Bib-Label Lithiated Lemon-Lime Soda

okay, I've had it with wheresgeorge.com .. of 335 bills submitted, i got 3 hits. and only 1 within the last year. too much effort for too little return. I suspect many people stopped using the site due to those incredibly annoying popup ads that appear each time you add a bill (I use the Google toolbar, which does an excellent job blocking popups, plus all the goodies it offers).

speaking of too little return, I have decided to author a White Paper: The Drinking Straws at American Fast Food Restaurants. I like the straws at McDonald's and Sonic, but throw away the ones from Wendy's and Chick-fil-A. Why? ISD (Insufficient Straw Diameter) : soft drinks taste better when consumed through a wider straw. Unless there's something else to the mix (those chains add water to a condensed syrup, and they could have better water at McDonald's, I guess).

which reminds me of the Asian places that have boba (aka Bubble Tea; Pearl Tea) : one chain is named Fat Straws (others are Lollicup; Noodle Bar). It's basically an Icee® with (optional) tapioca balls at the bottom (be sure to order them "with pearl" if you want the Cracker Jack®-like surprise). You slurp these balls through the extra-wide straw and then eat them along with the flavored slush. I remember the first time I had boba: I wasn't expecting the ball, and as I chewed it, it seemed familiar, but I could not place where I'd tasted it before. In hindsight, that's because the tapioca was completely out of context: usually it's in a bowl by itself and not compressed into a semi-hard ball at the bottom of a Slurpee®.

BTW, "Bib-Label Lithiated Lemon-Lime Soda" was the original name for 7-Up® (so says The Straight Dope)

GoogL'ost: The Shirley Temple Soda Pop Company and (unrelated) Afri-Cola