Edinburgh, Scotland: David Hume's Statue

There are a couple of oddities about the statue of Scottish philosopher David Hume, which is located on the Royal Mile in Edinburgh. Hume was an all-around smart guy in the 1700s, who thought about economics, history and writing. He was born in Edinburgh, and died there. 

It's fitting then that he should have a statue in a place of honor. But let's move on to the toe. Students came up with the idea that rubbing the toe of the statue would bring them good luck. So they did so, over and over again, and it caught on. The toe has been touched so much that it shines - clearly different than the rest of the monument.

Here's the tough part: Hume is shown wearing robes that would be appropriate for an ancient Greek. The problem was that he wasn't Greek, and he wasn't born a few thousand years ago. A quick search for answers about this one comes up with nothing. So we'll have to be satisfied that he was an important figure in Scottish history. 

Just know that he wasn't exactly a "liberal" when it came to race relations, once saying, "I am apt to suspect the negroes to be naturally inferior to whites. There was never a civilized nation of any other complexion than white, nor even any individual eminent in action or speculation."