To wonder what is wrong with people who don't really drink

Probably bottled water - In Victorian and earlier times, water was often unsafe {Cholera &c} so ''small beer'' was used as drink- one wonders how children managed.

You knew you were going somewhere you'd have to boil water, and obviously know them well enough to stay there, why didn't you take a bottle of water with you, you're being melodramatic.

I don't think it's childhood related. On the contrary I think it's partly generational - when I was a teenager in the 80s I remember everyone in my peer group and the magazines we read saying that drinking a lot of water was key to a clear skin, long before other benefits were much discussed, and I took up drinking lots of water and my mother constantly questioned this and assumed at least once per month that it meant I was ill! To be fair my skin has always been reasonably clear 😜

I think a compulsion to drink every few minutes developed in the last decade when people misinterpreted/ massively exaggerated the need for hydration in order to concentrate at school. Of course hydration is essential but it was carried way out of proportion to mean nobody should go even a few minutes without access to a drink, leading to children (teens especially) insisting on their right to drink constantly at school throughout lessons, debates on children being allowed soft drinks instead of water because of the ridiculous claims that certain children "couldn't" drink water (but somehow could drink ribena / squash or Fanta or orange juice) ... then of course all sorts of commercial interests pitched in selling "flavoured water", "sports water" etc partly because sales of sugary drinks reduced somewhat as people started trying to avoid so much sugar, and the industry needed to plug the revenue gap...

My mother thinks having had a cup of coffee at 8am with breakfast means someone couldn't possibly be dehydrated at 2pm, but I drink half liter/ pint glasses of water with meals and whenever I sit down (which to be fair isn't a lot because my work is not desk based and I'm out a lot in my free time, but I drink at least 3 liters of tap water per day, and my parents never drink tap water at all and never have).

My biggest bugbear is people who insist they can't drink good quality tap water, and expect bought bottled water - which especially if contained in plastic is generally worse quality than the tap water where I live.

Like most things actually the middle ground is the right place for most people - drink enough but don't get stressed at going an hour or three without drinking, that will do absolutely no harm at all if you were properly hydrated at the start - after all nobody drinks in their sleep!

They must drink something surely?

The "8 glasses" thing is nonsense.
Medical advice is to drink when you're thirsty and check that your urine remains a pale, straw colour - that will show if you're dehydrated or not.
And (despite mocking my mother about soup) we get a significant proportion of our water intake from food.

I’d personally hate to have a meal without a drink, but everyone is different

That's appalling. Filthy British {?}tap water!!
Talking of Tap water, a water services van was handing out bottled water because the local supply was 'cloudy'- and they said UK tap water is held to HIGHER standards of safety than bottled water.

Occasionally one hears of issues with water supplies, but in UK we are lucky to have clean water on tap if we are on the mains.

well, this proves that whatever the issue is with you, it isn't thirst. Cos water would suffice if it was thirst.

Stop being so melodramatic. You are not being tortured. You say you are thirsty, but don't want the water available to you, so clearly not VERY thirsty!

Meanwhile I think it's weird that people (including DH) cannot leave the house without a litre water bottle. I call it his emotional support bottle. He's going to the corner shop, not trekking through the bloody Sahara.

When I was growing up we'd have a drink at breakfast time, one at school lunch and then after school. No water bottles on desks all day, or water fountains. I still drink relatively little unless I'm actively trying to take on more liquid (like now as I'm breastfeeding).

What a bizarre problem you are having OP!
Just go get a glass of tap water if you're thirsty FFS!
A 5 year old would do that. I assume you are an adult.
I see Coke as a treat not a solution to thirst. Not sure why you need to smuggle the can into the house and hide it.
I can't understand people drinking throughout meals, unless it is wine.
I always have glass of water with my meal (occasionally fresh fruit juice) but I don't always drink it. I might drink some before desert and after finishing the meal.
I don't drink alcohol or fizzy or sugary drinks at all.
But I drink plenty of water throughout the day if I actually feel thirsty.

I never drank much as a child and actually had such dry skin my lower legs looked cracked. Now I am always drinking water, tea or coffee as I get utis so quickly that even a 4 hour drive can be a trigger if I forget to guzzle loads when we stop for a break. I don't carry water around generally though.

Thing is well water that is boiled so safe, will be far better than bottled water 😂

bottled water regulations are pretty woeful, far worse than water company standards

Well ask for a bloody drink

Just come back from a trip staying with the in laws and DH and I were both pondering how little they drink funnily enough. They said they don't drink often because they will need the loo more. It's not just them though - I have friends who drink next to nothing! A few years ago I upped my water consumption and now I feel quite dehydrated if I don't get enough, whereas before I wouldn't have, so I think it's what your body is used to.

quite

I agree, it is just a marketing ploy- totally unnecessary.

OMG callnthe fuzz!!!
Only tapwater?? Bastards

Drinking 8 glasses of liquid isn’t normal, many people don’t drink that much fluid daily

I have no idea why but without a drink I start hiccuping! Everything time

No, it is not.
People's hydration requirements are not the same.
So please don't spread unfactual statements
Do you work for a water company?

I honestly can't enjoy a meal without a drink of juice/squash. Water is not enough when I'm eating.

We recently went to someone's house. They had no juice, no squash,no milk, no fizzy drinks..just tap water. 😮