The ubiqituous, and annoying, love padlock on the bridge

When I was in Würzburg, I saw what has become a very common sight on bridges in Europe:

These are "love padlocks." Couples often scratch initials or words into them; some were even professionally engraved, with things such as their names or cheesy messages. This is a sign of the couple's love; they're "locked" together in love.

I personally think it's very childish. It kind of reminds me of the whole friendship necklace thing. Sure, that's cool...when you're 8. Plus, this just looks ugly and it damages bridges. It reminds me of people who carve their initials into trees. I loathe that even more; why damage/weaken a perfectly good tree?! UGH! It's a very selfish thing to do, and again, it's childish.