109 degrees Fahrenheit.

The hottest temperature ever recorded in Houston.

Especially on hot summer days, this kind of heat doesn’t just make me want a nice, cold, refreshing drink. It makes me need one. The kind of drink that feels like instant relief from all of your problems.

There’s something almost sacred about that satisfying sound of ice clinking in a glass — it basically promises you cooling comfort.

But lately, I’m starting to feel betrayed. As good as ice may sound, it’s now just the sound of your drink slowly being ruined.

The moment you get your drink, you start with a perfect sip — sweet and flavorful. It’s everything you hoped for. But this is just ice, the cold illusion of perfection, misleading you. Five minutes later, you’re left with nothing like before; the drink now tastes sad, gloomy and completely watered down.

The worst part? The ice has now melted and filled the glass, leaving no room for the drink itself. The magic that was initially there has now dissipated, diluting your beverage.

According to a survey of 104 people conducted on the Three Penny Press Instagram, 88% of students have received drinks with much more ice than they expected, and 89% believe that too much ice worsens the quality of their drinks.

In other words, we all know how deceptive ice is. It shows up looking all innocent and shiny, then quietly destroys your beverage.

What once was a symbol of refreshment has now turned into a thief of joy, flavor and value. A drink might look good since it’s filled to the brim. But once you remove the ice cubes, you’re left with, at most, three sad sips. It’s like the drink decided to lose weight without telling you.

Just to truly see how much ice is sabotaging our drinks, I conducted an experiment at Raising Cane’s, a fast-food restaurant known for their lemonade, and Sonic, one of the most popular fast-food spots for drinks.

At Cane’s, I ordered a standard 22-ounce lemonade. Out of those 22 ounces, 4.8 ounces was purely ice. That’s over a fifth of your drink disappearing before you even get the chance to take a sip. Seriously, why am I paying for only 80% of a drink?

Next stop: Sonic.

I got a regular 20-ounce strawberry lemonade, and 4.94 ounces of the drink was yet again, ice. This was even more ice than Cane’s despite it being in a smaller cup. I wanted to try a different size, so I decided to go all in and order a Route 44, Sonic’s largest drink possible. Out of its 44 ounces, 12.35 ounces was ice. That’s over a quarter of my drink lost to ice!

Gallery • 2 Photos

Joseph Chii

Is this a drink with a side of ice or ice with a side of drink? There was likely even more ice in the drink since the time of the drink being made is uncertain, which would directly affect the melting of the ice in the liquid.

Also, let’s not forget that these numbers don’t account for ice melting upon impact when the drink fills the cup of ice. Even before you get a chance to put your straw in the cup, the liquid you thought you were paying for is already watered down, diminished and diluted.

And what’s even crazier? Drink places have an option where you can add even more ice on top of the regular amount, while businesses such as Starbucks charge you more money if you ask for less ice. But I can’t blame them — they know exactly what they’re doing. The less ice you get, the more drink you’re actually paying for.

And yet even knowing this, we can’t seem to quit this practice. Maybe it’s the habit that originated from everyone telling us that ice is good. Maybe it’s the fear of warm soda. Maybe we’ve all just been hypnotized by the social norm that ice is the only solution for refreshment. But let’s face it, at 109 degrees Fahrenheit, no amount of ice stands a chance in the scorching heat.

The smarter move might just be to cool your drink down in the fridge or cooler, skip the ice cubes, or put it on the side so that you can truly experience the fullness of a drink that doesn’t deceive you.