November 2, 2021

Believe the science... of tossing coins into fountains.

46 comments:

Mike (MJB Wolf) said...

A perfect ending to a dumb endeavor.

gilbar said...

Protip: Every Word They Say, Is a Lie... Including And and The

Scot said...

It is said that a visitor once came to the home of Nobel Prize–winning physicist Niels Bohr and, having noticed a horseshoe hung above the entrance, asked incredulously if the professor believed horseshoes brought good luck. “No,” Bohr replied, “but I am told that they bring luck even to those who do not believe in them.”

Curious George said...

No Biden. With or without Depends. It's a stupid gesture at a stupid conference but Creepy Sleepy Joe isn't missing because of that.

Achilles said...

It is all fluff for their cult.

This is as scientific as global whatevering gets at this point. Their predictions and models have all been wrong over the last 20-30 years and they have been caught fudging and hiding data.

They can't even state what their hypothesis is anymore.

They are cult leaders fleecing their flock.

Ron Winkleheimer said...

That's the Trevi Fountain. Traditionally, throwing a coin into it is supposed to ensure a return to Rome. So, more carbon in the atmosphere.

I'm Not Sure said...

Stop the madness?

You mean- stop finding excuses to fly around the world on taxpayer funded vacations? Good luck with that.

Temujin said...

Well...per the earlier post, though I think Greta Thunberg is a crazed maniac, to her credit she keeps pointing out how full of crap these people are when they preen about with their climate conferences.

Achilles said...

I don't see President Poopy Pants in the photo.

Ron Winkleheimer said...

By the way, the last couple of times I was there you could get some great gelato by going down one of the side streets and getting away from the touristy area.

mikee said...

The coins go to charity and the maniacs go back where they came from. Win, win.

Fernandinande said...

Tossing coins into fountains creates good luck if there are no skeptics lurking nearby, emitting bad vibes.

Paul Zrimsek said...

Wait until you see how much money they're going to throw away once they get back to their jobs.

Marcus said...

It's as scientific as thinking taxing the hell out of your citizens is going to affect the world's climate.

Quaestor said...

At least in Rome, they could dine locally -- not as well as in Paris but three-star at least. So what are they eating in Glasgow? Haggis and fried Mars bars?

Priesthood delegations and mentally deficient celebs aren't the only things being flown into Scotland on private jets.

Wilbur said...

Ha. When I first looked at it my mind saw Nazi salutes.

Charlie said...

"Mother Nature is angry at us!!"-people who "believe" in Science™.

Lance said...

I thought COP26 was in Glasgow, why are they in Rome?

Ron Winkleheimer said...

Seriously, don't get the gelato at the shops right there on the piazza. Its good, but if you go into a side street for a couple of blocks away from where the tourists all hang out the price is much better. Also, Italian hot chocolate is awesome and easy to make at home.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZGt0pJ0BEHM&t=47s

You don't need to chop the chocolate if you use chips and I like to add a splash of bourbon.

Elliott A said...

If you take the street on the right in the photo in that direction there is a terrific gelato place

MikeR said...

They don't believe in it, but they say it works whether you believe in it or not.

wildswan said...

If you throw a coin with your right hand over your left shoulder, you will return to Rome. Analyzing this picture, we see that someone on the far left is throwing with their left hand. They will not return to Rome. The Germans aren't throwing at all. Smart. No one wants the Germans back in Rome - Alaric, Hitler, enough. The Italian is smiling - he's thinking, I live in this great place. Putin and Xi are not there. No one wants them in Rome and they both want to be in Siberia. Joe Biden is not there. He won't be going back - the Pope has probably learned his lesson about who Biden really is.
I threw a coin in that fountain in the proper way and I'm still hoping for the good luck to go back.

Readering said...

Quite the backdrop for a photo op. I assume they are fighting bitcoins and creating an nft at the same time.

Critter said...

Shouldn't they be visiting the home of Karl Marx in London?

Narr said...

I threw a coin into the Trevi in '64. It was hot already.

Pretty doubtful that I'll make it back. Not when Florence remains unvisited, and Pompeii.

But not in the summer.

Tina Trent said...

So if they held the next conference in a place that needed the tourist dollars -- wouldn't such a bow to local customs be deemed offensive?

Though I'd pay to see them burn a Wicker Man-Person.

Yancey Ward said...

Where is Joe Shit-For-Brains? Getting his ass wiped?

WWIII Joe Biden, Husk-Puppet + America's Putin said...

The oligarchs and their money. LOL.

narciso said...

they want you shivering in the dark, begging for scraps, they think they are insulated,

Clyde said...

I threw my coin in the Trevi Fountain in '86. Still haven't been back. The coin I threw is no longer even legal tender any more. Sic transit gloria mundi.

Skeptical Voter said...

Pro tip--old geezers like Scranton Joe have balance problems. It comes with age. If Joe had had to toss a coin backwards over his shoulder for the photo op, he might have fallen in the fountain--or at least he would have fallen down. Staying out of that coin toss photo op was one of the few smart things he's done on this trip.

Richard Dolan said...

"they want you shivering in the dark, begging for scraps, they think they are insulated."

Very unlikely to be true. More that they are catering to their audience -- the bien-pensants in their respective countries, most of whom are convinced that 'climate change' is important -- even as the politicos also know that their voters will not accept the draconian measures that would be required to do anything useful about it. So you get these silly photo-ops, along with the rhetorical nonsense being spouted at COP26, without any follow-through. The downside is that huge sums get spent on wildly inefficient solar/wind stuff that cannot possibly achieve the stated goals, along with huge but equally useless subsidies for preferred technologies (electric cars being at the top of the list). Meanwhile, with the US being the most notable exception, global CO2 emissions go up annually (because there is presently no alternative to fossil fuels short of mass economic suicide, which no country intends to commit), all the while as the politicos try (but not too hard) to stifle the only proven technology that might reduce the rate of increase in emissions (switching to natural gas from coal where possible).

Irrational but it's the world we live in.

wendybar said...

Maybe they were afraid Joe would take all his clothes off and go swimming...like he does at home, swimming naked in front of the Secret Service.

tim in vermont said...

I see Snopes says that there is no evidence that Biden shit his pants in Rome. Well, they did suddenly cut off the video feed, which Snopes never mentioned, and lots of people were reporting that the Europeans were saying it happened, but nobody went on the record, so *clearly* it *never* happened.

Michael said...

It will work as well as anything they are compelling us to suffer. The arrogance of believing we can overcome China’s coal mania with windmills, EVs and solar panels boggles.

Big Mike said...

Joe’s not in the lineup because he’s in the pool with a mesh bag and face mask, hoping to collect a bunch of 1€ coins.

Howard said...

Technically Tim, Biden couldn't shit his pants because his diaper caught it all. It's the only advise Slow Joe headed from Depends Don.

jaydub said...

I first tossed a coin into the Trevi Fountain in 1964 when I was there as a midshipman. It's not a superstition, it's a local custom like kissing the Blarney Stone or watching the ball drop on New Years Eve in NYC. It's kind of fun, which is why the Karens frown on it. Regardless, it worked because I've been back three times since then, most recently in 2018 when the fountain was under renovation and dry so no coin. Regardless, I'm sure I'll be back some day, perhaps when I reintroduce my grandsons to Europe for their graduation gifts next May.

Whiskeybum said...

Paul Zrimsek said...
Wait until you see how much money they're going to throw away once they get back to their jobs.


Ha! I love that take! You could turn this thought into a newspaper caption for the photo:

In a symbolic gesture of what they intend to do when they return to their respective countries, world leaders throw perfectly good money into a watery pit while crossing their fingers and hoping that this will somehow save the world.

narciso said...


i'm looking at their stated pledges to cut emissions by 50% or more, and replace it with magic,

Chris Lopes said...

"Market forces, not Donald Trump, was what reduced emissions."

In other words, reducing CO2 emissions (in the U.S. anyway) requires the government to do absolutely nothing.

Chris Lopes said...

"i'm looking at their stated pledges to cut emissions by 50% or more, and replace it with magic"

Unicorn farts are science, not magic.

Joe Smith said...

A lot of boring suits in that photo...

Bunkypotatohead said...

Throwing good money after bad.

In the 70's the fear was global cooling, the 2000's global warming.
By 2040 the world should be just right.

ndspinelli said...

Merkel is not missing any meals.

Achilles said...

"First of all, the significant reason why prices are up is because of COVID affecting the supply chain. If you take a look at … gas prices, and you take a look at oil prices, that is a consequence of thus far the refusal of Russia or the OPEC nations to pump more oil."

President Poopy Pants