About a year ago when I was returning from a Faculty meeting I was confronted with a deluge descending the stairwell off the main foyer of the Science Building. Thankfully the fault was fixed before the end of the day.
Then just before the Christmas break, the urinal in the male staff rest room started to flow continuously. I reported it to the person responsible for such matters, who in turn reported it to Estates. Nothing happened.
When I returned early in January the next year, the said urinal was still flowing continuously, only the flow was somewhat stronger. This was again reported and again nothing happened. Towards the end of January the flow was reaching torrential proportions. It was finally fixed and the unit functioned very well for a while.
It did not do so for very long and then it failed completely. However this time it became impossible to coax a drop out of the unit, try as you may.
It has remained like that all year until just recently. It has now started to weep, not unlike the wooden cross at the MOTH memorial not far from this unit. The cross weeps for a few weeks each year and the event coincides with a significant day of remembrance for those who fell in a war many years ago.
Now is it possible that this urinal will also stop leaking much the same as it started, of its own accord? Imagine the excitement if it remained dry for another year and then started weeping again at much the same time as it has just done. It too could become a phenomenon.
Of course we could take a much closer look at this unit as it has for the past year functioned rather well as a waterless urinal. This too opens up opportunities. The first would be to market the design through some sort of innovation center. I am sure there are others.
In all this the only thing that I am sure of is that it is going to take a brave man (or woman) to interfere with what is clearly a situation that quite clearly presents so many opportunities.