There is only one circumstance under which Isamu Noguchi’s Water Stone is not the coolest fountain ever, and that’s when viewers have a full bladder.

The tantalizing trickle of the water pouring over all seven sides of the stone will almost certainly induce an unwanted/unexpected leakage. It’s just too relaxing.

You may think that there’s not a lot to this fountain but that’s kind of the point of Japanese design. It’s all about simplicity, man. And despite the simplicity, this fountain took 7 hours and up to 18 tries to install. The one ton (!!!) basalt rock that makes up the fountain is sitting on a bunch of other little flat rocks that are perfectly level so that when the water overflows, it does so evenly on every side of the work, creating that perfect pee-down-the--side-of-your-leg sound.

The coolest part of this work is that the entire thing is made up of materials from Japan - the main basalt rock down to the little side rocks, which come from the Ise River, 200-ish miles southwest of Tokyo near one of the most sacred of Shinto Shrines. This made it the perfect piece with which the Met could debut their new Japanese Galleries in 1987. Yay non-Western art representation!

Unfortunately this would be one of the last installations that Noguchi would do. He was 82 when this sculpture was put in the Met in 1986, a feat not maybe 82-year-olds could claim, and died in 1988. Finally, he could be with what he loved more than anything or anyone...stones.