Urine Trouble

This would have been a good Ask the Concierge, but Peter King posed this question and got the answers:

Friends came in from Boise, Idaho, to see their grandchildren in Manhattan last week, and my wife and I dined with them in New York on Wednesday night. Nice meal, though over-the-top pricey, at Le Bernardin on West 51st.

Midway through the meal, Brian, a native Canadian and one of our dining mates, came back from the men's room and announced: "I have just seen something I've never seen before in my life.''

What, pray tell?

"Well, the urinals in the bathroom went all the way down to the floor,'' he said. "And the bottom of the urinals, in addition to the mint all urinals have, was full of ice cubes. Have you ever seen that?''

"Can't say that I have,'' I said.

"What would be the purpose?'' he said. "I'm racking my brain, and I can't figure it out.''

"I have no idea,'' I said.

About 45 minutes later, it was my turn to use the facilities. I went into the men's room, and, unless I was mistaken, there was a fresh batch of ice cubes packing the bottom of the urinal. I asked a restaurant employee, a man who appeared to be in charge of the facilities, but he didn't speak English very well, so the mystery was on. Back at the table, more conversation ensued about the Case of Ice Cubes in the Urinal. We solved nothing.

"I'll tell you what I'm going to do,'' I said. "I write a column called Monday Morning Quarterback and I'll raise the question in the column this week. I'm sure one of my readers will solve this one.''

And so now it's in your hands, lovers of the NFL. Please e-mail me, hopefully on Monday, if you know why a restaurant would put ice cubes in the bottom of a urinal. Maybe there's a restaurant professional out there -- or a urinal professional -- who knows what in the world is going on out there. I'd love to be able to give out a prize for solving this, but we're not that kind of Web site. (What would I give out, anyway? A scale-model ceramic urinal with an NFL logo?) Thanks in advance for your help.

AND YES, WE HAVE SOME ANSWERS TO THE ICE-IN-THE-URINAL QUESTION. From Paul of Boston: "Found this on answers.com. 'Some establishments, often bars, pubs or nightclubs, fill their urinals with ice cubes during peak hours. As the ice melts it serves to slowly flush the urinal and also cools the urine to prevent smells from rising during use. The ice may also provide entertainment to patrons as they urinate.' "

Entertainment! I never thought of that.

HE ACTUALLY LABELED THIS RESPONSE, 'ICE CUBES -- URINAL.' From Andrew Ryall of Minneapolis: "I believe this practice is done in fine dining establishments to reduce/eliminate splashing that may occur from the downstream impact of hitting the porcelain and back onto the pants and shoes of the urinating person.''

Interesting. I never thought I would see "urinating person'' in my column. "Urinator," maybe, but not "urinating person."

YOU KNOW IT'S A SERIOUS ISSUE TO READERS WHEN SOMEONE FROM NOVA SCOTIA CHECKS IN. From Edward Bungay of Arichat, Nova Scotia: "Long-time reader and love the column. In response to your urinal question, I was eating at a Jack Astor's Restaurant in Halifax, Nova Scotia, and they had the same thing (long urinals to the floor with ice cubes in them). I asked our server about it and the response he gave us -- we were also curious -- was that the ice cubes aid in extinguishing any odor that may arise from the urine. He said that the cold from the ice cubes interacts with the heat of the urine and that reaction kills any odor that may linger after urination. Hope this helps and please let us know if Mary Beth is part of any sports teams. Hopefully all is well for her at Colgate.''

Thanks, Edward. No, Mary Beth has put her glove and field-hockey stick away. She's a volunteering sort. If you've got any kids interested in going to college where it's about two degrees right now, you'll be able to get a nice Colgate tour from Mary Beth.

THIS HAPPENS IN ARGENTINA, TOO. From Mike Luca of Washington, D.C.: "I have the answer to the urinal question and it is two-fold. They do this a lot in Argentina and other countries with bizarre plumbing. One, it keeps the smell of urine down; the melting of the ice from the heat of the urine dilutes the urine and washes it down the drain. Two, the ice keeps the urine from splashing back onto your pants from the porcelain of the urinal.''

What great readers I have. Thanks. I am told I had hundreds of responses to this question.