The big toe of this towering monument to Croatian national hero Gregory of Nin is worn from years of superstitious rubbing. Croatians are taught from an early age that rubbing Gregory’s big toe will grant them their wish, and he has been credited with births, weddings, and riches.

Local tradition dictates that the touch of David Hume’s toe will bring good luck, though the practice ironically defies the philosopher’s vehement rejection of superstition. Since 1997, when the public statue was erected at the top of Edinburgh's Royal Mile, it’s become an international point of interest for handsy passersby.

As the president with arguably the most monuments, tributes, statues, and memorials in American history, it is no surprise that Abraham Lincoln's Tomb is a grand piece of work. What is a bit surprising however is the odd compulsion to rub the 16th president's nose for good luck that seems to come over visitors to his gravesite.

Inside Hagia Sophia, there’s a column where tourists perform an unusual ritual. They make a wish and stick a thumb into a hole within the structure, then attempt to rotate the finger in a perfect circle. Supposedly, if their finger gets wet, it means their wish will be fulfilled or their illnesses will be healed. The modest pole would go unnoticed, if not for the crowds of people attempting to jam their fingers into its small opening.

The Mermaid of Ustka is said to grant a wish and a half to anybody that touches the statue's left breast. Why a wish and a half? Touching a golden fish grants you three wishes. A mermaid is half a fish. Following that logic, touching the mermaid grants you a wish and a half.

In the center of Philadelphia's venerable Reading Terminal Market is a three-foot-tall, 225-pound pig. But this is no ordinary hog. This beloved marketplace mascot poops money and is said to grant good luck when you rub his sount.

The snout of this bronze boar outside the Mercato Nuovo in Florence has been rubbed to a golden sheen by visitors seeking good fortune.

Among the many pieces of elaborate historical architecture and decoration in Mons, the so-called Guardhouse Monkey may be the most mysterious. Located just outside the entrance of the Mons city hall, the metal simian has been a fixture of the city for several centuries, yet no one is quite sure where the little rascal came from. Locals insist that rubbing the monkey's head will provide good luck and possibly even grant wishes.

For over three centuries, this small stone owl carved into a corner of the oldest church in Dijon, France has had a big job: granting wishes to all who reach up and stroke his face. This is the Owl of Notre Dame de Dijon, the city’s symbol and unofficial talisman. The carving sits about six feet off the ground on an otherwise unremarkable corner of the church. Tradition holds that if you touch him with your left hand and make a wish, it will come true.

On the front gate, the sarcophagus, and the walls of Cappella Colleoni in Bergamo, you can see the coat of arms of the Colleoni family, which consists of three testicles. Colleoni’s coat of arms must have caught people’s imagination, as it was—and perhaps still is—commonly believed that it would be auspicious to touch the three testicles on Colleoni’s coat of arms.