噴泉里的許愿幣最后都去了哪里？

又到了許愿的季節。提到許愿，人們往往會想到那些噴泉許愿池。很多人都喜歡往噴泉里扔硬幣許愿，那么多的硬幣最后都去了哪里？你好奇過嗎？

It's a balmy afternoon and you've decided to take a leisurely stroll in the park. You soon come across a favorite feature: a large fountain with a statue at its center, gracefully spouting water in all directions to the shallow pool underneath. Feeling lucky, and perhaps a bit wistful, you fish a coin from your pocket, make a wish and toss it into the fountain. Then you notice all the other coins littering the bottom of the fountain. What happens, you wonder, to all that money?

那是個陽光溫和的下午，你決定到公園里走一走，散散步。很快，你就走到了最受大家歡迎的標志物那里：那是一眼大大的噴泉，噴泉中間豎著一座雕像，清澈的泉水優雅地往各個方向噴出，最終落入雕塑下方淺淺的水池里。懷著對過去的感恩，和對未來美好生活的渴望，你從口袋里掏出了一枚硬幣，對噴泉許愿后，將硬幣丟到了水里。水底下都是別人留下的硬幣。你不僅有點好奇，這些錢最終都去了哪里。

Let's head to Las Vegas, a city that operates on a palpable current of luck. Pair this with a high per-capita rate of fountains, and coin-filled pools are inevitable. Some of the coins in Vegas are grabbed by people willing to wade into the water. Others are sucked into filtration systems and end up in the trash. Most, however, are collected and donated to charities. The Bellagio, for instance, donates about $12,000 a year in fountain coins to charity. And that's just one hotel along the Vegas strip -- add all the other hotels, and the haul from fountain coins is likely to reach six digits a year [source: Padgett].

拉斯維加斯是一座由純粹運氣所主宰的城市。這座城市里的噴泉數不勝數，裝滿硬幣的水池也到處可見。那些硬幣有的被涉水走過去的人取走了，有的則被水流吸入濾水系統，最終去到了垃圾場。不過，大多數噴泉里的硬幣都是被收集了起來，捐給慈善事業。碧堤半島酒店每年捐給慈善事業的噴泉硬幣金額就有12000美元（合78900元人民幣）。而它還只是賭城里的一座酒店而已。將其它酒店一起算進去，每年可以得到的噴泉硬幣數目可以達到6位數。（數據 But not all fountain owners donate their coins -- some use the money to defray the expense of maintenance. Take the Park Fountain in New York City's Bryant Park: Every three months, park workers gather the fountain's coins and turn the findings over to the Bryant Park Corp., a nonprofit that runs the green space. Although the tally is sometimes more than $3,000, it barely covers the cost of cleaning the fountain [source: Runyeon].

但不是所有噴泉擁有者都會將硬幣捐掉，有的就會用這些錢支付噴泉維護費用。拿紐約市布萊恩公園的噴泉做例子：每隔三個月，公園員工就會將噴泉水池中的硬幣收集起來，然后交給布萊恩公園公司，這是一家專門負責公園綠化的非營利性組織。雖然硬幣總金額有時候會超過3000美元，但還是幾乎無法覆蓋噴泉清理的總費用。（數據 The practice of tossing coins into fountains likely began in ancient times, when people thought spirits lived inside them. If a person passed by a fountain, well or other water source without tossing in a coin, he or she would surely be followed by a bad luck. The tradition evolved into a more personalized act, and people began making wishes as they tossed coins into fountains and wells. Some coins are thrown into fountains in the hope the coin-bearer will be able to return to the fountain in the future. Whatever the reason, throwing a coin into a fountain is a practice seen all over the world.

將硬幣拋進噴泉的習俗可能從古代就開始了，那時候，人們認為噴泉里面住著神靈。假如有人經過噴泉、水井或者其它什么水源的時候不往里面扔枚硬幣，就會有噩運纏身。隨著時間流逝，這項習俗變得越來越個性化了，往噴泉和水井里面扔硬幣的時候，人們還會順便許個愿。有的人在扔硬幣的時候，還會希望自己未來能夠回來還愿。不管原因是什么，往噴泉里扔硬幣都已經成了全世界人民都在做的事情。

又到了許愿的季節。提到許愿，人們往往會想到那些噴泉許愿池。很多人都喜歡往噴泉里扔硬幣許愿，那么多的硬幣最后都去了哪里？你好奇過嗎？

It's a balmy afternoon and you've decided to take a leisurely stroll in the park. You soon come across a favorite feature: a large fountain with a statue at its center, gracefully spouting water in all directions to the shallow pool underneath. Feeling lucky, and perhaps a bit wistful, you fish a coin from your pocket, make a wish and toss it into the fountain. Then you notice all the other coins littering the bottom of the fountain. What happens, you wonder, to all that money?

那是個陽光溫和的下午，你決定到公園里走一走，散散步。很快，你就走到了最受大家歡迎的標志物那里：那是一眼大大的噴泉，噴泉中間豎著一座雕像，清澈的泉水優雅地往各個方向噴出，最終落入雕塑下方淺淺的水池里。懷著對過去的感恩，和對未來美好生活的渴望，你從口袋里掏出了一枚硬幣，對噴泉許愿后，將硬幣丟到了水里。水底下都是別人留下的硬幣。你不僅有點好奇，這些錢最終都去了哪里。

Let's head to Las Vegas, a city that operates on a palpable current of luck. Pair this with a high per-capita rate of fountains, and coin-filled pools are inevitable. Some of the coins in Vegas are grabbed by people willing to wade into the water. Others are sucked into filtration systems and end up in the trash. Most, however, are collected and donated to charities. The Bellagio, for instance, donates about $12,000 a year in fountain coins to charity. And that's just one hotel along the Vegas strip -- add all the other hotels, and the haul from fountain coins is likely to reach six digits a year [source: Padgett].

拉斯維加斯是一座由純粹運氣所主宰的城市。這座城市里的噴泉數不勝數，裝滿硬幣的水池也到處可見。那些硬幣有的被涉水走過去的人取走了，有的則被水流吸入濾水系統，最終去到了垃圾場。不過，大多數噴泉里的硬幣都是被收集了起來，捐給慈善事業。碧堤半島酒店每年捐給慈善事業的噴泉硬幣金額就有12000美元（合78900元人民幣）。而它還只是賭城里的一座酒店而已。將其它酒店一起算進去，每年可以得到的噴泉硬幣數目可以達到6位數。（數據 But not all fountain owners donate their coins -- some use the money to defray the expense of maintenance. Take the Park Fountain in New York City's Bryant Park: Every three months, park workers gather the fountain's coins and turn the findings over to the Bryant Park Corp., a nonprofit that runs the green space. Although the tally is sometimes more than $3,000, it barely covers the cost of cleaning the fountain [source: Runyeon].

但不是所有噴泉擁有者都會將硬幣捐掉，有的就會用這些錢支付噴泉維護費用。拿紐約市布萊恩公園的噴泉做例子：每隔三個月，公園員工就會將噴泉水池中的硬幣收集起來，然后交給布萊恩公園公司，這是一家專門負責公園綠化的非營利性組織。雖然硬幣總金額有時候會超過3000美元，但還是幾乎無法覆蓋噴泉清理的總費用。（數據 The practice of tossing coins into fountains likely began in ancient times, when people thought spirits lived inside them. If a person passed by a fountain, well or other water source without tossing in a coin, he or she would surely be followed by a bad luck. The tradition evolved into a more personalized act, and people began making wishes as they tossed coins into fountains and wells. Some coins are thrown into fountains in the hope the coin-bearer will be able to return to the fountain in the future. Whatever the reason, throwing a coin into a fountain is a practice seen all over the world.

將硬幣拋進噴泉的習俗可能從古代就開始了，那時候，人們認為噴泉里面住著神靈。假如有人經過噴泉、水井或者其它什么水源的時候不往里面扔枚硬幣，就會有噩運纏身。隨著時間流逝，這項習俗變得越來越個性化了，往噴泉和水井里面扔硬幣的時候，人們還會順便許個愿。有的人在扔硬幣的時候，還會希望自己未來能夠回來還愿。不管原因是什么，往噴泉里扔硬幣都已經成了全世界人民都在做的事情。