Lucky monuments
9 lucky monuments around the world that people flock to
By Talia Lakritz, INSIDER From Business Insider
Who needs four-leaf clovers when you have monuments that promise good luck to all who encounter them?
According to tradition, you’ve got to rub these statues just the right way for their mystical powers to take effect. We can’t promise that every wish you have will be granted, but at the very least you’ll have taken part in some quirky rituals dating back thousands of years.
According to tradition, rubbing the Owl of Dijon on the Church of Notre Dame in France with your left hand will make your wishes come true.
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The current carving is a restoration, as vandals destroyed the original in 2011.
At Lincoln’s Tomb in Springfield, Illinois, rubbing the nose of Honest Abe’s large brass bust is good luck.
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Sculptor Gutzon Borglum, who also designed Mount Rushmore, created the bust. The original resides in the US Capitol building.
To ensure that you’ll return to Florence, rub Il Porcellino’s snout in Italy.
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It’s also good luck to put a coin in the boar’s mouth and let it slide into the fountain.
Touching the statue of St. John of Napomuk also ensures another visit to Prague.
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The bottom right of the statue depicts St. John of Napomuk being tossed off the bridge. Hopefully your luck is better than his.
Same goes for tossing a coin over your left shoulder into Rome’s Trevi Fountain.
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The money people toss in goes to charity. That’s some good karma, at the very least.
If you’re looking for love, touching Juliet’s breast in Verona is supposed to help.
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The statue had to be replaced with a replica in 2014 due to cracks from too many tourists pining for their true love.
Touching the backsides of the statue outside the Riviera Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas is said to set the betting odds in your favor.
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The National Organization for Women protested its installation in 1997, saying that the faceless sculpture is dehumanizing, but people continue to flock to it before trying their luck at the casino.
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Kissing the Blarney Stone in Ireland is supposed to grant smoochers “the gift of gab” — in other words, eloquence and persuasiveness.
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The stone is set in a wall of Blarney Castle, so you have to hang over backwards to reach it.
At Victor Noir’s grave in Paris, rubbing his crotch and dropping a flower in his hat are said to grant fertility and a blissful sex life.
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In 2004, authorities put up a fence around the statue that said “Any damage caused by graffiti or indecent rubbing will be prosecuted,” but it was met with so much protest that it was taken down.
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