This ordinary drinking fountain is placed centrally to the exhibition and may be used by visitors to the gallery. It is physically connected in some way with all of the other models in the show, becoming supported by all the utilities which support the gallery in general. Taking a sip from a water fountain is a normal thing for a thirsty person to do. What is also normal is instantly forgetting the thirst which was quenched. If the water fountain can be thought of as a small, accessible break in an enormous network of complex systems, then drinking from it could only produce more thirst.
Another thing to think about is how insidious this water fountain really is. How the fountain itself plays a great role in encouraging its user to take it for granted. Much like today's computers, for example, this water fountain appears "user friendly" with a minimum of ornament. For the curious, removal of the squarish casing of the fountain reveals an expected mass of apparatus, wires and little motors, more casings. Perhaps one is surprised at the simplicity of what is revealed, the harmlessness of it. And then one is quickly disappointed because each of the various parts inside the device has its own housing and each becomes as blank and anonymous as the original object seemed to be before inspection. One could further dismantle these objects and be faced with ever-smaller versions of themselves. The knowledge that this will happen seems a commonplace, and results in an automatic refusal to investigate.
There is something boring built into the shell of these objects, all of which at some point were carefully drawn out by designers and engineers, that dissuades one from questioning them because of the ease with which they are used. The form of these objects has nothing to do with understanding them. They cover their functions with utility.