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Comment by andy_xor_andrew | Hacker News Reader

Every day - every single day - my mom gets in her car, and drives 2.5 miles (each way) to the nearest McDonald's, to buy a diet coke. That's the only item she gets.

She has done this for over a decade.

This used to drive me insane. But somewhere around the 8th year of this, maybe because I matured a bit, I started to finding this extremely endearing.

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Well now you are driving me insane with this story. I hope she instead has a secret love affair with the register person instead. Would make more rational sense than driving + overpaying for a beverage you could keep at home.

Plus the environmental impact of driving to get a single coke.

For a single person doing this: zero impact

In the U.S. it is quite common for people to drive long distances for equally trivial reasons. It’s not that she alone is significantly impacting the environment it’s that this story is indicative of a nation that has normalized such behavior.

That is exactly the mentality that will doom us.

I do something similar for coffee.

It's more than the drink to me it's a big part just getting out of the house and a change of pace.

It's her morning coffee which millions of people do every day.

Coffee you can at least make the argument that the place uses better beans, equipment, technique, or just laziness of self-preparation. I am a tough sell that a Coke served by McDonalds taste significantly better than the options available at home.

Maybe? I would argue that for most people the routine is the most important thing.

I know a guy who used to go to McDonald's simply for the Diet Coke. I love McDonald's Diet Coke myself, although my local one lately has been messing the mix up somehow... I will admit that the Diet Coke alone will steer me to choose McDonald's over something else to eat sometimes!

It could be insane and endearing!

You should donate to plant some trees.. a lot of trees for this fuel and plastic.

McDonald's greatest strength is consistency.

That said, bottled coke bought in bulk, the right amount of ice, and some straws would do it.

On the other hand, keeping it a drive away maybe keeps her from over-indulging.

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