From context, I'm guessing this isn't a normal thing everywhere

The Picard Maneuver@startrek.website to Memes@sopuli.xyz – 135 points –
8

There is a tradition of throwing coins into the Trevi fountain in Rome to bring you back to Rome someday.Trafalgar Square has a fountain with a bunch of coins in it.

This isn't a strictly American thing. In fact it probably came from the old Celtic ritual of throwing valuables into water as an offering for the gods/ancestors. So it didn't even start in America. Like most other things we imported it and then became annoyingly extra about it.

Meanwhile old Chinese ladies are throwing coins into jet engines for good luck.