Cool Water

We can't help but spout off about our favorite fountains.

Thirsty Hero

Hero of Alexandria was way ahead of his time. Although he lived almost 2,000 years ago, he still longed for the convenience of getting a refreshing drink from a vending machine. Leaky buckets are free, but they-you know-leak! So Hero invented a coin-operated water dispenser, which was also the world's first interactive fountain.

People who inserted large-value coins expecting change to pop out were also way ahead of their time. Way, way ahead.

Half-Past Lion

At the center of the Alhambra Palace in Grenada, Spain, a round marble pool rests on the backs of 12 carved lions. When it was built in the 1500s, the fountain worked as a clock. Imagine that the 12 lions are standing on the numbers of a modern clock face. If it is two o'clock, water pours out of the mouth of the two o'clock lion.

Then, the story goes, someone took apart the fountain to see how it worked . . . and it hasn't worked since! What's that saying? Curiosity killed the cats.

Deer Scarer

Could a fountain scare hungry animals away from a vegetable garden? This ancient Japanese fountain does.

Picture a long, skinny tube balanced in the middle like a seesaw. The tube is made of a length of bamboo that is sealed at one end. The sealed end is heavier, so it's on the ground, and the open end points up. When water trickles into the open end, the tube begins to fill up. Eventually, the open end gets heavier, and the tube tips. The water gushes out, the tube empties, and the closed end slams back to the ground, frightening hungry deer and unsuspecting passerby.

A Rain Forest?

If you're ever in Peterhof Park, just outside St. Petersburg, Russia, stay away from those innocent-looking trees-unless you're carrying an umbrella. Some of those trees are in disguise: they're actually fountains with hundreds of water jets. Get close and the fountains spring to life.

You have to get really, really close before you see that the trees are fakes, but by that time it's too late! Sneaky, huh?

Copyright Carus Publishing Company Apr 2007
Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights Reserved