why do people throw money into water?
i first took notice of this while at work at a theme park a couple of years back. i used to work on the beach area and noticed alot of people dropping/throwing change into the water. since then ive noticed it everywhere. on all the water rides people would throw money into the water, if you go to a park people throw money into the ponds, if you go to a shopping centre people throw money in the fountains, if you go on a ferry people throw money into the sea, etc etc etc
where does this stem from (if anywhere), the only 2 things i can come up with are that its carried over from throwing money into ‘wishing wells’, or that people generally enjoy throwing things into water and throwing money isnt frowned upon like throwing litter and not dangerous like stones/rocks
my money’s on the wishing well thing.
Where I come from, people throw money into water bodies attached to temples - like temple tanks or streams / wells / ponds near temples. Usually, these are regarded as offerings to the deity in which they believe.
No idea why people would want to throw money into water in theme park or shopping centre though.
Offerings to Mammon maybe 
My bet too it is a carry over from wishing wells. People have lots of wishes they need to come true and any chance they can get to collecting on it…they will do it.
On another note. None of my wishes when tossing money has come true. I want my money back!
Whats the crack with trying to land a coin on a particular spot in a well or bucket of water? Is there a way to know exactly where the coin will settle?
some have also added a bell over the water to give people something to do, so it’s a resounding ‘ting!’ when the coin hits the bell…
Most fountains donate the money thrown in to charity I think.
Throwing objects of value into water is a very old custom, going back to prehistory.
I admire your restraint on this issue. I could easily post about a three-paragraph rant about idiots who throw money into places where money shouldn’t be thrown.
The mudpots at Yellowstone have been irreparably damaged because of this mindless activity. The coins punch holes in the delicate crust, which of course cannot repair itself. There are numerous links discussing this.
At the local zoo here in Anchorage, people insisted on throwing coins in the fur seal tank. The fur seals ingested the coins and died. So zoo officials built a wishing well for the knuckleheads and posted numerous signs in many languages informing people of the hazards to the animals and directing them to the wishing well. The result: more dead fur seals and the closing of the exhibit.
On the west side of the Blue Ridge Mountains, in Shenandoah Park, there is a place called Luray Caverns. We took a tour through there some years ago. Park officials have had to create a pool for idiots to throw coins in because people were destroying the place.
I don’t get it, and as you can tell, it’s a real peeve with me. I’m sure it stems from some wishing well thing, but PLEASE, people, stop it.
Morons throw pennies into pools of fish, too, in large pet stores. This is very reprehensible as the copper can kill the fish.
So note to all dopers: Please do not throw coins into any water containing fish!
Was gonna post about idiots who throw coins in fishponds, so thanks, Trigonal P.
I was about 8 miles into the Ho Rain Forest, on the Pacific coast of Washington State, an amazing ecosystem unlike anything else in the world. The path crossed a forest stream with a small wooden bridge, installed by the park service for hikers. I stopped and looked down (native fish freak), and saw–on both sides of the bridge–dozens of coins.
If I had a rocket launcher . . .
Bruce Cockburn reference, I assume?