Things I Miss About America, Part VII: Drinking Soda Directly From A Can

Ok, so this may seem like an odd thing to miss about the states, and to tell you the truth it's taken me nearly a year and a half to realize it, but no one drinks soda directly from the can here!!

At my office, we have an unlimited free supply of coke and diet coke (very dangerous), so if one person is going to the kitchen, they will often bring back sodas for everyone.  However, upon their return, they have brought not only a can of coke but also an accompanying glass.  I always thought this was very nice but extremely unnecessary of them.  I would open the coke, drinking directly from the can, and then put the glass to the side to be used for water later.  

When I, however, was the one traveling to the kitchen to get cokes, I never brought anyone a glass.  I just never saw it as a necessity.  I've now realized that this was extremely rude of me, because British people seem to HATE drinking soda directly from the can.  

If Bobby were here, he could tell you a nice little anecdote about the time he was traveling up the elevator to his office drinking a Coke directly from the can and a British woman scolded him, telling him that no one should drink from cans because of the amount of rat feces that accumulates on them over time.  Now, i'm not sure if this is the belief of all British people (for example, my British friend has informed me that all British people know that a swan can break your arm and are therefore terrified of them) or just that of this one seemingly crazy lady, but regardless the aversion to drinking from a can seems to be country-wide. 

I do not plan on beginning to use a glass any time soon (to tell you the truth, i've eaten things worse than rat feces in my life), but I will now be more thoughtful when getting sodas for others.