Ireland's Blarney Stone's Unlikely Origin - Apparently.
The Blarney Stone, a famous Irish landmark, was not always a revered national treasure. In fact, it was initially a rather mundane medieval castle feature, a "chessboard" patterned stone slab, placed in a corner of Blarney Castle. It wasn't until the 19th century that it gained its romanticized status as a "cure for the gift of gab" when it was allegedly kissed by a local poet, and subsequently became a popular tourist attraction. The Blarney Stone is now a 14th-century limestone slab set in the castle's battlements.