<div><p>Have you ever made a wish and tossed a coin into a fountain? Bet you didn't take a moment to consider where exactly all that cold, hard cash goes after you drop it.</p><p>If you thought it stayed there for all of eternity, that's cute. You're wrong. </p><p>In fact, with millions of tourists frequenting some of the world's most famous fountains, the coins would pile up pretty quickly if the cities didn't do something about it. </p><div><figure><a href="https://thumbs-media.smithsonianmag.com/filer/93/9e/939eea97-fe88-4d26-ac8a-3cc7f76c622c/12761083963_50e1e102c1_k.jpg__800x600_q85_crop.jpg" target="_blank"><amp-img src="https://www.shared.com/content/images/2017/03/12761083963_50e1e102c1_k-jpg__800x600_q85_crop.jpg" srcset="https://www.shared.com/content/images/2017/03/12761083963_50e1e102c1_k-jpg__800x600_q85_crop_GH_content_550px.jpg 550w, https://www.shared.com/content/images/2017/03/12761083963_50e1e102c1_k-jpg__800x600_q85_crop_GH_content_650px.jpg 650w, https://www.shared.com/content/images/2017/03/12761083963_50e1e102c1_k-jpg__800x600_q85_crop_GH_content_750px.jpg 750w" sizes="89vw" title="" alt="" height="9" width="16" layout="responsive"></amp-img></a><figcaption class="op-vertical-center"><cite><a href="https://thumbs-media.smithsonianmag.com/filer/93/9e/939eea97-fe88-4d26-ac8a-3cc7f76c622c/12761083963_50e1e102c1_k.jpg__800x600_q85_crop.jpg" target="_blank">Trenten Kelley / Flickr</a></cite></figcaption></figure></div><p>Depending on the city and the fountain, collected coins either contribute to fountain upkeep, charity or public service. The change from fountains in <a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2016/06/coins-fountains-charity/485300/">New York City</a> go towards the fountain upkeep. </p><p><!-- [invalid-shortcode] --></p><p>The Trevi Fountain in Rome receives so many coins from tourists that it has to be cleaned every night. The <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/6188052.stm">BBC reports</a> that workers collect up to $4,000 USD in loose change daily. In a year, the coins from the Trevi Fountain add up to about a million dollars!</p><div><figure><a href="http://luxeadventuretraveler.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/Luxe-Adventure-Traveler-Rome-Italy-Trevi-Fountain-1.jpg" target="_blank"><amp-img src="https://www.shared.com/content/images/2017/03/Luxe-Adventure-Traveler-Rome-Italy-Trevi-Fountain-1.jpg" srcset="https://www.shared.com/content/images/2017/03/Luxe-Adventure-Traveler-Rome-Italy-Trevi-Fountain-1_GH_content_550px.jpg 550w, https://www.shared.com/content/images/2017/03/Luxe-Adventure-Traveler-Rome-Italy-Trevi-Fountain-1_GH_content_650px.jpg 650w, https://www.shared.com/content/images/2017/03/Luxe-Adventure-Traveler-Rome-Italy-Trevi-Fountain-1_GH_content_750px.jpg 750w" sizes="89vw" title="" alt="" height="9" width="16" layout="responsive"></amp-img></a><figcaption class="op-vertical-center"><cite><a href="http://luxeadventuretraveler.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/Luxe-Adventure-Traveler-Rome-Italy-Trevi-Fountain-1.jpg" target="_blank">Luxe Adventure Traveler</a></cite></figcaption></figure></div><p>So, the next time you toss a coin and make a wish, you can feel good about knowing that your small contribution adds up in a big way!</p><p>[Source: <a href="http://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/heres-what-happens-all-coins-tossed-fountains-180959314/">Smithsonian</a> / <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2016/06/coins-fountains-charity/485300/">The Atlantic</a> / <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/6188052.stm">BBC </a>]</p><p><!-- [invalid-shortcode] --></p><p></p></div>
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