Could someone please explain what I saw, today, in a gentlemen's restroom?

A friend and I were having lunch at a restaurant. The ladies’ room was closed for repairs. A (male) waiter checked to make sure that the gents’ room was vacant, and then waited outside while I used it.

The urinals were filled with ice cubes. I was too shy to ask either the helpful waiter or my (male) friend why this was so. Were the ice cubes there to prevent urine from splashing around, getting on the walls and floor, and hitting either the man urinating or his neighbors?