noticemesenpai69]

It is illegal and some people have been arrested for it. It’s petty theft and most of the time they won’t confront you for it, but they see it

[@stevemoody8425]

If In-N-Out Burger was a highly successful fast food chain, they would be in Georgia.

[@andrejrozmaring]

the end was funny lol

[@hartfordsmoke]

Is he intentionally trying to be exactly like Michael from Vsauce. This video has vsauce all over it

[@BrickTamland125]

Why is there a vape on the table

[@Jabrils]

+EandEvids It's my friends best friend. I was powerless - Jabril

[@ssppeellll]

3:33 -- I tried listening at one-quarter speed. I couldn't understand what was being said any better. :-(

[@Jabrils]

+ssppeellll haha interesting, I never thought to try that. Aha. - Jabril

[@spamuel98]

But you forget that the cost of the soda would be even higher, due to the canisters of compressed carbon dioxide gas used to carbonate the drinks!

[@IfISpeakBigTrouble]

Did he only make this video to piss off his friend?

[@slidwitch4124]

Fast food companies are legally required to provide free water if you ask

[@TechnicalPCTips]

this was a confusing episode, i wasnt sure what was going on

[@Jabrils]

+Technical PC Tips TPT, do you mind helping me improve by filling me in with what was confusing about today's episode? Thank you my friend. - Jabril

[@TechnicalPCTips]

+SEFD Science I think you couldve made the video a bit shorter, like a quick 3 min video. Plus the whole harry potter thingy was weird, and didnt understand were that came from. I usually love your videos but today, i had difficulty keeping my eyes on the screen. :(

[@Jabrils]

+Technical PC Tips Very useful feedback, thank you for your input, will take this into consideration for future reference. 👍 - Jabril

[@fugl_fugl]

i was actually screaming at the end with the apathetic college guy and the burger guy assault.....

[@johnp3045]

Update: www.foxnews.com/food-drink/2018/08/12/man-accused-filling-water-cup-with-soda-at-fast-food-restaurant-tased-charged-with-robbery.html

[@KenDotCom]

even with a few flaws i found i think your close. think relying on the $77 for the coke syrup to draw a conclusion is flawed. Companies like restaurants use a bidding war between coke and Pepsi distributors for the exclusive rights to be their drink providers. Many contracts are made at the national level and change on a regular basis as they are generally 1-5 year contracts that are open to bidding from the competing brand at the end of each contract. I'm sure these contracts have incentives like subsidies and "way cheaper than retail" price of syrup, and of course the bidding war probably drives the cost down of the contract. This is all guessing I dont know how it truly works, but I do know the bidding happens. Also the "# of water cups"... The total revenue divided by the average price of a meal is probably flawed, and each person buying a meal also paid for the soda cup that comes with it, so the cost of the soda filled water cup doesnt matter to those meal buyers. Also I'm not sure the average price per customer is the same as avg price of all the meals combined since a lot of people don't buy the meals.

[@Jabrils]

+BackwardsHatTV Without a doubt, a lot of what you presented is correct. But the truth is no matter how much research I would had done, it would be next to impossible to get a solid figure for the loss of free soda. To quote you, "this is all guessing," which is why at 4:01 I proposed that we create 2 hypothetical In N Outs in which we can take control of the unknown variables, like for example, how many customers actually get water cups? Well let's just make it 100% in these hypothetical. One very important thing to note is that the aim for this channel is more of a "science based perspective," maybe I need to work to make that more apparent. Last thing I want to address that never really crossed my mind for some reason & you have a good point of is that the cost for the drink is included in the meal cost, which without re-working the numbers means that In N Out is actually losing a lot more money than that; Serving more customers means serving more free cups. Thanks for the rebuttal BWH - Jabril

[@Atari5732]

+BackwardsHatTV There is also water filtration, electricity, and time it takes an employee to change the syrup bags to be considered. Not to mention Tea is just flavored water, but then you have to factor in cost of sugar, sweet n low, etc. used by Tea drinkers. Since it was a comparison of two extremes I don't feel these factors make much a difference. They a few more dollars in the grand scheme of things.

[@johnnyhoran9369]

It's actually less expensive than dirt -_-

[@sparticus214]

compared to the huge profits made on the food which in McDonald's case is not even food , you don't do any harm in fact most restaurants wish you would steal more soda so they can spend more money😉

[@Jabrils]

I'd like to challenge your comment haha, its probably a joke that I am mis-reading but capitalism 101 is to maximize margins, minimize losses. - Jabril

[@sparticus214]

+SEFD Science Basically when a CEO gets to much money the super models won't stop fighting over him so he needs to loose money so the girl's will want a richer man😃

[@hoodfellaKazKarter]

I have yet to try In-N-Out burger

[@ErinP79]

No, I don't drink soda. I avoid HFCS whenever possible.

[@Jabrils]

+EMP ah yes, High Fructose, you see I have a love hate relationship with High Fructose Corn Syrup hahaha - Jabril

[@adrianlobo4948]

Harry Potter & the imaginary social contract are always around the corner man!

[@route2070]

I think some states may require free water cups so a perso can walk off the street and get a water. Otherwise thank you for this video pointing this out.

[@RealationGames]

Nothing unexpected about the topic here, but I just realized that seeing a non-faked prank in a long time was hilarious. Shit goes down and the guy is just "Okay". Also, why the hell it's not forbidden to steal soda in the US? Atleast here it's obviously stealing. Of course you have to pay for soda and not for the cup that you can fill with anything. Can you fill the cup with the money in the cash register?

[@seanpeery7780]

+RealationGames No you're missing what makes it not illegal. It's not the cup, its the fountain. Technically you can walk in and fill a gallon jug with the free refill fountain and walk out. It's not exactly illegal, but it's not legal.

[@shinyfrenchfry]

awesome. love my water cups

[@Jabrils]

+shinyfrenchfry water cups are simply le best - Jabril

[@Nondas8552]

Hey vsauce Micheal here

[@user-ec1bd6is1r]

Just remember they probably get a better deal then the generally public

[@Giggidygiggidy12]

Why the hell was this 14:00 long for crying out loud

[@reyfrito8605]

good video

[@middle_management7582]

That went south real quick.

[@j2shua299]

hey, vsauce

[@shopliftfilms]

God bless the water cup!

[@saintsmaster3213]

Boy you stealin

[@gsawce3687]

this is great