Test of the Best: Water Coolers in NUS
Higher education and its higher-dration.
Ever wondered which faculty has the best water cooler? Unless you have some weird water cooler obsession, probably not. But here at The Bullet, we take pride in asking questions that are so oddly specific that you’ve been too paiseh to ask them at the canteen table. This question is even more pertinent now - with water prices rising by 30%, you’d want to make sure that every drop you drink is the best damn water you can get!
So, we present an Unsanctioned, Unscientific and most definitely Un-called for review of the water coolers across the Kent Ridge campus (sorry Law and Med you guys are too atas).
*Disclaimer*
We know that water coolers can be temperamental and tastes can differ from individual to individual. Doctors recommend that you drink 8 cups of water a day.
Arts
Location: AS1, near The Deck (Arts Canteen) Taste: Strong notes of chlorine, metallic and stale
Nose: Chlorine, algae and notes of fridge
Cold Tap Temperature: Lukewarm - the worst kind of warm, and the worst kind of Luke
Look: Algae, dead ants and spider webs
X-Factor: Only if you’re vegan
If disappointment was a water cooler it would be this water cooler in Arts. The disappointment is especially bitter because this writer is from Arts. Fresh algae adorns the water cooler, and we lost count of the number of insects that seem to make it their home. Who needs to spend hundreds of dollars on infusion drinks when there’s definitely some extra ingredients going into your bottle in Arts?
3/10
Engineering
Location: Techno Edge (Engineering Canteen) Taste: Neutral, clean and crisp
Nose: Slightly fridgey notes, nothing offensive
Cold Tap Temperature: Cold as my ex-girlfriend’s heart
Look: Well maintained, functional
X-Factor: Clinical, like a blonde hair, blue eyed German engineer
Definitely worth the journey if you’re not already studying in Engineering. Clean-tasting, relatively odourless, and cold water. Evian would be proud to slap their brand label on it. If this is where the extra 30% will go to, it is definitely worth the price hike.
9/10
Business/Computing
Loaction: The Terrace (Business Canteen)
Taste: A little stale
Nose: Neutral
Cold Tap Temperature: Decent coldness
Look: Nothing spectacular
X-Factor: Meh
The sliced bread of water coolers. As inoffensive as the dress sense of Business students, it’s exactly how you expect water to taste and feel like from a university water cooler. If anything could be said, the placement of the water cooler in the canteen is logical since it’s next to the vending machines. And that’s how much we have to say about the water cooler.
5/10
Science
Location: Outside LT32
Taste: Could only be described as bland
Nose: Slightly metallic
Cold Tap Temperature: Adequate
Look: Questionable yellow stains
X-Factor: Its name is SENTRY
Not the worst but also not the best. We enjoyed the inclusion of the rubber mat to cope with spillage and slippage. When we first laid eyes on this we wondered if it could live up to his cool title of the Sentry. SPOILER ALERT: It doesn’t.
6/10
UTown
Location: Near the backdoor of Food Clique(Flavours @Utown)
Taste: Plain, tastes like water oddly enough
Nose: Slight staleness, metallic but bright
Cold Tap Temperature: OK CAN - has room temperature option
Look: Like a Transformer
X-Factor: Digital temperature display, high tech modern look. By far the best looking water cooler in this test.
But then again, the girl with the best make-up is usually compensating for having the personality of a goldfish. Mediocre performance despite the sleek look (the same can also be said for hall productions in the UCC).
7/10
Central Library
Taste: Water you expecting at this point?
Nose: A little contaminated by the stanky chill lounge smell
Cold Tap Temperature: Right one was just warm, left one was frigid
Look: Plain as vanilla, as dirty as your mind
X-Factor: Just as cool as sleeping overnight in the library
The surroundings of this water cooler definitely tarnish the experience. The stink of countless sweaty, desperate and sad all-nighters still hangs in the air the morning after. Inoffensive in terms of taste but I wouldn’t go out of my way to drink here.
4/10
The Verdict
Engineering wins by a longshot, but we have no idea how FASS gets away with encouraging the growth of such plant life around their water coolers. Perhaps this is their attempt at cultivating a University culture?
Do you guys have a favourite water cooler of your own? Leave a suggestion in the comments of where your favourite water cooler is. Also, let us know what you’d like us to review next!
(Not all water coolers are made equal, it seems.)
