The Shower Curtain Question

Many years ago I was interviewing a co-op student at Waterloo. I had just asked her one of my favorite interview questions, and she had appreciated it, and in turn told me about one of her favourite questions, purportedly asked by an interviewer from Microsoft. This was during the time when Bill Gates was building his current home on Lake Washington, and the question was tangentally related. The question was this:

"If price were no obstacle, how would you design a shower curtain?"

I always found that question intriguing, but to be honest I never really gave it much in the way of deep thought. I always approached it more as if the question were: "What's the most expensive shower curtain you can design?" and imagined a solid stone wall sliding up from the floor or something equally preposterous.

But a few days ago (while I was in the shower, no less) it occurred to me what the answer should be; at least an answer I'd be happy with if I had asked the question myself. If price were no object, I'd design a shower curtain as a piece of plastic that you drape from a bar reaching across the opening. In other words, just like every other shower curtain in the world. Some things don't need innovation. Use the standard components and then move on. Price may not be an obstacle but time usually is, and wouldn't we rather spend our time on solving more interesting problems?