[mayuresh]

Recently I had a misfortune of feeling thirsty at Kolkata airport and using the drinking water facility at the new renovated terminals there. Within a few days I realized Kolkata was not alone as the same experience repeated at the Chennai airport at renovated terminals.

Wonder whether the "new" facility is meant to discourage people from quenching their thirst and in turn save drinking water!

There is just a shallow basin like structure. There is no tap. You are supposed to be clever enough to figure out a push button under the basin and hold it pressed while you drink the water. You can imagine the awkward position required to drink water to keep the button pressed, particularly if you are tall.

There are no glasses (or paper cups) or any utensils whatsoever. You have to either drink the water directly with your mouth like cattle or improvise a bottle out of somewhere.

Now if you do manage to get a bottle, next hurdle is the tap opens horizontally and hardly an inch above the shallow basin surface. Even if you manage to get a bottle you can't fill even 100ml of water in that. More importantly a lot of water spills in the process.

Has anybody noticed this? Is there something really hi-tech and innovative about this design that being a lesser mortal I'd have missed? Any idea who invented this design and how much it would have costed the travelers?

[xoom]

I presume you are talking about a drinking water fountain like this:



This is pretty much a standard option for water in most airports globally, and in public places like parks et al in US/UK. Agree it is a bit clumsy to drink off it, but quite easy once you get used to it. Of course it is a pain if there is not enough water pressure!

[Samurai]

This is the same design everywhere in the developed world. It is not designed for filling bottle, just for drinking directly.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NsnughQhjt4

[amohit]

These are actually supposed to me more hygienic. No dirty glasses, no bottles touching the tap etc. However, I feel that they waste more portable water.

Regards,

[mayuresh]

For a moment I thought so .. that it must be coming from the "developed" world. [sarcasm]Probably some of us are not yet developed enough to use and appreciate this innovatovation...[/sarcasm]

[Samurai]

I hope you don't have same sarcasm towards other innovations from developed world, such as computers, cameras, mobile phones, cars, internet, electricity, etc, etc...

http://landscapeurbanism.com/for-the...ing-fountains/

Alright, you see something for the first time, a something that has been around for many decades around the world. You could have had an open mind and tried to understand why it works the way it does. Instead you come up with a conspiracy theory about it. Once we disproved that your conspiracy theory, now you get sarcastic.

My signature is so apt.

[Octane_Power]

Apparently the drinking fountain is quite a new concept here in India as opposed to US and European countries.

A mall near my place has installed it in place of the usual water coolers and 3-4 times I have seen a few people who tried drinking from it, got irritated and left without even having a sip.
The mall authorities would have got quite a number of complaints so they started keeping disposable plastic cups, so now its a manageable task.

-Bhargav

[hellmet]

It's true that the fountain wastes more water than say a regular water cooler, but I've seen so many people waste a lot of water trying to wash the steel chained glass at the water cooler, and if accompanied by disposable cups, I cringe to look at a bin full of single-use plastic or paper cups.

I usually empty out my water bottle, take it through security and fill at the other side of security from one of these fountains at the Hyderabad airport and I've never had a issue filling up. You just apply more pressure so the fountain rises higher. Easy peasy. Saves money and plastic on buying water. I've seen them all over the world in airports and I'm glad India has started too. I was in fact mighty pissed off to not see a water fountain or any such thing in sight in any of Thailand's popular airports.

Chill! and enjoy your weekend.

[faustus77]

Originally Posted by Octane_Power

Apparently the drinking fountain is quite a new concept here in India as opposed to US and European countries.

A mall near my place has installed it in place of the usual water coolers and 3-4 times I have seen a few people who tried drinking from it, got irritated and left without even having a sip.
The mall authorities would have got quite a number of complaints so they started keeping disposable plastic cups, so now its a manageable task.

-Bhargav

Hi.
I have seen this at the US Information Service Library at Churchgate, Bombay, way back in 1960.
Only problem was the pressure and the new concept. I did not get the hang of it nor could I quench my thirst. Always ended up going to the railway station for water.
Regards

[ninjatalli]

Originally Posted by mayuresh

For a moment I thought so .. that it must be coming from the "developed" world. [sarcasm]Probably some of us are not yet developed enough to use and appreciate this innovatovation...[/sarcasm]

Lol - I had a good laugh at the first post. This is actually a very eco-friendly (w.r.t the absence of plastic cups) and easy-to-operate, i.e. once we get the hang of it. And it is a globally accepted means of drinking water facility; after all - we do call them "international" airports! (or intend them to be at that level)

Originally Posted by Samurai

Alright, you see something for the first time, a something that has been around for many decades around the world. You could have had an open mind and tried to understand why it works the way it does. Instead you come up with a conspiracy theory about it. Once we disproved that your conspiracy theory, now you get sarcastic.

A request - can we change the thread name? It's quite misleading!

[sagarpadaki]

I think ,this setup leads to more wastage of water. I have seen this in Singapore, in a public park and i was observing this sitting on a bench .Less than 50 percent of the water coming out of the ejector goes into the mouth of the person who is drinking,rest goes down the drain. Wastage of precious drinking water. The design must be further optimized so that the wastage of water is far less!

[PGNarain]

Originally Posted by mayuresh

Wonder whether the "new" facility is meant to discourage people from quenching their thirst and in turn save drinking water!

Originally Posted by Samurai

I hope you don't have same sarcasm towards other innovations from developed world, such as computers, cameras, mobile phones, cars, internet, electricity, etc, etc...

+1 to Samurai.

Though I don't agree at all with mayuresh, I have seen many people looking lost at these water fountains, including my mother, so I do understand his sense helplessness!!

But, that doesn't change the fact that these water fountains are far more hygienic and remarkably easy to operate once you get the hang of using them! Water Taps in malls, airports accompanied by chained metal cups and / or plastic cups, though maybe easier to operate, but i always cringe at the thought of where and whose mouths that "metal cup" has been through and even the plastics cups don't bring much solace.

At the above mentioned water fountains, most people contort their necks and facial muscles to get the water into their mouths, but what probably they don't understand is that drinking at these fountains is exactly the same as you would drink water using a STRAW - only here there is no straw!! You just position your mouth over the "ascending" stream of water and suck the water as it comes up - like you would if you were drinking through a straw!!

Hope it helps!!

[sagarpadaki]

Originally Posted by PGNarain

+1 to Samurai.

Though I don't agree at all with mayuresh, I have seen many people looking lost at these water fountains, including my mother, so I do understand his sense helplessness!!

But, that doesn't change the fact that these water fountains are far more hygienic and remarkably easy to operate once you get the hang of using them! Water Taps in malls, airports accompanied by chained metal cups and / or plastic cups, though maybe easier to operate, but i always cringe at the thought of where and whose mouths that "metal cup" has been through and even the plastics cups don't bring much solace.

At the above mentioned water fountains, most people contort their necks and facial muscles to get the water into their mouths, but what probably they don't understand is that drinking at these fountains is exactly the same as you would drink water using a STRAW - only here there is no straw!! You just position your mouth over the "ascending" stream of water and suck the water as it comes up - like you would if you were drinking through a straw!!

Hope it helps!!

Yes, once people get used to it , they will find it easier to drink.

Also people have to educated enough with proper sign boards at each such water fountain! Orion mall in bangalore has such water outlets and i have seen people spitting into the water bowel on more than two instances!

[sajusherief]

Leave aside the amount of water wasted, it's strictly unhygienic. I've seen many a times people struggling with it and ultimately spitting water over the fountain. No matter how thirsty I'm, I'll try to avoid it

[Samurai]

Originally Posted by PGNarain

You just position your mouth over the "ascending" stream of water and suck the water as it comes up - like you would if you were drinking through a straw!!

Very true.

Here is a very famous movie track that is entirely picturised next to a water fountain, from a 1987 movie.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QuvxLuIe5Is

Originally Posted by sagarpadaki

Orion mall in bangalore has such water outlets and i have seen people spitting into the water bowel on more than two instances!

Yeah, this is a real tragedy. Lack of common sense really spoils it for everybody.