# Love locks: Seen/heard of them, would you place one? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [February 3, 2012, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/love-locks-seen-heard-of-them-would-you-place-one/611617 "2012-02-03T03:16:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![An\_Gadai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2012, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/love-locks-seen-heard-of-them-would-you-place-one/611617/1 "2012-02-03T03:16:02Z")
I recently found out about [love locks (or love padlocks)](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Love_padlocks) where lovers stick a padlock in a public place usually with a note enscribed or attached. I only heard about it after people started doing it on the [Ha’penny Bridge in Dublin](http://www.thejournal.ie/wheres-the-love-council-removes-love-padlocks-from-dublins-hapenny-bridge-327300-Jan2012/). From the wikipedia article it seems the phenomenon has existed for quite some time. Have you ever heard of it? Seen these locks? Would you actually partake of the custom? ---
**Author:** ![Darryl\_Lict](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7cd45c/32.png) [@Darryl\_Lict](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darryl_Lict)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2012, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/love-locks-seen-heard-of-them-would-you-place-one/611617/2 "2012-02-03T03:29:42Z")
I’ve seen it somewhere in Europe, but I thought it was kind of an Asian thing. Hell, maybe it was China. ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2012, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/love-locks-seen-heard-of-them-would-you-place-one/611617/3 "2012-02-03T04:05:13Z")
I saw them on the pedestrian path along the Cinque Terre in Italy. [Here are my wife and me in front of them](http://www.seiglefamily.com/2009italy/IMG_9683%20Jeff%20and%20Rabab%20on%20Via%20dell%27Amore.JPG). Had I known in advance about it I might have brought a lock along, because, you know, my wife really digs that kind of stuff. ---
**Author:** ![dangermom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e274bd/32.png) [@dangermom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dangermom)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2012, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/love-locks-seen-heard-of-them-would-you-place-one/611617/4 "2012-02-03T04:11:31Z")
I had not heard of that. My first thought is no, I wouldn’t, because a zillion locks all over a bridge doesn’t seem very pretty. It kind of reminds me of a more sentimental version of [Bubblegum Alley](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bubblegum_Alley), which is disgusting but entertaining and at least out of the way, in an alley. ---
**Author:** ![Sudden\_Kestrel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecd19e/32.png) [@Sudden\_Kestrel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sudden_Kestrel)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2012, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/love-locks-seen-heard-of-them-would-you-place-one/611617/5 "2012-02-03T04:28:21Z")
I’ve never heard of it, so it hasn’t made it to middle America yet. It sounds like something teenaged girls would find appealing, so I don’t think I’d participate. ---
**Author:** ![Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eyebrows_0f_doom/32/3119_2.png) [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2012, 4:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/love-locks-seen-heard-of-them-would-you-place-one/611617/6 "2012-02-03T04:37:37Z")
There’s something like that in Paris right? I remember seeing a segment on Craig Ferguson’s show where he went there when the show filmed in Paris last year. [Ah, here we go.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A0gZLX4O9Xs#t=1m28s) ---
**Author:** ![Toucanna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3bc359/32.png) [@Toucanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Toucanna)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2012, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/love-locks-seen-heard-of-them-would-you-place-one/611617/7 "2012-02-03T19:45:25Z")
> [@An\_Gadai](#): > > Have you ever heard of [love locks]? Seen these locks? Would you actually partake of the custom? No. Maybe I’ve seen them, but did not notice them. No, because of the potential for structural or aesthetic damage to the object to which the lock is affixed. ---
**Author:** ![Arnold\_Winkelried](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Arnold\_Winkelried](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arnold_Winkelried)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2012, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/love-locks-seen-heard-of-them-would-you-place-one/611617/8 "2012-02-03T20:02:57Z")
Who wants to fund my business idea, making pink heart-shaped padlocks, which you can personalize by having names inscribed on the lock? Shall be sold through amazon for the low low price of $19.99 P.S. I had never heard of these until I read the OP. ---
**Author:** ![Filbert](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/filbert/32/3433_2.png) [@Filbert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Filbert)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2012, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/love-locks-seen-heard-of-them-would-you-place-one/611617/9 "2012-02-03T21:04:49Z")
I came across a bridge in Poland the year before last year, covered in them. It actually looked kind of pretty. I think it was in Wrocław- most of the locks had names and the date inscribed on them- and a very high proportion were in English. I would have added one, maybe, if I wasn’t single 😉 Felt more tempted to leave my mark on [Wanaka Bra fence](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cardrona_Bra_Fence), before the spoilsports took it down. ---
**Author:** ![Silophant](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a698b9/32.png) [@Silophant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silophant)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2012, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/love-locks-seen-heard-of-them-would-you-place-one/611617/11 "2012-02-03T21:08:34Z")
Reported. Also, you guys are dicks for trying to trademark a tradition. ---
**Author:** ![An\_Gadai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2012, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/love-locks-seen-heard-of-them-would-you-place-one/611617/12 "2012-02-03T21:10:52Z")
> [@Arnold\_Winkelried](#): > > Who wants to fund my business idea, making pink heart-shaped padlocks, which you can personalize by having names inscribed on the lock? > Shall be sold through amazon for the low low price of $19.99 > > P.S. I had never heard of these until I read the OP. Somebody heard you! ---
**Author:** ![Arnold\_Winkelried](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Arnold\_Winkelried](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arnold_Winkelried)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2012, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/love-locks-seen-heard-of-them-would-you-place-one/611617/13 "2012-02-03T21:11:33Z")
> [@Lovelocks\_Inc](#): > > Lovelocks, Inc. is already marketing love padlocks in the USA. You guys stole my idea from post #8. Except mine will be better because they’ll be pink. :mad: Be prepared to hear from my attorneys. ETA: > [@An\_Gadai](#): > > Somebody heard you! Never mention an idea online until you’ve nailed down the patent! ---
**Author:** ![An\_Gadai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2012, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/love-locks-seen-heard-of-them-would-you-place-one/611617/14 "2012-02-03T21:11:56Z")
> [@Filbert](#): > > I came across a bridge in Poland the year before last year, covered in them. It actually looked kind of pretty. I think it was in Wrocław- most of the locks had names and the date inscribed on them- and a very high proportion were in English. > > I would have added one, maybe, if I wasn’t single 😉 Arnold’s working on “Forever Alone” ones too. ---
**Author:** ![Wheelz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wheelz/32/5718_2.png) [@Wheelz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wheelz)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2012, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/love-locks-seen-heard-of-them-would-you-place-one/611617/15 "2012-02-03T22:13:37Z")
Never heard of it until now, and no, I don’t think I’d do it. Though I’m long past the age at which I’d be wooing anybody who would be impressed by such a gesture anyway. It just seems like a pointless act of mild vandalism, somewhat akin to carving one’s initials into a tree, but less romantic than that. “Darling, I’ve placed a lock on a fence to symbolize our undying love, and please accept these dozen 1/4 x 3-inch zinc-plated phillips head toggle bolts to show how much I care.” ---
**Author:** ![Minnie\_Luna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4bbf92/32.png) [@Minnie\_Luna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Minnie_Luna)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2012, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/love-locks-seen-heard-of-them-would-you-place-one/611617/16 "2012-02-03T22:42:54Z")
I first saw them at the Great Wall of China. [Pic](http://www.flickr.com/photos/kaex88/3267093557/) I thought it was a cute idea. At the Wall, it’s not vandalism, they supply the chain for the locks to hang on. ---
**Author:** ![interface2x](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c0e974/32.png) [@interface2x](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/interface2x)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2012, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/love-locks-seen-heard-of-them-would-you-place-one/611617/17 "2012-02-03T23:54:41Z")
> [@CookingWithGas](#): > > I saw them on the pedestrian path along the Cinque Terre in Italy. [Here are my wife and me in front of them](http://www.seiglefamily.com/2009italy/IMG_9683%20Jeff%20and%20Rabab%20on%20Via%20dell%27Amore.JPG). Had I known in advance about it I might have brought a lock along, because, you know, my wife really digs that kind of stuff. They were all over the Via del’Amore while I was there ([example](http://www.flickr.com/photos/53157520@N07/5629103728/in/set-72157626519348798/)). One of the couples I was traveling with got engaged there and the guy had a lock on the ring box (or something like that, I wasn’t with them at the time). He proposed and they put the lock with the others. ---
**Author:** ![even\_sven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dfb087/32.png) [@even\_sven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/even_sven)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2012, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/love-locks-seen-heard-of-them-would-you-place-one/611617/18 "2012-02-04T03:58:14Z")
You see them pretty often in China, where tourist attractions will often provide chains for them. It always seemed to me to be a sweet update on the old traditions of tying bits of cloth and ribbon around things for this and that for various religious/cultural reasons. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2012, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/love-locks-seen-heard-of-them-would-you-place-one/611617/19 "2012-02-04T04:16:53Z")
Yes!!! So freaky you bring this up. I was just talking about it yesterday to a friend and we were both saying that the other was the only other person we knew who’d heard of it. It seems like an ancient tradition, but apparently only started in 2006 because of an Italian young-adult novel called _Ho voglia di te_ by Federico Moccia, which was subsequently turned into a movie. In the book, the lovers put a padlock on the Ponte Milvio. It became a meme, and padlock vendors set up on the bridge. It’s now absolutely [mashed with padlocks](http://crowaptok.com/images/hot_woman_at_ponte_milvio.JPG) - so much so that it’s now banned. From there the idea spread throughout Italy, and now the world. So last year I knew nothing about this, but _il mio amore_ drove me to the Ponte Milvio (it’s near her house) and we [bought our lock](http://crowaptok.com/images/v_and_j_lock.JPG) and put it with [all the rest](http://crowaptok.com/images/milvio_locks.JPG). The friend I was talking to yesterday also knew nothing about it, but was taken to the bridge by her boyfriend from England, where he pulled out a padlock - and on it was an engagement ring. They locked the padlock and threw the key in the river. Awww! Me and my girl have kept one key each. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2012, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/love-locks-seen-heard-of-them-would-you-place-one/611617/20 "2012-02-04T04:27:41Z")
OK, I see from the article that Federico Moccia didn’t invent it, probably was inspired by prior instances. I withdraw the assertion. ---
**Author:** ![toofs](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/4491bb/32.png) [@toofs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/toofs)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2012, 5:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/love-locks-seen-heard-of-them-would-you-place-one/611617/21 "2012-02-04T05:45:07Z")
There is a bridge we saw in Paris with thousands of padlocks. It looks gold from certain angles. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/love-locks-seen-heard-of-them-would-you-place-one/611617.md?page=2)