Before You Toss That Coin For Good Luck . . . .

The next time you get the urge to toss a coin into a lake, river, stream or even the fountain in your neighborhood for 'good luck', resist it for your good fortune may not be so good for the recipient of the foreign object.

Not convinced? You will be when you see what the impact of years of coin tossing has done to the Morning Glory - A natural hot spring in North America's Yellowstone National Park.

Once regarded as one of the prettiest and most prominent pools in the park, Morning Glory was named after the beautiful blue flower, because believe it or not, just a few decades ago, it used to be a pristine blue. Its distinct color was attributed to thermophilic bacteria that thrived in the pool's hot water. However, today it is a mix of yellow, green and a little of the original blue.

While it may appear to be more colorful, the reason for the color change is not good. Over the years, the thoughtless tossing of coins, stones, rocks and even bottles, has blocked the pool's thermal vents. As a result, the temperature of the pool has cooled down considerably, which in turn killed the bacteria that thrived in the hot water, causing the bright blue hue to fade.

Now, different kinds of algae and bacteria have taken over, resulting in the current rainbow of colors. Experts believe that the yellow bacteria are taking over so rapidly that in a few years, the entire pool will a sickly orange in color.

Though the authorities have tried to remove the offensive items, they have not had much success in restoring the pool to its original glory. To prevent further damage, they have fenced off the lake, so that tourists can not go too near it and also placed a sign pleading them not to turn this Morning Glory into a 'Faded Glory''. So, the next time you are thinking of tossing that coin - think twice!

Resources: Wikipedia.org, Urbantitan.com,Dailymail.co.uk