The World's 'Germiest' Attractions

No. 1: The Blarney Stone

The Blarney Stone is a block of bluestone built into the battlements of Blarney Castle, Blarney about 5 miles (8 km) from Cork, Ireland. According to legend, kissing the stone endows the kisser with the gift of gab (great eloquence or skill at flattery). The stone was set into a tower of the castle in 1446. The castle is a popular tourist site in Ireland, attracting visitors from all over the world to kiss the Stone and tour the castle and its gardens.



No. 2: Seattle's Gum Wall

This is the box office window and entrance to the Market Theater. You are not going to believe the "ew" factor of this tradition that has become a living art installation sought out by photographers the city over. The Market Theater in Post Alley at Pike Place Public Market has given up cleaning the gum it's patrons began sticking to the alley's brick wall while they were waiting in line. It's a habit that has stuck. Originally coins were pressed into the colorful gum blobs. Some people still affix a penny, but those quickly disappear. After two complete removals and cleanings, they realized the futility of trying to keep the gum off. It is now become a de facto public art installation, and a participatory one that grows daily





No. 3: Oscar Wilde's Tomb
It's a tradition to kiss the tomb of the Irish author and playwright, leaving lipstick on the characteristically subdued, modest monument.


No. 4: Piazza San Marco, Venice
Piazza San Marco is the principal square of Venice, Italy.
Pigeons, a.k.a. flying rats, rule the roost in Venice's legendary town square.





No. 5: Handprints at Grauman's Chinese Theater, Hollywood
Grauman's Chinese Theatre is a movie theater located at 6925 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood.
here are nearly 200 Hollywood celebrity handprints, footprints, and autographs in the concrete of the theater's forecourt.




No. 6:Karni Mata Rat Temple, India
Karni Mata Temple, 30 miles south of Bikaner in Deshnoke, is one of the strangest holy spots in India
Not only the mother goddess but well fed rats (called kabas) reside here and receive homage. The high priests have gone to great length to protect the rats whose bodies are believed to house the souls of Karni Mata's departed devotees



No. 7: Szechenyi Thermal Baths, Budapest
In Hungary, people spend all day soaking in the hot waters of this enormous bathing complex -- in essence, taking a bath with thousands of complete strangers.





No. 8: Friendly Monkey Valley, Everland Amusement Park, South Korea
Sorry, but does it really matter if these monkeys are friendly?


No. 9:Glastonbury Festival, England
Every summer, hundreds of thousands of hygiene -challenged music fans converge on Worthy Farm, near Glastonbury, England, for several days of dancing, partying, and (more often than not) acres and acres of filth.


No. 10:Any Children's Ball Pit
A ball pit (also known as a ball pool or ball pond) is a pit, usually rectangular and padded, filled with small (generally no larger than a baseball) colorful hollow plastic balls. It is typically employed as a recreation and exercise for small children



No. 11:Disaster Emeritus: CBGB's Bathroom
While the stage at the legendary music venue on Manhattan's Bowery featured acts like Blondie, Talking Heads, Television, the Ramones, Youth of Today, Bad Brains -- need we go on? -- the club's dank, graffitied, sticky-floored bathroom welcomed generations of anonymous punks (most of whom had awful aim). CBGB closed its doors in 2006, but legend has it the bathroom walked away of its own accord.