The Lithia Fountains are a bank of public drinking fountains located in Ashland, Oregon, in the city's main plaza. The fountains, which are over 100 years old, are special in that their water is mineral water, containing high amounts of lithium salts, and presumably other minerals as well. At the time they were established, mineral water was seen as very healthy, and the presence of the water in Ashland was meant to be a big draw. Currently, the water is not the biggest draw in Ashland, because it tastes terrible. It has been thirty years since I tasted it, so I don't remember just how terrible, but I remember not being able to tolerate it for more than a sip. When I visited in my early teen years, some of my more brave friends had a drinking contest to see how long they could swallow the water, which ended up with someone vomiting. It is pretty bad. I am also not sure if drinking that much lithium might have psychoactive effects. But I do know that apparently other metals in the water have caused the fountain to be shut down.

Ashland is a tourist town, and it has a grab bag of seemingly unrelated attractions. Currently, Shakespeare and skiing attract people in a way that foul tasting water does not, and yet, many tourists probably can't avoid getting a sip of the water.

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