If you've been in White Plaza lately, you may have noticed that its centerpiece, The Claw, has been dry. The fountain is normally a repository for pennies and toes on a warm day, but without water, it resembles something out of Tony Hawk's Pro Skater.

Why? Ted Tucholski, grounds manager at Stanford, explains: "The fountain has been off due to renovation and installation of a new filtration system . It is now off so that the piping to the bubblers in the sculptural part can be replaced . This is being done to increase the efficiency of the fountain and to conserve water."

So there you go. The rigging of a more efficient filtration system seems like a pretty good reason for a temporarily waterless fountain to me.