Why on earth do people water their phals with ice cubes?

[malteseproverb]

I'm a member of a facebook group for general plant enthusiasts local to my city, and I've found that 90% of people writing in about problems with orchids (almost always phals) have been watering with ice cubes, or someone pipes in on how to better water with ice cubes, etc. Where does this strange idea come from? In trying to combat this myth, I've become curious on how it took hold to begin with. No one who does it seems to know why they do it--mainly their mothers advised them to do it this way.

Is it because large phal growers sell their plants in too much potting media and advising costumers to use 1-2 ice cubes per week becomes a way to dose out the smallest bit of moisture so the overpotting only kills the phal within a year or two rather than in a few months? If so it's actually a kind of brilliant marketing scheme... It's long enough that people feel it's their fault they killed it.