Evian? Really? Is it that Good?
By Jim Bauer
@porwest (109445)
United States
September 27, 2025 12:28pm CST
Back in the day, the famous magic and comedy duo of Penn & Teller had a cable show they did called Bullsh*t, wherein they debunked many myths among other things, like the myth of organic foods and one of the funnier ones...
Bottled water.
They're experiment was all about perceptions and of course, because they were magicians, the art of illusion.
Marketing, you see, is not unlike magic. It's a slight of hand trick in its own right that makes it work. It's a force that allows one to suspend their disbelief long enough to fall for the trick and be amazed.
They set up the "trick" in a fine dining establishment and then created a menu with fancy names of bottled waters, with descriptions of mountain springs and other things to make the water sound more appealing.
Meanwhile, in the back of the restaurant, New York City tap water was run through a regular garden hose and poured into fancy bottles.
When they served the expensive, fancy waters, guests were asked what their thoughts were. "Better than tap water?" they were asked. "Oh yes. Definitely," they would reply. "I can taste the crisp, mountain air..."
But the reality was there was nothing fancy about it. Again, it was nothing more than New York City tap water run through a garden hose at the back of the restaurant. But you see, what made the difference in the experience? In the taste? In the perception?
The way the water was presented to them. The way it was described. What it was called.
The marketing.
I have no idea what the thoughts were when the people behind Evian came up with the name for their bottled water. I am sure there were many possible names that were tossed around.
But I do know that Evian spelled backwards is naive. And perhaps that's where the name came from actually. And if that is where the name came from, based on that Penn & Teller show...
They were onto something.
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4 people like this
5 responses
@LindaOHio (203502)
• United States
28 Sep
I've always thought that bottled water is a waste of money; and the bottles pollute the environment.
1 person likes this

@LindaOHio (203502)
• United States
29 Sep
@porwest I've been reading about a hydrogen therapy for kidney disease. They have these water bottles which add hydrogen to the water. There's not enough research yet; but it could help.
1 person likes this
@porwest (109445)
• United States
30 Sep
@LindaOHio This confuses me. Water cannot be water without hydrogen. It is literally H2O, which is hydrogen + oxygen. Unless they are adding MORE hydrogen?
Water is 2 hydrogen atoms bonded to 1 oxygen atom.
1 person likes this
@porwest (109445)
• United States
28 Sep
Bottled water has its place, but I agree with you. I do keep bottled water in the house, but not any expensive variety. Most of the time at home I drink tap water, and I am known to fill a bottle with tap before I go somewhere.
MOST bottled waters are labeled as "purified," which means it's just processed from city tap water at wherever the bottling facility is located, and run through a reverse osmosis process with some mineral salts added.
1 person likes this



@RasmaSandra (89869)
• Daytona Beach, Florida
27 Sep
I keep doing what my mother did. I boild up water and keep a cold jug of water for drinking in the fridge, I have never tried Evian,
1 person likes this

@RasmaSandra (89869)
• Daytona Beach, Florida
28 Sep
@porwest never trusted the water just coming out of the tap but then as I mentions I got used to mom's method
1 person likes this
@porwest (109445)
• United States
30 Sep
@RasmaSandra I will admit, there can be issues that could come up, and it has happened over the years now and again. Having a few "failsafes" is probably a good idea.
1 person likes this

@lovebuglena (47980)
• Staten Island, New York
28 Sep
I had no idea Evian backwards is naive.
And how in the world would a person taste the crisp mountain air when drinking water unless they were drinking it on a mountain?
I am from NYC and I have to say the tap water here tastes good. Most of the time anyway. Why pay $7 or so for a bottle of still water when you can enjoy water for free by drinking tap? I’d rather spend that money on other stuff. By the way, I drink tap water at a restaurant but at home I never do. I put it through a Brita filter first.


@anya12adwi (10269)
• India
27 Sep
Tap water or not, restaurants should provide filtered water without any charge!
1 person likes this
@anya12adwi (10269)
• India
12 Oct
@porwest Here it is filtered but not enough filtered to drink/consume!! Only good for washing, bathing!
1 person likes this
@porwest (109445)
• United States
12 Oct
@anya12adwi We generally don't serve water in restaurants here to take a bath in, and I am generally not looking for a bath in an eating establishment. lol
1 person likes this

