Jeremy Odom (15:02)
You would probably be surprised or maybe you're not because you put together a lot of this data. For me it's just being true. Thank you. For you just. You like, you like it when I give you credit, don't you Johnny? Yeah, I thought. Yeah, yeah. Credit to you, Johnny. Well, I was surprised to know that throwing money into fountains and wells was actually pretty big business. Like you walk by a fountain or well, you see all the coins and you think, oh, there's probably a couple hundred dollars in there. But then you think of all the places around the world that people are throwing coins into. This is really a major investment for some charities and businesses. Millions of dollars per year is tossed into the water with the hopes of getting the wish that they seek. Like in particular, there's one in Rome, the Trevi fountain. I guess this is like the most famous of all the fountains. Who knows how many wishes are being granted out of this freaking fountain. But $1.6 million annually just in coins is tossed into this fountain. But a lot of smaller ones can get anywhere from a hundred to five thousand dollars per year depending on, you know, the kind of traffic that runs through. But they'll go through, they'll fish them out. They'll either use it for charities or, you know, a lot of times it's, it's just another wave of income, people throwing them in. Hopefully they're treating it right. A lot of wishes, lot of wishes that need granted from this. But the breakdown goes like this and I, and it's exactly how what I thought. It's predominantly pennies, which is my point in all of this, 40 to 60% of the coins that are thrown into a fountain or a well is a penny. Then it goes nickels, dimes, quarters, which makes a lot of sense because the higher it goes, the less likely somebody is to throw it in. Now my breakdown on this is we're going to start to See more quarters. I think people are going to start looking for more bang for their buck in regards to their wish now that the penny's out of, out of it altogether. And a lot of people aren't carrying around a whole bunch of nickels or heavier than a dime. They're bigger. I just foresee us throwing in more quarters, thinking, you know what, I'll toss in a quarter or two and I'm gonna better my odds here. But people will find foreign coins in there too. About 5 to 10% of the coins thrown in are foreign. But the average here, this is the, this is interesting because pennies, of course, that's number one. But the average value per toss, anywhere between 18 cents and 30 cents. So some people are just grabbing the change in their pocket and chucking it, which I didn't see that coming. I thought people would be a little more smarter with their wish, a little more strategic with it. You know, I just, in the past when I have tossed in some money into this bad boy, it has been the penny. I've never considered just grabbing a handful of change out of my pocket and chucking it. But here we are now, the chances of your wish actually happening, and this is, this is, this is completely true. It kind of falls anywhere between 5 and 20%. And statistically it's around the same as luck. Okay, so basically you are paying for some luck is what you're doing with the wishing well. Now there's zero return on investment on this because a lot of people will throw a coin in or, and whatnot and ask for like a million dollars. Like that's what the average guy is. In fact, the odds are 50 to 1 that when a male throws anything into the fountain and I say anything because we're going to get into it, there's some, there's some things going in these fountains. 50 to one shot that a male is wishing for a million dollars. So they're looking to turn a penny into a million dollar payday. Well, that's, that's just not very likely. But it is pretty likely. That's what they're asking for.27 cent average coin value thrown into a wishing well. That's. Honestly, that is way higher. Like, that's, that's the one that's blowing my mind right now. Millions of dollars. One fountain alone, 1.6. I mean, I wonder. So like golf, golf courses, you know, there's people that'll hop into the pond and fish out all the golf balls that go into the bottom. And I mean, certainly the golf courses Will, you know, use those for range balls. But like, just think, do you think there's also a whole bunch of change in there? Are people using like little golf ponds as wishing wells, little wishing fountain, or does it have to be a hundred percent like made for it in order for your wish to have a shot at it? I don't know. I don't know Johnny, you didn't give me on that. I, I'm curious to know if, if golf courses, because they're, they're pretty wide open. I mean this could be a big business for people to just start, you know, start swimming, get some, get some money. I, I could. You know those people, they say like it's not just, you know, you, you don't have the homeless people standing at the end of intersections or whatever with the sign and you know, they're down hard times or whatever and they're asking for money and they say a lot of those people actually aren't homeless and this is just like their business. Like they go out there and ask for money and they'll rake in thousand dollars in a day or a weekend or something like that. Maybe this is it. Maybe this is a full on business practice for some people. They're just hopping in wells, hopping in fountains, getting pockets full of coins. I don't know. There's plenty of money out there, that's for sure. And other things, there's, here's some things that they say they found in fountains and wishing wells or something, you know, very similar. Obviously you're going to find coins. Thousands of coins from different eras and countries are found. And that's the thing, there's probably a lot of rare and collectible coins that are tossed in there unknowingly. And then when they fish them out, then they can redeem those for whatever it's worth and come out even farther ahead. I wonder if somebody not knowing throws in a very valuable coin and then wishes for something like maybe an A on a test and then an A on a test. Do you think that's something that people. Johnny, I never would have wished for an A on a test. No, I asked for like a million dollars or something. But like, you know, let's say they did. Let's say they had a very valuable coin, they threw it in, they asked for an A on the test, but their wish is actually valued much higher than the 25 cents that they, they think they threw in. Do they get the value in which they thought they were throwing it in or do they get the true up value of the coin for their wish, and they'll end up getting, like, an A on the class, you know, altogether, instead of just the test. I don't know. I'm spitballing here, but people throw in all kinds of stuff. They'll, They'll. They'll actually throw in. I joked about paper bills, you know, getting ruined in there, but people will put them in, like, Ziploc bags, and then they'll toss them in there to try to protect them. Now, that's smart, because that protects the integrity of the bill and gives you better chances of getting your wish granted. So I'm actually. I'm with you on that one. That's actually pretty smart. But people throw in jewelry sometimes. You know, maybe instead of going to the pawn shop, they'll just chuck it in there and try to get their value and. Wish I could see that there's people that, that throw phones into their smartphone, into the. Into the fountain. I honestly, I think that one isn't being done on purpose. I don't see anybody just chucking their phone in there unless they're trying to get away. You know, I see somebody having their phone thrown in there by somebody else. I could see that one. But if you're trying to stay off the grid and maybe like Jason Bornett, you know, that's where I could see. That's when I could see you throwing your smartphone in. But otherwise, I just don't see people are just too careful with their phones. I don't. I don't see that one happening. Be a lot of accidentals, that's for sure. But they'll throw in photos and try to try to wish, you know, for things for their friends and family, and I don't care for that one at all. What does that do? What's a photo? What's a photo gave value to the fountain because you got to figure you're trying to give value to the gods, to the fountain, to the wishing people, to the genies. I mean, do the genies oversee these wishing wells and fountains? That. This is pretty deep, Johnny. We didn't even begin to prep enough for this. Like, who's. Who's granting these wishes? It's. I'm starting to think there's some genies involved or, or cousins of genies or something, because who else has this kind of power to. To grant these wishes? But though people are throwing toys, which, again, I think that one's an accident. I just like, you know, kids thinking that it's all fun and games. Oh, you're throwing coins at. Yeah, Let me check my Matchbox car. Hot Wheels. Probably more appropriate than Matchbox. Some people throw animals in, you know, but that one's on purpose. Don't you think if. Yeah, you found a snake. A snake would make a lot of sense. You're not getting any damn wishes. That's where I think if you throw a snake in, you're trying to take somebody's wish. That's actually pretty sneaky. I'm actually here for that one. I like that a lot. One time. So that Trevi Fountain that I was telling you about in Rome, or wherever the hell that was, they. People have found a full bicycle sitting at the bottom of that. That. That had to be on purpose. But, I mean, that. That's. That's got to be a prank. You know, people find dentures, false teeth, things like that. That. That, again, got to be some kind of accident. But my favorite would be the, like, fake human body parts, you know, like putting mannequins and fake arms and stuff. Put it down there. Just, you know, prank it. I mean, a statue of, like, Jason Voorhees, you know, something like that, where he's, like, looking up. That's. That's a hell of a prank. I'm here for that one. Or, you know, why wouldn't we use it? Like one of those time capsules, you know, or those you put the. You roll up the note or the letter in a bottle and throw it out to sea. That would be kind of fun to do that in these wells, these wishing wells. That'd be fun, because then you never know who's gonna get it. And then, you know, you open it up and it's like, chicken butt. You know, that would be funny. That's a hell of a prank. Hopefully that has no impact on your wish or no impact negatively on you, because you're just trying to pull pranks. I would hope. I would hope, because I plan on doing one of those. I actually like the chicken butt one. But the fact that thousands of dollars in coins is being thrown into these. These major fountains every single day is just so wild. I mean, it does go to good causes. I mean, remember, most of these places are taking this money, and they're giving it away to charity. So this is actually a really good thing. And I hope the extinction of the penny does not hinder people from continuing to give. I mean, you have to give to these fountains if you were giving before, because it does appear that they do rely on this to some extent. But with that being said, if you are giving more, if Strategically, you're looking at it and going, I was giving a penny and now I'm throwing in a quarter. Well, damn it, your odds to get your wish granted certainly need to be higher. Well, there you go. That's my thoughts on the penny. I mean, a lot of people, they think of the penny going away and they're like, all right, how's this impact retail? How'? Impact, you know, the economy? How, you know, how's this going to change the way we spend and buy and blah, blah, blah, forever? And I. I instantly went to, but what about my wish? I don't know. We're all. We're all a little different, Johnny. We're all just a little different. We got another new episode coming this week, a little Friday happy hour. Ain't nothing wrong with that. It's gonna be. It's gonna be a great kickoff to the weekend. Who knows? Maybe we'll find a wishing well. Have a beer. This one's on you, Johnny. Thanks for listening.
