On the morning of 22 April 2012, 850 Team Macmillan runners lined up at the start line of the London Marathon in Blackheath and Greenwich, ready to take on the challenge they have been preparing for over the last six months of their lives. Each and every one of runners in their green Macmillan vests – whether it was for a close personal reason or just that they have admired the charity’s work – will have spent just as much time fundraising as training for the run (the London Marathon is the largest annual fundraising event in the world), something that Macmillan is keen to repay when it comes around to Marathon week itself.

As well as all of the top notch training and nutritional advice given to every Macmillan runner, in the week before the event Team Macmillan staff are on hand at the London Marathon Expo to give some last minute advice and encouragement to all of the runners who drop by the Macmillan stand and put on a Pasta Party the night before so runners can stock up on those vital carbs.

Hydration and recovery on the big day

On the big day itself, eight cheer points are set up along the route in order to give Team Macmillan runners a motivational boost along the course. Over 400 volunteers come out to the cheer points to support the team, so each cheer point is provided with banger sticks, foam hands and Macmillan t-shirts to be as visible and noisy as possible for the runners! The glug of water kindly provided by Eden Springs is also gratefully received at the cheer points as voices start to get hoarse!

Perhaps the peak of the support given to the runners on the day is at the Team Macmillan Recovery Centre. Runners can stagger here once their marathon journey is complete, to be greeted by a massive round of applause and a massage to help those tired legs recover. There are plenty of refreshments on hand too so runners can stock up on depleted energy levels. Here, too, the Eden Springs bottled water is invaluable to ensure none of the runners succumb to dehydration – especially vital on a day when it was much warmer than expected given the amounts of rain the London Marathon was sandwiched between.

All in all, the 2012 London Marathon managed to smash new records for Macmillan, with a record sized team hopefully raising a record amount of money for Macmillan Cancer Support, ensuring that people across the UK continue to receive emotional, medical, practical and financial support to people affected by cancer across the UK. With the 2013 ballot filling in less than 24 hours, 2013 promises more of the same – visit macmillan.org.uk/londonmarathon for more details.

Old fashioned water cooler at the New Orleans Mint 1891

The water cooler has been part of office furnishings for some time. Shortly after its inception the office water cooler became standard in most offices, and that’s where many employees gravitated to when they needed to talk about something urgently and not within earshot of the boss. Let’s take a look at the history of the water cooler and its place in the work environment:

History of the water cooler

A water cooler is, pretty obviously, a device that dispenses cool water, and has changed quickly and dramatically since its origin in the early 1900s. In 1906, Halsey Willard Taylor and Luther Haws invented the first drinking water fountain. In 1911, Haws patented the water faucet. Taylor was a sanitary inspector for the city of Berkeley, which enabled him to observe that school children who consumed contaminated water were likely to be in poor health. This motivated Taylor to invent the drinking water fountain. The drinking water process was changed by The Halsey Taylor Company and Haws Sanitary Drinking Faucet & Co., whose intent was to provide purified water. The drinking faucet invented by Haws was the first drinking faucet installed at the Berkeley school department.

So the drinking fountain was created…but it provided drinking water at room temperature. The water temperature had to be cool to kill microorganisms that could contaminate the water, as water coolers did not have a water treatment method to purify the water. The early process of providing drinking water at a cool temperature entailed using big ice blocks to cool the water – this made the water coolers big, heavy and awkward.

The process of the evolution of the water cooler continued. In a relatively short period of time, the water cooler evolved into a lighter, more compact unit. As technology improved, water coolers were equipped with internal purifying systems.

Water and the environment

With advancing technology water coolers have become more environmentally- and user-friendly, contributing to a growing demand both in work and home environments. If you check out the Energy Star ratings of modern water coolers you will find that they use very little energy, and today’s water coolers allow you to reuse bottles up to 50 times rather than discarding them when empty. You can even use be creative and use bottles for building and art projects at the end of their life (otherwise they’re carefully recycled). Alternatively, plumbed in water coolers take water directly from the mains and mean you don’t have any bottles to deal with at all, and are certainly a step up from the drinking fountains of the 1900s.

The office water cooler

The phrase “Meet me at the water cooler” originated in the workplace as water coolers became commonplace thanks to the significant benefits of good employee hydration. The office water cooler became the “hub” for casual conversation and gossip because it was often located away from cubicles or offices – when an employee would want to chat or gossip, he or she would whisper to another employee, “Meet me at the water cooler” so they could talk in relative privacy.

With the new concepts and designs, the water purity, environmental-friendliness, and affordability of today’s water cooler, some would say that it has become more of a necessity than a convenience. Yes, the water cooler has come a long way from its humble origin. So why don’t you “Meet someone at the water cooler?”

It looks pretty good (that smooth surface just begs you to run your hands over it) but does it do a good job of keeping your water cool and filtered?

People have been using clay pots for ages to store and cool water, but a study has found that filtering with clay will remove between 95 and 99 per cent of E.coli. Maybe the Aztecs and Egyptians were on to a fairly good thing with this simple technology! But maybe it’s not the best solution for a modern workplace…

How ceramic water filters work

The ceramic water filters work by using clay’s natural properties to filter out bacteria which generally can’t pass through the small pores. The filter sits in the top half, while the bottom half contains the filtered water and is fitted with a tap.

Those who like retro have seen it as a good accompaniment to an Aga and retro sink, and it makes an interesting conversation piece when people are gathered around the kitchen table, but does it come up to modern standards?

Well it needs to be filled – it doesn’t simply connect to a mains supply like a plumbed-in water cooler and you can’t attach standard water cooler bottles, so getting hold of the best-quality spring water is going to be a lot more tricky. And while it keeps the water fairly cool you won’t get the ice-cold water on demand like a modern water cooler. Finally, if you’re after safety and cleanliness the self-cleaning of some of our new models can’t be beaten, and there’re no quarterly sanitisation visits for an old-school ceramic cooler!

Moving on

Looking back we can see how water coolers have developed in the last few decades, using the latest technology and materials to become extremely energy efficient and environmentally friendly. While ceramic filters are pretty stylish, those looking for a modern and convenient beverage solution are better off sticking to the latest Eden Springs water coolers!