Funny, when I saw this node title I thought of
something completely different.
In the US, the water cooler is a symbol for the casual conversations that people have at work. television shows, movies, and ad campaigns all strive to become the topic of conversation around the water cooler.
In many ways, this "water cooler" is also evil. Each marketer is trying to come up with the newest fad, and often they're able to turn the water cooler conversation from something potentially useful to their own commercial. Budweiser's ad team is particularly successful at that--they've taken over the water cooler at least 4 times in the past decade.
jeremyf: B-)