EDINBURGH, Scotland, Dec. 29 (UPI) -- The big toe of a statue in Scotland honoring philosopher David Hume has become a regular destination for people seeking instant insights.

The 9-foot tall statue that resides in the Scottish capital of Edinburgh is a touchstone for students and children seeking knowledge or philosophical enlightenment over the years, the Scotsman reported.

Sandy Stoddart, the sculptor who created the piece, said Hume would likely not condone the superstitious practice. He said the practice, however, is likely to last well into the future.

"The great thing is that it's so ironic that David Hume, who is the patron saint of all the atheists, should now have his toe adored," Stoddart said.

"We are seeing the birth of an ancient tradition with this toe rubbing," he added. "What we are seeing is the future -- they will be doing this 100 years from now."

Hume's statue may now be added to a short list of worldwide statues used for superstition -- such as George Mason University's statue to its namesake and a London sculpture of Winston Churchill -- the newspaper said.

Germany offers cash for having children

HAMBURG, Germany, Dec. 29 (UPI) -- Pregnant women in Germany who are due any day now might be hoping their children arrive on or after Jan. 1, 2007, so they can collect up to $33,000.

The government is offering the baby bonuses in the hope that German women will have more children to stabilize the country's dwindling birth rate, the BBC reported.

German women have an average of 1.37 children. An average of 2.1 is needed to keep a population stable.

One of the country's ministers recently spoke about "the lights going out."

Parents of babies born after the first of they year will be eligible to receive up to $33,300 to ease the financial burden of parenthood.

Those born even one minute before Jan. 1 will not be eligible for the cash.

Former nuclear site may become museum

COOPERSTOWN, N.D., Dec. 29 (UPI) -- A site in North Dakota that housed nuclear warheads during the Cold War may have a second life -- as a museum.

Standing in the way of that transformation is a new one-year deadline against the State Historical Society of North Dakota to raise the $1 million necessary to fund the project, USA Today reported.

If the group cannot raise the funds by Dec. 31, 2007, the U.S. Air Force will dismantle the last of the nuclear facilities in North Dakota.

To reach its financial ends, a federal program entitled Save America's Treasures has received a $250,000 grant, and with the North Dakota Legislature possibly matching those funds, the group would be halfway to its final goal.

The paper said that among the memorabilia that would be featured at the site -- named Oscar Zero -- are a round escape hatch, electronic consoles and the red box that once held the site's launch keys.

Anxiety relief in the hands of husbands

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va., Dec. 29 (UPI) -- A University of Virginia study found that married women experience less anxiety during stressful events when they hold hands with their husbands.

The study, published in the journal Psychological Science, involved 16 married women. They were shown pictures of a red X, which carried with it a 20 percent chance of mild electric shock, and a blue O, which carried no chance of shock, the Washington Post (NYSE:WPO) reported.

Each woman alternately held the hand of her husband, a stranger or faced the pictures solo.

The researchers found that while holding any hand had a calming effect on the women, only the hands of the husbands affected the parts of the brain responsible for worrying.

"Holding any hand at all calms regions of the brain that are responsible for the body's physical stress response," James Coan, the study's lead author and a neuroscientist at the University of Virginia told the Post. "But only the spousal hand affected regions of the brain that are responsible for worrying ... This is the region which is thought to be associated with your experience of pain."