Yesterday, I was at a conference in a posh New York City hotel. While we were inside, the rain was relentless outside. As the day progressed, it started to rain inside too. The ceiling sprouted several leaks. At first the hotel staff used the standard approach for catching the water – white plastic buckets. But remember, this is an upscale hotel. Plastic buckets are not very attractive. Besides, as the buckets filled up, we would get an annoying “ploink” sound with every raindrop.
The hotel came up with a clever solution. They replaced the buckets with live plants. These are much more attractive, the water nourishes the trees, and the “ploink” sound was muted.
Simple yet creative.