Not so long ago, happy couples visiting Paris would stop at the Pont des Arts to buy an overpriced padlock and announce their love to the world by locking it to the bridge’s metal grilles and throwing the keys in the river. But the romantic tradition had its downside, with 700,000 locks weighing down the bridge and causing several sections to collapse.
Critics claimed that the combined weight of all the locks equaled roughly 45 tons and they were finally removed in 2015. The metal grills were replaced with plexiglass, providing a better view of the river and no place to latch on any more locks.
Old Man of the Mountain
Not so long ago, if you found yourself in New Hampshire you could look up at the White Mountains, specifically Cannon Mountain and see an outcropping of rocks which was known as The Old Man of the Mountain. The name came from the fact that the rocks created the shape of a man in profile. The Old Man was so well known that at one time American politician Daniel Webster saw it as a sign from god saying,”…in the mountains of New Hampshire, God Almighty has hung out a sign to show that there He makes men.”
The unique rock formation was even immortalized on the state’s quarter. In 2003, after years of freezing and thawing, the outcropping finally collapsed. The locals were extremely saddened and commemorated the spot below where it stood with a memorial.
Cinque Terre
Cinque Terre is a coastal area in Italy which is known for its beauty and remoteness. Although it is still possible to visit the area, it gets harder every year and may be impossible in the future. Cinque Terre is joining the growing number of overcrowded tourist destinations that are limiting the number of yearly visitors.
The limit is currently set at 1.5 million people per year, after over 2.5 million people visited last year and completely overran the area’s infrastructure. Pedometers on the trails will keep track of visitors and once the 1.5 million limit is reached, all access will be closed off.
Luna Park
Coney Island’s original “Luna Park” was an enormous amusement park which opened in 1903 and was filled with attractions, rides and over 250,000 electric lights. The park was created by Frederic Thompson and Elmer “Skip” Dundy. The name is attributed either to the airship “Luna” from the park’s main attraction “A Trip to the Moon”, or for Dundy’s sister Luna. Luna Parks became a hit with the help of Frederick Ingersoll who was pioneering roller coaster design at the time and by 1905 they were popping up all over the world.
Sadly, not long after Ingersoll’s death in 1927, most of the parks shut down. The original Luna Park closed its doors in 1944 after a fire, but the name is alive and well and is used as a synonym for “amusement park” in many European languages.
The Nazca Lines
The arid climate of the Nazca Desert in Southern Peru helped maintain the Nazca Lines for over 2,500 years. Roughly 250 miles south of Peruvian capital city Lima, hundreds of drawings are etched into the ground. Some of the drawings are immense reaching 600 feet or more and can be best observed from the sky.
Most are simple lines or geometric shapes, but there are also shapes of flowers, trees and animals and even a human. The lines were declared as a Unesco World History Site in 1994, but they are threatened by changing weather patterns, squatters and mining operations in the area.