Tuesday, Mar. 16, 2010
The Blarney Stone
It's supposed to give you "the gift of gab," but it can also give you a stiff neck — and countless germs. The Blarney Stone is a must-see tourist destination in Blarney Castle, near Cork, Ireland, and 400,000 visitors line up every year to kiss it in hopes of boosting their eloquence. But it isn't so easy to smooch the stone — you must sit on a ledge while someone holds down your legs, then bend over backward while holding iron rails until your face is level with the stone. Congrats, you've now kissed a surface similarly kissed by hundreds of thousands of others. Hopefully the gift of gab is worth the bacteria.