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00:00:00The Moai statues have been standing tall and proud for hundreds of years.
00:00:05Once people put an enormous effort into carving these grand sculptures, and then they just
00:00:10suddenly stopped making them.
00:00:12But why?
00:00:13Let's figure out this mystery.
00:00:15Easter Island, located 2,500 miles east of Tahiti, has an area of 63 square miles.
00:00:23To this day, it's one of the most isolated islands in the world.
00:00:27Once it was covered with forests, filled with different trees and ferns.
00:00:31But when the first humans came to the island around 400 CE, the forest slowly began to
00:00:39disappear.
00:00:42And starting from 1250 CE, Moai statues began appearing all over the place.
00:00:48People made them from different types of rock, compressed volcanic ash, basalt, trachyte,
00:00:54and red scoria.
00:00:56Because it's a volcanic island, these were all the ingredients the creators of the statues
00:01:00had to use.
00:01:01And once the builders completed their work, they covered the statues with pumice.
00:01:06The faces of the statues are different, but they all have distinct expressions with heavy
00:01:11brows and large noses.
00:01:13Their arms are carved into the body.
00:01:15Some have hats on top of their heads.
00:01:18There are nearly 900 statues all over the island.
00:01:21They differ in size.
00:01:23The average height is 13 feet tall, and the largest ones reach 33 feet in height and weigh
00:01:28up to 82 tons.
00:01:30Because the statues have so many different faces, there are theories that they represent
00:01:35and honor ancestors, chiefs, and other important people who lived on the island.
00:01:40But without any clear evidence, it's almost impossible to figure out the true purpose
00:01:45of the Moai.
00:01:46Once they stood beautifully along the coast, watching over people in settlements.
00:01:51And their backs faced toward the spirit world of the sea.
00:01:55When Europeans first discovered the Moai statues in the 1700s, many of them had already toppled
00:02:00over.
00:02:01And the construction of statues had stopped way earlier than that.
00:02:05Huge amounts of effort were put into making these things.
00:02:08Expert craftspeople spent a great deal of time slowly carving the statues with basic
00:02:13picks.
00:02:14A team of up to 6 people would work hard for an entire year to make just one statue.
00:02:20In addition, they often had to transport it to its special place on the island, as far
00:02:24as 11 miles.
00:02:26With the help of carbon dating, experts have managed to figure out that the statues started
00:02:31to appear in 1250 CE.
00:02:34And then, suddenly, in 1500 CE or so, the process just stopped.
00:02:40The creators of the statue just left their stone chisels where they were last used.
00:02:44And only a quarter of all the statues were actually placed where they were supposed to
00:02:48be.
00:02:50Half of them still remained in the quarry, while others were left on the ground mid-transit.
00:02:55Something happened on the island, and it caused everyone to just lose interest in the statues.
00:03:00There are many theories around why it could happen, and they mostly relate to deforestation.
00:03:06Islanders may have used wood to move the statues across the island.
00:03:10They possibly did this with the help of sleds and ropes, or even used logs to roll the statues
00:03:15or canoes to float them.
00:03:17The wood started to deplete eventually.
00:03:20Trees on the island took very long to grow, and rats ate most seeds.
00:03:25People had many uses for wood, and they needed it not only for practical things, but also
00:03:30to create other statues.
00:03:32Another reason why the inhabitants of the island could have stopped building the statues
00:03:36might be that they were busy with other projects.
00:03:40Specialized rock gardens were becoming more common with a growing population.
00:03:43They were great for the soil, keeping it warm and fertilizing it at the same time.
00:03:49Islanders spent much time and effort making these rock gardens, and there simply wasn't
00:03:53enough time to focus on building and moving the statues.
00:03:57Another theory suggests that what people believed in changed over time.
00:04:01Supposedly, the islands once saw the statues as a connection to their ancestors.
00:04:06After some time, though, rituals depicting a show of strength and endurance became more
00:04:11widespread.
00:04:12And with these rituals, islanders started to carve images related to seabirds.
00:04:18Seabirds became the main animal on the island.
00:04:21People started to believe that their ancestors looked over them through birds instead of
00:04:25the statues.
00:04:26So, there was no longer a reason to build the Moai.
00:04:30Anyway, these theories might be true.
00:04:33But the main problem was that the small island couldn't support a growing population.
00:04:38What was once a lush land covered in forests quickly became a barren landscape.
00:04:44For the first few centuries, people relied on forest resources.
00:04:48But agriculture became more important sometime after 1550, when forests disappeared.
00:04:54Tribes that once worked together to build the fantastic monoliths focused on competing
00:04:58against one another instead.
00:05:01During this struggle for land and resources, the Moai statues were toppled over because
00:05:05people wanted to reduce their significance.
00:05:08Over the following centuries, all the statues were pushed over, but not all of them deliberately.
00:05:14Many fell naturally after being neglected for so long.
00:05:18Some even ended up in the ocean waters surrounding the island.
00:05:21And there they sat for a while.
00:05:23But there was some good news for these statues.
00:05:26They were re-erected, providing a great experience for visitors from all over the world.
00:05:31If you make a journey all the way to this isolated island, the first question you'll
00:05:35probably ask will not be how the statues were made or how they were moved.
00:05:40It will be, how on Earth did anyone even make it here in the first place?
00:05:45It was one of the most amazing feats ever.
00:05:48The Polynesians sure did some pretty extraordinary things.
00:05:51From as early as 1500 BCE, these boat-faring people began to explore their world.
00:05:57They used the most advanced marine inventions of their time.
00:06:01They sailed across the ocean in catamarans and outrigger boats, starting in Southeast
00:06:06Asia and inhabiting many more places throughout the Pacific.
00:06:10They lived as far north as Hawaii in 900 BCE, and all the way to the south in New Zealand
00:06:15by 1200 BCE.
00:06:18And the farthest journey to the east was, of course, Easter Island.
00:06:22In only a few hundred years, these early sailors inhabited an area of thousands of square miles.
00:06:28They simply memorized where they had already been and, this way, managed to navigate the
00:06:34ocean.
00:06:35They used a wide range of techniques.
00:06:37They watched the sun as it rose and set during the day.
00:06:40Stars helped them at night.
00:06:42If it was overcast, and sailors couldn't figure out direction visually, they used other
00:06:46brilliant methods.
00:06:48They watched the movements of ocean currents and wave patterns, and paid attention to bioluminescence
00:06:53in the water.
00:06:54These patterns helped them find where specific islands were located.
00:06:58These seafarers even understood how islands and atolls in the distance caused air and
00:07:03sea interference patterns.
00:07:05Birds provided them with certain signs, too.
00:07:08Some of them migrated long distances from one island to another, which gave travelers
00:07:13some kind of a visual connection for their route.
00:07:16Other types of birds had specific feeding times.
00:07:19Sailors knew when and where they hunted and directed their boats depending on where these
00:07:23birds fed.
00:07:25Polynesians certainly get way too much credit for their seafaring abilities.
00:07:29Where they used a sun compass, the early Polynesians relied purely on the knowledge of how nature
00:07:34itself could guide them.
00:07:36Their skills were so advanced that in 1769, Captain James Cook, an English explorer, even
00:07:43hired a Polynesian navigator because of his extensive knowledge of the seas.
00:07:48But even more surprising was the fact that he drew a map from memory.
00:07:52It covered an area that was 2,000 miles wide.
00:07:56In this region, there were 130 islands, and the navigator knew 74 of those islands by
00:08:02name.
00:08:03At the beginning of their voyage, Captain Cook often disregarded the navigator's advice.
00:08:08But toward the end of their journey, he was very impressed.
00:08:12He also recognized the Polynesians as possibly the most widespread nation on Earth.
00:08:17This summer, you finally decide to go on that once-in-a-lifetime round-the-world trip.
00:08:22The first stop of this exciting adventure is in Europe.
00:08:26You start your journey in Italy, the country of pasta and pizza and delicious gelato.
00:08:32Ah, there it is, the world-renowned Leaning Tower of Pisa.
00:08:37You buy your ticket and get inside the crooked monument.
00:08:40You're about to climb 251 slippery stairs, so watch your step and don't forget to breathe!
00:08:47The white marble stones are astounding, and from time to time, you peep outside to enjoy
00:08:52the view of the city.
00:08:54Congratulations, you've made it!
00:08:56You've reached the top of the bell tower and can take all the selfies you want.
00:09:00The Leaning Tower of Pisa is one of Italy's most iconic landmarks.
00:09:05During your hike up the stairs, a guide tells you it's actually a medieval monument.
00:09:10It was built between the 12th and 14th centuries, taking over 200 years to finish.
00:09:16And in case you're wondering if it's always been tilted, I can say without a doubt, yes
00:09:21it has.
00:09:22Once they finished the third floor, the bell tower started sinking.
00:09:26The thing is, the very name Pisa comes from the Greek word that means marshy land.
00:09:32The ground there is extremely soft, made of clay, mud, and sand.
00:09:37And architects have been trying to save the day ever since they built the tower.
00:09:41At the top of the 185-foot-tall monument, you take your time admiring the city.
00:09:47How many terracotta rooftops can you count?
00:09:50If you walk toward the south side of the monument, you may feel closer to the ground.
00:09:55This is because the Leaning Tower of Pisa tilts toward the south.
00:09:59At one point, it leaned almost 5.5 degrees and still didn't fall.
00:10:04Today, when you visit the monument, the guide might tell you the tower is leaning less.
00:10:09A few years ago, the world's best architects and engineers did some construction works
00:10:14next to the monument to keep it from falling over.
00:10:17They dug several tunnels and took out over 38 cubic meters of soil from under the north
00:10:23side of the tower.
00:10:24So now the tower is tilting at an angle of only 4 degrees.
00:10:28So if you want to take one of those classic photos where you're holding up the tower,
00:10:33you better hurry.
00:10:34Who knows how long the tower will still be leaning?
00:10:38Now it's time for you to make your way to Rome.
00:10:41This city is basically an open-air museum, and you have to check it out for yourself.
00:10:46It's scalding hot, but you're lucky.
00:10:48Today you're visiting the Baths of Caracalla.
00:10:51Are you ready for an authentic ancient Roman experience?
00:10:55You enter through what once was a locker room.
00:10:57You'll have to use your imagination.
00:11:00Today you'll only see 130-foot-tall brick walls here.
00:11:05Romans of every class would spend an hour or two in the baths every day.
00:11:10They would come after a long day at work or before dinner.
00:11:13Imperial bath complexes, such as this one, were usually free, but you had to pay an admission
00:11:19fee.
00:11:20Leaving the locker room, visitors would stop in a heated room where they would receive
00:11:25oil and scrub massage.
00:11:27Then some people would move on to one of two exercise yards.
00:11:31Can you see how ample they were?
00:11:34Here there were elaborate marble porticos, and you can still see a few fragments of the
00:11:39mosaic-colored floor.
00:11:41If you were in the mood for something more intellectual, you could stop to listen to
00:11:45a philosopher or visit one of the libraries.
00:11:48Now we've arrived at the most impressive room – a calderium.
00:11:52It was a circular hot-steamed room measuring 115 feet in diameter.
00:11:57It had not one or two, but seven heated pools inside.
00:12:02Above your head, you'd have seen a magnificent dome supported by large granite columns.
00:12:08The entire structure was richly decorated with multicolored glass mosaics and the finest
00:12:13white marble.
00:12:15The complex also housed an indoor Olympic-sized pool with wasty water.
00:12:20Today, you can only admire a few reddish walls made of brick and concrete.
00:12:26Emperor Caracalla, like many other Roman emperors, built a mega-complex, and it sure made people
00:12:32happy!
00:12:33After a long international flight, you arrive in Egypt.
00:12:37Get ready for some camel rides and juicy dried fruits.
00:12:41Does anyone here love dates?
00:12:43You leave your hotel at dawn and make your way to the outskirts of Cairo.
00:12:48You drive past the Nile River toward the West Bank.
00:12:51Don't forget to take some pictures!
00:12:53In the distance, you spot a large monument.
00:12:56It's the Great Sphinx of Giza.
00:12:58Can you believe people created this monument over 4,500 years ago?
00:13:04As you get closer, you see the Great Pyramids just north of the Sphinx.
00:13:08You learn that, unlike the pyramids, the Sphinx was carved directly from the bedrock of the
00:13:13Giza Plateau.
00:13:14Until today, it's one of the largest statues in the world, measuring 66 feet in height
00:13:20and 240 feet in length from paws to tail.
00:13:24The face of the Sphinx looks a tad beaten today.
00:13:27But according to archaeologists, it wasn't always like that.
00:13:31A Photoshop reconstruction of the Sphinx gives it a very different look.
00:13:35As you can see, at one point, the Sphinx's nose was chopped off together with parts of
00:13:40the chin.
00:13:42Scientists believe that the statue is a representation of the great pharaoh Khafre.
00:13:46This is why its face resembles a human so much.
00:13:50Just below the eyes, a dark carved line was added to represent the charcoal eyeliner ancient
00:13:56Egyptians used to wear.
00:13:58In fact, this wasn't only a beauty habit.
00:14:01It protected their eyes from ultraviolet rays.
00:14:04In a desert region that gets so much sunlight, this might come in handy.
00:14:09Until today, researchers debate whether or not the Sphinx had a beard.
00:14:13Many believe that, if it was meant to depict a pharaoh, it most likely had a braided beard
00:14:18that got destroyed by erosion or humans.
00:14:22Even today, you can still see the remains of a regal headdress on the head of the Sphinx.
00:14:27These head ornaments were associated with power and royalty.
00:14:31Now imagine that the stripes are blue and gold.
00:14:35This is probably what it looked like when the monument was first constructed.
00:14:39There's no evidence of how long it took to build the Sphinx, but it was likely very long,
00:14:44as the carved details are pretty impressive.
00:14:47If you're lucky, your guide might take you to one of the secret chambers inside the statue.
00:14:53If they're real and not just a myth, I mean.
00:14:56Ah, the crystalline waters of Greece.
00:14:59Whether you arrive by boat or plane, you're in for a real treat.
00:15:04This is the focal point of archaeological sites.
00:15:06You arrive at Mandraki Marina and Port, but wait a minute, you don't see any monuments
00:15:12around.
00:15:13The Colossus of Rhodes is nowhere to be found at first glance.
00:15:17That's because it was destroyed long, long ago.
00:15:20Before tumbling down during a mighty earthquake, the great statue was considered one of the
00:15:25seven wonders of the ancient world.
00:15:28If you saw the Colossus in a picture, you would probably mistake it for Lady Liberty.
00:15:33Well, that's actually not a coincidence.
00:15:36Apparently, there's a connection between the Statue of Rhodes and the Statue of Liberty.
00:15:41They were both built as symbols of freedom, and Lady Liberty is often referred to as the
00:15:46modern Colossus.
00:15:48The Colossus stood at 100 feet tall, but today all you see is a concrete jetty with a huge
00:15:54gap in the middle.
00:15:56Now imagine a bronze statue straddling both ends of the bridge.
00:16:00The Colossus was built back in the 3rd century BCE, and 900 camels took part in the construction.
00:16:08The statue existed for approximately 54 years before it was ruined by a powerful earthquake.
00:16:14It hit the city so hard that all that was left of the statue was one very large foot.
00:16:20Even so, people kept visiting the monument.
00:16:23Are you ready to head home?
00:16:25Thanks for joining me on this journey, and don't forget to tell me what your favorite
00:16:29site was!
00:16:30See you next time!
00:16:39The Great Pyramid was created as the final resting place of ancient Egyptian monarch
00:16:44Khufu.
00:16:46According to legend, French leader Napoleon entered the Great Pyramid and came back out
00:16:51looking shaken and super pale.
00:16:53He never revealed what he saw inside, but whatever it was is said to have affected him
00:16:58for the rest of his life.
00:17:00When Napoleon entered the pyramid, he would have walked through a super tight and ascending
00:17:05passageway.
00:17:06He'd then go through another passageway, known as the Great Chamber.
00:17:10This corridor would have been much taller than the previous one, and would have cobbles
00:17:15too.
00:17:16He'd then reach the King's Chamber, the centerpiece of the Great Pyramid, which was lined with
00:17:21huge blocks of granite.
00:17:23And it wouldn't have looked as grand as we might imagine.
00:17:26There are no hieroglyphics decorating its walls, as Egyptians only began decorating
00:17:30the burial chambers of pyramids much later on.
00:17:34The pharaoh's tombs deep inside the pyramid would have also been filled with treasures,
00:17:39from chunks of gold to the world's most expensive jewelry.
00:17:43But this would have all been looted a long time ago.
00:17:46The only thing that probably would have been left in there would have been a huge sarcophagus,
00:17:51which would have once contained the King's mummy.
00:17:54He'd also have to walk past the Queen's Chamber.
00:17:57This room most likely didn't hold any queens though, as pyramids were usually only built
00:18:02for one person.
00:18:03There are mysterious tunnels leading from here.
00:18:06To this day, no one is really sure what they're there for.
00:18:10And that's not the only mysterious and creepy thing Napoleon may have encountered, as stories
00:18:15of pharaohs leaving ancient curses on pyramids go way back.
00:18:20Many pyramids had warnings written on the outside, telling of horrifying things that
00:18:25would happen to those who entered and disturbed the peace.
00:18:29We might not know what exactly Napoleon found in the Great Pyramid that scared him so much,
00:18:34but we know for sure what was found in Tutankhamen's tomb.
00:18:38Tutankhamen was an ancient Egyptian pharaoh who was only eight or nine years old when
00:18:43he took to the throne.
00:18:44He became a cultural phenomenon when his tomb was discovered almost completely intact in
00:18:491922.
00:18:50His pyramid sits in the Valley of Kings in Thebes, modern Luxor, which is in Egypt.
00:18:57Unlike the Great Pyramid, Tutankhamen's tomb was covered in beautiful wall decorations.
00:19:03The walls told the story of how he would travel to the afterlife through the underworld.
00:19:08Egyptians believed all people would have to take this journey, so they would fill their
00:19:11tombs with objects and paintings to help them get there.
00:19:15There'd also be spells painted on the walls.
00:19:18They believed this would help people pass over to the next realm.
00:19:22The journey would be pretty long, and for that reason, the ancient Egyptians would also
00:19:26fill the pyramids with food.
00:19:29Tutankhamen's pyramid was filled with eight fruit baskets.
00:19:33They even found something called gingerbread fruit in there.
00:19:36The rooms were jam-packed with furniture, statues, clothes, and staffs, amongst a whole
00:19:41bunch of other things.
00:19:43You'd likely find a lot of clothes and expensive jewelry in the pyramids as well.
00:19:48The ancient Egyptians wanted their ancestors to travel in style to the afterlife.
00:19:53They put Tutankhamen in his final resting place, with over 50 pieces of clothing, all
00:19:58of the highest quality.
00:20:00There were tunics, scarves, gloves and headdresses, and a ton of jewelry.
00:20:04Bracelets, pennants, necklaces, rings, and scarabs for protection were all found inside.
00:20:11Each of them was made of gold or precious stones.
00:20:14There were also fans made of ostrich feathers to keep the old pharaoh cool in the hot Egyptian
00:20:20sun.
00:20:21But the temperature inside the pyramids never actually went above 68 degrees Fahrenheit.
00:20:26The ancient Egyptians developed a super cool air conditioning system that we don't fully
00:20:31understand even today.
00:20:33Tutankhamen's pyramid also contained 130 walking sticks made from ebony, ivory, silver, and
00:20:40gold to help him on his journey.
00:20:43There were three chariots hidden away in case he got tired of all the walking.
00:20:47They also put 11 boat paddles inside, but there was no sign of any boat.
00:20:52The pyramids would be littered with the pharaoh's favorite scents and perfumes.
00:20:57During the excavation of Tutankhamen's pyramid, it quickly became clear that it had been robbed
00:21:02during ancient times.
00:21:04There was damage to doors and traces of oils left in empty jars.
00:21:09It looks like someone raided the pyramid for gold and the scents, perfumes, and oils that
00:21:14had been left for King Tut.
00:21:16There was still a bit of perfume, which was made from coconut oil and frankincense, left
00:21:21in one bottle.
00:21:22It seems like Pharaoh Tutankhamen loved board games.
00:21:26There was an ivory traveling set of Senet in his pyramid.
00:21:30Although we don't know for sure exactly how to play it, we have figured out it was sort
00:21:34of an ancient Egyptian version of backgammon.
00:21:37It looks like it was a two-player game where the goal was to knock your opponent off the
00:21:41board.
00:21:42I'm not really sure who Tutankhamen's mummy was supposed to play with, though.
00:21:46The ancient Egyptians had some rituals that may seem pretty strange to us.
00:21:51For example, they used to shave their eyebrows off if they ever lost a cat.
00:21:56So it's not too surprising they put some really weird things inside pyramids.
00:22:01Archaeologists discovered a collection of mummified cats and scarab beetles in pyramids
00:22:06that date back more than 4,000 years.
00:22:09They were found in the pyramids of Saqqara, which is south of Cairo.
00:22:13They also found a bunch of makeup kits and mirrors inside.
00:22:17Makeup was worn proudly by both men and women in ancient Egyptian times.
00:22:21Eyeliner was the most popular cosmetic.
00:22:25The Rosetta Stone was one of the best discoveries ever made in pyramids.
00:22:29It was found by our man Napoleon Bonaparte and his team.
00:22:33It's a black granite rock that dates back to 196 BCE.
00:22:38It's transcribed in Greek, Demotic, and Hieroglyphic.
00:22:42When it was translated in 1822, we got the key to understanding ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics
00:22:48for the very first time.
00:22:50The discovery of Queen Hatshepsut's mummy in 1903 changed our understanding of the Egyptians
00:22:56forever.
00:22:58After she had passed away, her successor, Sutmousi III, removed most of the evidence
00:23:03of her reign, so we basically knew nothing about Egypt's first great female leader.
00:23:08She's now gone on to become one of the few and most famous female pharaohs of Egypt.
00:23:14Pharaoh Khufu even had a fully-fledged boat in his pyramid.
00:23:19Scientists uncovered more than 1,200 pieces of a giant boat near the Great Pyramid at
00:23:23Giza.
00:23:24They reassembled the boat, and it's a whopping 144 feet long.
00:23:29It's most likely a solar boat, which was designed to carry the resurrected king with the deity
00:23:34Ra.
00:23:35Fun fact, the Pyramid of Giza is the last remaining of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient
00:23:41World.
00:23:42The other six are the Hanging Gardens, the Colossus, the Temple of Artemis, the Mausoleum,
00:23:48the Lighthouse, and the Statue of Zeus.
00:23:51This pyramid was also the world's tallest man-made structure for 3,800 years, and it's
00:23:56the biggest pyramid in Egypt.
00:23:58It took a staggering 2.3 million blocks of limestone, and some weighed as much as 80
00:24:04tons.
00:24:05It took an incredible 100,000 laborers and a whopping 23 years to build.
00:24:11Its original height was a mega-480 feet.
00:24:14In 2017, archaeologists discovered something weird about Egypt's Great Pyramid.
00:24:21There's a hidden void that's at least 100 feet long, and no one really knows why it's
00:24:25there or what's actually inside it.
00:24:28The weird void is the first inner structure discovered within the 4,500-year-old pyramid
00:24:34since the 1800s.
00:24:36Scientists used cosmic rays to detect the massive hole, but are still no closer today
00:24:41to finding out what's inside.
00:24:43The ancient Egyptians took a lot of care building the pyramids, and everything was strategically
00:24:48placed and structurally sound, so it's super unlikely that this hole is due to blocks falling
00:24:53over time.
00:24:55Loads of pyramids also contain small model figurines called ushabti.
00:25:00These represented attendants.
00:25:02They believed they would come to life to serve the pharaohs in the afterlife.
00:25:07But it's amazing that all this stuff actually fit inside.
00:25:10There isn't actually a huge amount of space inside the structures.
00:25:13It's mostly just rock.
00:25:18Everyone loves a good landmark.
00:25:20The Roman Colosseum.
00:25:21The ancient city of Machu Picchu.
00:25:23The Giza Pyramids.
00:25:25But have you ever wondered how it once looked?
00:25:27Way back in the days when they were built?
00:25:29Or even in the time they were covered in ivy and forgotten by humanity?
00:25:34Buckle up, cause we're heading on a time travel adventure to the world's greatest archaeological
00:25:39sites.
00:25:41Our voyage begins in South America, deep inside the Peruvian mountains.
00:25:46Behold, the city of Machu Picchu.
00:25:49Machu Picchu is a monument to the ingenuity and power of the Inca civilization.
00:25:55During its prime, the Inca civilization stretched 2,500 miles along South America's coastline
00:26:01from modern-day Ecuador all the way down to Chile.
00:26:04And Machu Picchu was located at the heart and center of it.
00:26:08The historic site was constructed at around 7,000 feet above sea level.
00:26:12More or less around 1450 BCE.
00:26:16The gated city consisted of around 150 buildings made of stone.
00:26:20The Incas managed to build temples, houses, and even a complex aqueduct system to irrigate
00:26:26the entire town.
00:26:28And yes, they did all that without the help of wheels or any instrument made of iron.
00:26:33The housing model is somewhat similar to stone houses we see nowadays, with the difference
00:26:38that the Incas didn't use any cement to stick together the blocks of stone.
00:26:43Yet, they fit seamlessly on top of each other.
00:26:47Not only that, the Incas must have developed a rudimentary yet effective anti-earthquake
00:26:52technology, since in the event of a quake, the rocks would shake without falling out
00:26:57of place.
00:26:58If Machu Picchu had been built today, it would have cost over $70 million to finish the entire
00:27:04thing.
00:27:05The purpose of the site is still a mystery to many historians.
00:27:08Theories suggest that it could have been built as a ceremonial site, a safety base for the
00:27:13Inca people, or even a retreat for royalty.
00:27:17What we know for a fact is that in the 16th century, 100 years after Machu Picchu was
00:27:22built, its population abandoned it, with tree roots taking over the majority of the site
00:27:27and keeping it hidden from humankind for over four centuries.
00:27:32It wasn't until the 20th century that the world was reintroduced to Machu Picchu when
00:27:36a Peruvian farmer led Yale University professor Hiram Bingham III to visit the site.
00:27:43Since then, Bingham and many other explorers dedicated their lives and research to studying
00:27:48the archaeological wonder of Machu Picchu.
00:27:52Now, for the next stop on our time-traveling vehicle, the city of Pompeii in Italy.
00:27:59Pompeii has crowded our collective imagination for many years.
00:28:03The eruption of the Mount Vesuvius volcano in 79 AD and the destruction of an entire
00:28:09city is hopefully not something that will happen again.
00:28:13But I bet you're wondering, what did Pompeii look like on its last day?
00:28:17It took 18 hours for Pompeii's streets, markets, houses, and forums to be buried under millions
00:28:23of tons of volcanic ash.
00:28:26Thanks to some clever scientists, we discovered that the lava and ashes that covered Pompeii
00:28:30on its very last day actually helped to freeze the city in time.
00:28:35Different from ice, the cloud of ashes did not preserve the city intact, but as the items
00:28:41disintegrated over 2,000 years, they left voids under the earth.
00:28:46Archaeologists found that if they filled these voids with plaster, the shape of the buried
00:28:50city would soon reveal itself.
00:28:52And that's exactly what happened.
00:28:54Of course, it was nothing like the bustling city of 12,000 people that had existed for
00:28:59many years before the fateful eruption.
00:29:01Pompeii was a vibrant and rich municipality.
00:29:05The site's ruins revealed that many areas of Pompeii boasted impressive houses, some
00:29:10with balconies, which was a sign of great wealth at the time.
00:29:14And believe it or not, even some artwork survived the eruption.
00:29:18Archaeologists found well-preserved frescoes and murals of mythological creatures, all
00:29:23indicating that members of the high society lived there.
00:29:26Ruins show the city even had thermal baths and showers made with luxurious materials.
00:29:32Oh, and apparently, the people of Pompeii had amazing teeth.
00:29:36Yes, archaeologists could see even that tiny level of detail from the plaster molds they
00:29:41recovered from underground.
00:29:44Still in the Italian territory, we find one of the world's biggest tourist attractions,
00:29:49the Roman Colosseum.
00:29:51It was built as an amphitheater during the reign of Emperor Vespasian around 70 AD.
00:29:56It wasn't until 80 AD that Vespasian's son, Emperor Titus, inaugurated the Colosseum.
00:30:03The monument was something to behold, with 157-foot-tall walls, over 80 entrances, and
00:30:09the capacity to host 87,000 people.
00:30:12All social classes and groups were welcome at the Colosseum, and this partly explains
00:30:17why it flourished for so many centuries.
00:30:20During the decline of the Roman Empire, around the 6th century AD, the Colosseum started
00:30:25being neglected and abandoned.
00:30:27The monument was looted, and some of its columns and stones were used to build infrastructure
00:30:33elsewhere.
00:30:34Only one-third of the original Colosseum still remains, and, if it's big now, imagine what
00:30:40it once was.
00:30:42Greece was home to one of the world's largest empires.
00:30:45At the height of this empire, literally and historically speaking, more or less 2,400
00:30:50years ago, the Greeks built a citadel known as the Acropolis.
00:30:54The Acropolis, which is composed of historical buildings, is considered to be one of the
00:30:59biggest landmarks of Western civilization to date.
00:31:03Tourists that visit the capital city of Athens today may be faced with yellowish and broken
00:31:07pillars of the Parthenon standing way up high in one of the city's hills.
00:31:12But way back when it was built, between 447 and 432 BCE, the imposing and majestic Parthenon
00:31:20was purely white, as the entire monument was built with gleaming white marble.
00:31:25The statues inside were made of gold.
00:31:27The Parthenon is a 23,000-square-foot temple held up by 69 marble columns.
00:31:33The largest blocks of marble are massive, weighing around 10 tons each.
00:31:39And the most surprising fact is that the marble didn't come from Athens, but from a nearby
00:31:44site that stood 10 miles from the Acropolis, known as Mount Pentelikon.
00:31:49Historians intrigued by where the primary material for building the Acropolis came from
00:31:54found tiny and big blocks of marble all scattered around the floor of Mount Pentelikon.
00:32:00There was also a paved road that the Greeks had built to carry the rocks around.
00:32:06But perhaps the most impacting monument of all times is located at the heart of the Middle
00:32:10East, outside the Egyptian city of Cairo.
00:32:15The Pyramids are considered one of the seven wonders of the ancient world.
00:32:18The Giza Pyramid complex was built as a tomb for the pharaoh Khufu around 4,500 years ago.
00:32:25Between 20,000 to 30,000 people took part in the construction process.
00:32:29It's composed of three pyramids.
00:32:31The massive monument is made out of approximately 8,000 tons of granite and over 550,000 tons
00:32:38of mortar, which gives it the appearance it has today.
00:32:42Would you believe me if I told you that the pyramids didn't always look like this?
00:32:47Far from it.
00:32:48They were shiny white with a golden triangular tip at the top.
00:32:52This is because the Egyptians used over 6 million tons of limestone to cover the entire
00:32:56rocky steppe-like structure, all so that they could gleam white under the unforgiving sunlight
00:33:02of Egyptian skies.
00:33:04The Pyramid of Khufu remained the tallest structure on Earth made by humans for over
00:33:093,800 years.
00:33:11It was the only eight-sided pyramid in Egypt and was believed to align with Orion's belt.
00:33:16It's considered to be the most aligned construction facing north.
00:33:20In 1979, it was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List.
00:33:26Let's head on down to the Indian city of Agra to quickly visit the Taj Mahal.
00:33:30You may know it as the Taj, but it can also be called by its more endearing name, a teardrop
00:33:36in the cheek of time.
00:33:38The Taj took over 22 years to build and was commissioned in 1632 by Mughal Emperor Shah
00:33:45Jahan as a declaration of love for his third and favorite wife, Mumtaz Mahal.
00:33:51It was made with ivory-white marble, and amazingly, due to tight conservation, it still remains
00:33:57very similar to what it was when it was built.
00:34:00I think all this talk of landmarks got me thirsty for some traveling.
00:34:04What about you?
00:34:05Tell us in the comments below if you've ever visited some of these sites, or which
00:34:09interesting landmarks you'd add to this video!
00:34:12Hey, check it out!
00:34:15You could technically live in the Eiffel Tower if you don't mind residing in a small apartment.
00:34:20Gustav Eiffel designed the tower to feature a private apartment for himself right at the
00:34:25top of the construction.
00:34:27He left the place all neat and tidy with all the necessary furniture.
00:34:31These days the apartment is home to two mannequins, that of Eiffel himself and his equally famous
00:34:36friend Thomas Edison.
00:34:38A sneak peek at the apartment is available for tourists who purchase a ticket to the
00:34:42top of the tower.
00:34:45If you ever pass through Trafalgar Square, you'll surely miss London's smallest police
00:34:49station since it's hidden beneath a lamppost.
00:34:52The reason why it was placed there back in 1926 was to let police officers be close to
00:34:58public rallies.
00:34:59They happen quite a lot in that area.
00:35:02Some even said it used to have a direct phone line to Scotland Yard.
00:35:06It's now used as a cleaning station, so there isn't much to see there apart from some moths.
00:35:12Grand Central Station, one of New York's busiest, has a great hidden activity for travelers.
00:35:18There are tennis courts available in a secret space named the Annex.
00:35:22This area used to host a lot of different things back in the day, from a recording studio
00:35:27to an art gallery.
00:35:29These days, though, the location is known as the Vanderbilt Tennis Club and can be visited
00:35:34by the public.
00:35:36Similar to Mr. Eiffel, producer Samuel Lionel Roxy Roxifel designed a hidden apartment for
00:35:42himself in the Radio City Music Hall in New York City.
00:35:45He also asked for the apartment, now called the Roxy Suite, to be decorated in the Art
00:35:50Deco style.
00:35:52It features 20-foot high ceilings covered in gold leaf and walls with floor-to-ceiling
00:35:57plush drapes.
00:35:58These days, only Radio City performers and VIP guests can visit the location.
00:36:03You might be able to rent it out too, but they say the prices are very high.
00:36:09Rome's best-known symbol, the Colosseum, has secret tunnels hidden beneath its grounds.
00:36:14Back in the day, ancient Romans used these passageways to keep wild animals like lions,
00:36:19tigers, elephants, and bears as they were used for gladiator fights and other types
00:36:24of entertainment.
00:36:26They've been open for visitors since 2010, along with the Colosseum's plumbing system.
00:36:31It was quite the technological advancement for the time, featuring drinking fountains
00:36:36and even toilets.
00:36:37There are some people that have criticized the opening of these secret tunnels.
00:36:41They believe it might affect the building's structure given the huge traffic of visitors.
00:36:47The Empire State Building is said to have 102 floors, but that's not true.
00:36:52It actually has a secret 103rd floor!
00:36:55The way to access it is through a hidden staircase located on the 102nd floor, but it's mostly
00:37:01available for the building's engineers and celebrities from time to time.
00:37:06That's not all!
00:37:07The 103rd floor leads to the Empire State Building's capsule.
00:37:12It's the building's famous dome.
00:37:15One of the most famous American landmarks features a mysterious hidden chamber.
00:37:19If current records are true, there's a secret room behind Abraham Lincoln's head from
00:37:24Mount Rushmore.
00:37:26It was meant to keep relative artifacts and documents of American history, like the Declaration
00:37:30of Independence and the Constitution.
00:37:33We now know these important documents are kept in another location, and the Mount Rushmore
00:37:38room remains inaccessible to the public to this day.
00:37:41Like maybe it's a video game room for park rangers.
00:37:44Or not.
00:37:46Completed between 2550 and 2490 BCE, the Great Pyramid of Giza is the last remaining of the
00:37:54Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.
00:37:56Constructed as a resting place for the 4th Dynasty Egyptian pharaoh Khufu, it was thought
00:38:02to feature the Grand Gallery, the King's Chamber, and the Queen's Chamber.
00:38:06But that's not all, as recently, a secret room was discovered here.
00:38:11Dubbed the Big Void, kind of like my head, this huge space is nearly 100 feet long.
00:38:17Its main purpose is still up for debate, but some archaeologists believe it was used as
00:38:22an internal ramp to help build the massive structure.
00:38:27Cinderella Castle is the main attraction of Disney World in Orlando, Florida, in an area
00:38:32called the Magic Kingdom.
00:38:34It does have a hidden room of its own, dubbed the Cinderella Suite.
00:38:38The suite was originally intended to host Walt Disney himself and his family.
00:38:42He passed away in 1966, and he never got to see the final result.
00:38:47It was finally finished in 2006, and ever since, it's only been open a limited number
00:38:53of times and only for visitors invited by the Disney Company.
00:38:58Grand Central isn't the only station with hidden features.
00:39:01Italy has its own Milano Centrale, the country's second-largest railway station.
00:39:07More than 320,000 passengers pass by these walls every day.
00:39:12But most of them never notice the closed doors on the sidewall of the station leading to
00:39:17the Royal Pavilion, a fashionable area designed as a waiting room for the royal family.
00:39:22The pavilion features two grand halls divided into two floors with luxurious furniture,
00:39:28styled marble, all decorated with royal sculptures.
00:39:33Even the Statue of Liberty has a hidden room.
00:39:35Try to guess where it is?
00:39:37It's in the torch of the statue.
00:39:39Unfortunately, it's not available to the public ever since it was completely closed back in
00:39:441916.
00:39:46A camera was placed here back in 2011 to allow people to enjoy live streaming of the panoramic
00:39:52view.
00:39:54A statue of Leonardo da Vinci, located at Rome's Da Vinci Airport, was first unveiled
00:39:59back in 1960.
00:40:01It recently went under renovation.
00:40:03One of the workers made a mysterious discovery during this process.
00:40:07A small hole, somewhere in the middle of the statue, at about 30 feet.
00:40:13When it was carefully opened, two parchments were found inside.
00:40:17Written in classical Latin, the first document told the story of the area that now houses
00:40:21the airport.
00:40:23The other one provided a list of people who attended the inauguration of the statue.
00:40:28The U.S. Supreme Court in Washington, D.C. has a secret sports facility where clerks,
00:40:34off-duty police officers, and other Supreme Court employees can play basketball.
00:40:40The court, located on the top floor of the building, is obviously dubbed the highest
00:40:44court in the land.
00:40:46Excuse me while I dribble!
00:40:49Disneyland's Club 33 is located in the New Orleans Square section of the theme park in
00:40:54Anaheim, California.
00:40:56This exclusive club houses only 500 members, and it was inaugurated in 1967.
00:41:03It aimed to entertain celebrities, politicians, and sponsors.
00:41:07The decorations were courtesy of Walt Disney himself and his wife.
00:41:11Services here come at a hefty price.
00:41:14Members have to pay $25,000 to join the club, and later a yearly fee of between $12,000
00:41:20to $25,000.
00:41:23The entrance to the club was easy to miss since it was hidden behind a doorway with
00:41:27a single gold plate that had the number 33 engraved on it.
00:41:31A makeover of the club took place in 2014.
00:41:35They moved the entrance to an even more secret location, but people can still see the old
00:41:40one in its original place.
00:41:43The New York City public libraries have hidden apartments too.
00:41:47Employees and their families could stay in those hidden rooms that are placed above many
00:41:51of the public libraries.
00:41:53Most of them are either closets or empty rooms these days.
00:41:56But some of them are available to the public, like those belonging to the $4.4 million renovation
00:42:03project of the apartment in the Washington Heights Branch.
00:42:06It was transformed from an old, dusty, 3,750-square-foot space into a dedicated teen area and tech center
00:42:14that also features rooms for adult education programs.
00:42:18Cool!
00:42:20The majority of us have believed for a really long time that Stonehenge, one of the most
00:42:25iconic monuments in the world, was an ancient calendar because of its alignment with the
00:42:30summer and winter solstices.
00:42:33But no one could figure out how it really worked.
00:42:37Now a team of researchers have come up with another study.
00:42:40It turns out that Stonehenge could have functioned like the solar calendar.
00:42:45It's a similar principle to the solar calendar ancient Egyptians used to have, the one based
00:42:49on a year composed of 365.25 days.
00:42:54Each of the stones from this big, mysterious sarsen circle represented one day within a
00:42:59month.
00:43:01Sarsens are what we call these large boulders.
00:43:04It's actually a perpetual calendar, where people could track every winter solstice sunset.
00:43:10That way, those who lived near Stonehenge, which is today Wiltshire, UK, could keep track
00:43:15of the days and months of the year.
00:43:18We all now understand this mysterious calendar system because of this interesting discovery
00:43:22in 2020.
00:43:24The team has identified the source of 50 of the 52 sarsens that make up the iconic stone
00:43:29circle we all know about.
00:43:31They analyzed the chemical composition of these sarsens and traced their origins to
00:43:36the West Woods in Wiltshire, which is about 15 miles away from the monument.
00:43:41Not only did these 50 sarsens come from the same source, but they were also placed in
00:43:46their current position at approximately the same time.
00:43:50They make the outer circle of Stonehenge, together with a horseshoe-shaped inner ring.
00:43:56Near the center of the monument, there are smaller rocks known as bluestones.
00:44:01The team traced the origins of the bluestones all the way to Wales.
00:44:05They also discovered that the sarsens share a common chemistry, over 99% silica with trace
00:44:12elements.
00:44:13Two sarsens were different from each other and also different from the main cluster.
00:44:18These sarsens were arranged in three different formations at Stonehenge.
00:44:22Thirty of them formed this huge stone circle that dominates the monument.
00:44:27Four station stones ended up in a rectangular formation outside the circle, while the rest,
00:44:33located inside the stone circle, were constructed into five trilithons.
00:44:38A trilithon is when you have two vertical stones with a horizontal lintel at the top.
00:44:44Thirty, five, and four are pretty interesting numbers in the context of this calendar system.
00:44:51The thirty uprights that are spread around the main sarsen ring could represent days
00:44:55of the month.
00:44:56If you multiply that by twelve, you get 360.
00:45:01Add on five more, those from the central trilithons, and the result is 365.
00:45:08And to really adjust the calendar to match a solar year, you need to add one extra leap
00:45:12day for every four years, right?
00:45:15The team believes the ancient people used the four station stones to keep track of this
00:45:19part.
00:45:20So, in this system, they paired the summer and winter solstice every year with the same
00:45:25pair of stones.
00:45:28Ancient people started building Stonehenge about 5,000 years ago, and it took more than
00:45:321,000 years to finish the work.
00:45:35But the Stonehenge you see today is not the complete, original version from the beginning.
00:45:40People have broken and taken away many of its old bluestones and sarsens.
00:45:45The entire structure also changed over time since there were generations and generations
00:45:50– 180 of them to be precise – that passed since the beginning of Stonehenge.
00:45:55Who would participate in the building and rebuilding of it?
00:46:00People created Stonehenge in four stages.
00:46:03They first built a circular enclosure that stretched over 330 feet, 100 meters, in diameter
00:46:09and went around 56 pits.
00:46:12A high bank flanks the ditch of the enclosure, while there's a low bank on the outside.
00:46:17Some theories even say that this part was some form of a communal cemetery.
00:46:21Later, in the second stage, builders added a horseshoe of sarsen trilithons.
00:46:27In the third stage, they constructed a ceremonial avenue that was nearly two miles long.
00:46:33It possibly traced the path of the bluestones.
00:46:36People moved from the Aubrey holes to the Q&R holes, a double arc that these bluestones
00:46:41have been arranged into.
00:46:43At this stage, builders also reorganized the entrance stones and recut the main enclosure
00:46:49ditch.
00:46:50During the fourth stage, the stones were broken and builders etched carvings into the sarsens.
00:46:55Later, the bluestones ended up being modified again.
00:47:00Builders didn't leave any written records about how they managed to drag these heavy
00:47:04stones to the site and get them to stand so perfectly upright.
00:47:08But there are theories that say their techniques were more closely associated with woodwork
00:47:13than masonry.
00:47:15They made mortise holes and protruding tenons because they wanted to slot these stones together
00:47:20and they used tongue and groove joints to do that.
00:47:23When they dug the hole for the stones, they placed timber poles at the back of the holes
00:47:27that were used as brace support.
00:47:30Then they moved the stone into a position and hauled it upward with ropes.
00:47:34They packed rubble into the hole to make sure the stones stayed in place.
00:47:38A pre-industrial farming society put this fascinating monument together using only tools
00:47:43made of stone and bone.
00:47:45Not even the wheel had been invented yet.
00:47:48This unusual formation is also known as Ringing Rocks.
00:47:53The stones you can see at Stonehenge have some pretty odd acoustic properties.
00:47:57When you strike them, they produce a loud clanging sound.
00:48:01That could be one of the reasons why people bothered to transport them over such a long
00:48:05distance in the first place.
00:48:07In some ancient cultures, people believed that these rocks contained healing powers.
00:48:12It's a really popular location that attracts over a million visitors a year.
00:48:17When it first opened to the public, visitors were allowed to walk among the stones.
00:48:21They could even climb on them as there weren't any restrictions.
00:48:25Until the 19th century, visitors would regularly chip off pieces of the rock to take them home
00:48:30as souvenirs.
00:48:32They would also engrave their initials into the stones.
00:48:35They camped within the circle and dug fire pits, not realizing that the digging pits
00:48:39could seriously undermine the stability of the entire monument.
00:48:43Over time, visitors have encountered more and more restrictions until the monument was
00:48:47finally roped off in 1997 because of the serious erosion of the stones.
00:48:53That means if you want to visit, you can only view it from a distance unless you want
00:48:57to pay extra for the stone circle experience, which can be arranged outside of normal visiting
00:49:02hours.
00:49:03Stonehenge originally had two entrances that led into the enclosure.
00:49:08There was a wide one to the northeast and one that was a bit smaller and located on
00:49:12the southern side.
00:49:14If you look at it today, you can see there are many more gaps.
00:49:17This is mostly because of tracks made later that once crossed the monument.
00:49:23The ground within Stonehenge has been severely disturbed, and it wasn't just about random
00:49:27visitors digging fire pits.
00:49:30There was a group of people who dug a large deep hole within the stone circle in the 17th
00:49:34century because they were looking for treasure.
00:49:37Then there was Charles Darwin, who also did some digging because he was studying earthworms
00:49:41in the area.
00:49:42He wanted to know how these worms could impact objects in the soil over time.
00:49:47He observed how a fallen stone there had sunk deeper into the ground and realized it was
00:49:51happening because of the activities of these tiny creatures who churned through the soil
00:49:56all the time.
00:49:57In 1963, there was a theory that Stonehenge had been built as some sort of computer that
00:50:02predicts solar and lunar eclipses.
00:50:05Later, some proposed it was actually constructed as a monument to ancestors that had passed
00:50:10away.
00:50:11This theory says the permanence of its stones represented the eternal afterlife.
00:50:16The average sarsen you can find there weighs 25 tons.
00:50:21While the biggest one weighs around 30 tons.
00:50:24If you want to get an idea of how massive these stones really are, you can go behind
00:50:29the visitor center in the outdoor gallery to check out a replica sarsen stone.
00:50:33It's a true copy of a freestanding upright from one of the trilithons that are located
00:50:38in the inner horseshoe of the monument.
00:50:41There are five Neolithic houses at Stonehenge based on real archaeological evidence of houses
00:50:46found in that area.
00:50:48Each of them had stake-built walls and a chalk floor.
00:50:51Some even had furniture.
00:50:53There was also a lot of trash discovered, which means people in this area used to like
00:50:57celebrations and feasting.
00:51:00Research has shown that people lived in these houses for 50 to 100 years, around 4,500 years
00:51:06BCE, which was the time when the builders brought the sarsen stones to Stonehenge.
00:51:12During the time they were building Stonehenge, generations of people went through major changes
00:51:16in themselves, from the Stone Age to the early Bronze Age.
00:51:20They were no longer as static and isolated.
00:51:23They started to travel and trade more, which means they communicated way more than their
00:51:28ancestors, even internationally.
00:51:30This is how they could have spread the word about Stonehenge.
00:51:34And it's also when the whole mystery and fascination with the monument began.
00:51:41In 1886, a competition was announced in Paris.
00:51:45The winner would get the right to design and build the centerpiece for the World's Fair
00:51:49of 1889.
00:51:51The company of Gustave Eiffel proposed a project that won among 107 others.
00:51:59The first project of the architects from Eiffel's company was a tower with stonework pedestals,
00:52:05monumental arches between the columns, halls with glass walls on each level, the top shaped
00:52:10like a bulb, and plenty of ornaments.
00:52:13The second project was too complicated, so they changed it only leaving the arches at
00:52:18the bottom.
00:52:19It took a record 5 months to finish the foundation and another 21 to put together the 18,000
00:52:26metal pieces on top.
00:52:28You can still see it and count them all when you visit Paris.
00:52:32The Eiffel Tower looks revolutionary where it stands even today.
00:52:36But back in the late 19th century, it was a real sensation, for which a lot of people
00:52:41criticized it.
00:52:43Eiffel's writers called it a tragic street lamp, a half-built factory pipe, and a giant
00:52:48skeleton.
00:52:49Now, they weren't too wrong.
00:52:51The tower really has something in common with a human skeleton.
00:52:55It was inspired by a thigh bone.
00:52:58When they were just beginning to work on the project, Eiffel's team faced a serious problem.
00:53:03They had to make the tower strong enough to withstand the elements, but at the same time,
00:53:08it had to be about as light as air.
00:53:10If they had made one mistake, the tallest construction in the world at that time would
00:53:15have collapsed under its own weight, gravity, or a strong wind.
00:53:19And they had to work with iron, which was a revolutionary new building material back
00:53:24then.
00:53:26Around the same time, anatomist Hermann von Meyer was researching the thigh bone, or femur.
00:53:32It's the longest and strongest bone in the human body.
00:53:35Bones are strong and solid on the outside and spongy on the inside, the same as bamboo.
00:53:41It grows so tall because it's a hollow tube made of smaller tubes that are made of even
00:53:46smaller ones.
00:53:48The bone, just like bamboo, takes the load it carries because of the structures inside
00:53:53it.
00:53:54They're bone fibers arranged in a criss-cross pattern.
00:53:57A Swiss engineer, Karl Kohlmann, developed that concept and created a crane where patterns
00:54:03like in the thigh bone were used exactly where support was needed most.
00:54:07Gustav Eiffel used that idea and decided to build his tower using criss-cross patterns
00:54:12of studs and braces to support the construction.
00:54:16He did some major math and designed it so that high winds going directly to the strongest
00:54:21part, the four legs, and the flares going outwards at the base of the tower looked like
00:54:26the femur upside down.
00:54:28The plan worked out piece by piece, and the construction was finished on March 31, 1889.
00:54:35A lot has changed since then in science and architecture, but nature still inspired cool
00:54:39new inventions and technologies.
00:54:42This is called biomimicry.
00:54:45For instance, the first high-speed rail in the world, the Shinkansen running since 1964,
00:54:51was also inspired by nature.
00:54:53When the train was getting out of the tunnel at the speed of 185 mph, it produced a sonic
00:54:59boom.
00:55:00That noise woke up people in nearby cities and scared wild animals.
00:55:04A group of engineers was working to solve this issue.
00:55:08One of them, who was also a birdwatcher, suggested making the train more like a kingfisher.
00:55:14That bird has a long pointed beak that helps it dive in the water with almost no splashes
00:55:18when it's hunting.
00:55:20They reshaped the front of the train, giving it a sort of beak, and solved the noise problem.
00:55:25The new shape also helped save energy consumption because it was more aerodynamic and made the
00:55:31train 10% faster.
00:55:33The inventor of Velcro was inspired by his own dog.
00:55:37He wanted to find out why burrs stick to its fur so easily, and noticed tiny hook-shaped
00:55:42spikes on them under a microscope.
00:55:45They catch onto different materials with loops, like fur and fabric.
00:55:49Georges de Mistral recreated that technology and started his own company back in 1959.
00:55:56Ever since, the fastening system of nylon loops attaching to tiny spikes has been used
00:56:01for many different purposes.
00:56:04Sharks are some of the best swimmers in the world.
00:56:06They are so fast thanks to their body shape and also a special kind of skin covered in
00:56:11small teeth and not scales.
00:56:14Scientists created a film based on shark's secret technology.
00:56:18When a ship is covered in it, little marine creatures can't stay attached to it, and
00:56:22so the vessel can travel faster and save fuel.
00:56:26Swimmers wearing swimsuits made of shark-inspired material also become much faster.
00:56:31They also bite harder.
00:56:33Not really.
00:56:35Brightly colored butterflies and peacocks inspired an energy-saving technology for phone
00:56:40displays.
00:56:41These creatures have little structures on their wings and feathers.
00:56:44When white light shines on them, they reflect different colors at different speeds because
00:56:49the surface isn't uniform.
00:56:51In screens based on this idea, the colors also come from reflection.
00:56:56The screen doesn't produce them and saves energy this way.
00:56:59The colors are still bright and vivid, so it's a win-win.
00:57:03The African Namib desert beetle is a pro at collecting water.
00:57:08It transforms fog into droplets of water in little bumps on its shell.
00:57:13Then it sends the water directly to its head for drinking.
00:57:16MIT scientists and engineers created a similar structure out of glass and plastic.
00:57:21It can be used for cooling devices and to safely clean up toxic spills.
00:57:27Whales are some of the largest creatures on the planet.
00:57:30And at the same time, they're great swimmers, divers, and jumpers.
00:57:34Their secret is bump protrusions on the fins that are pretty much like wings.
00:57:39They control the water flow to help the whale make different maneuvers.
00:57:44Scientists decided to use this idea for wind turbines.
00:57:47Tests have shown these whale-inspired turbines are more stable, durable, and quieter than
00:57:53regular turbines, and can generate more energy from wind and water.
00:57:58Elephant trunks have over 40,000 muscles and are super agile.
00:58:02They can lift heavy loads and do complicated maneuvers like picking apples from a branch.
00:58:08Robotic design inspired a super-safe and flexible robotic arm.
00:58:12It has a memory and learns to reach and grab things from its own experience, like a human
00:58:17baby.
00:58:18This technology is already used in factories, labs, and hospitals.
00:58:23Another kind of robot, a squishy one, was modeled after an octopus.
00:58:28This robot doesn't move on a predictable trajectory like its hard-bodied friends.
00:58:33It can curl, shrink, and change into a new shape because it doesn't have fixed joints.
00:58:38It doesn't bump into things and adapts to any environment no problem.
00:58:43That's why it can be a great help in rescuing people.
00:58:47Bats get around thanks to echolocation.
00:58:50They produce ultrasonic sounds that bounce off things and then calculate the distance
00:58:54to those things.
00:58:56Scientists designed a similar system to build into walking sticks for the visually impaired.
00:59:01It sends out 60,000 pulses every second and gets echoes.
00:59:05The stronger the echo, the closer the object is.
00:59:10Geckos are super climbers that can move on all kinds of surfaces, including walls, ceilings,
00:59:15and glass.
00:59:16The secret to their success is tons of microscopic hairs that give them a fantastic grip on any
00:59:23material.
00:59:24Scientists decided to use this knowledge for medical purposes and maybe to turn humans
00:59:29into spider-humans in the future.
00:59:31The gripping material they designed is activated by UV light.
00:59:37Lobsters are delicious.
00:59:38They also have a unique vision.
00:59:40Their eye lenses are like flat mirrors that don't bend light but reflect it at many
00:59:45different angles.
00:59:47Scientists use this principle in building telescopes that can focus from different angles
00:59:51in space.
00:59:53A lobster's vision also inspired X-ray devices that can see even through a thick steel wall.
00:59:59Did I mention lobsters are delicious?
01:00:03Woodpeckers spend their days drumming on tree trunks, but their skulls and brains somehow
01:00:08stay safe and sound.
01:00:10That's because their beak and skull have many layers, and some parts of them are soft
01:00:15and absorb the shock.
01:00:17Scientists noticed this on CT scans of the birds' heads and used that knowledge to
01:00:21build a mechanical shock-absorbing system for micro-devices.
01:00:25They can also use it to make insulation material for spaceships and protect football players
01:00:30from injuries.
01:00:33Not all attempts at biomimicry are equally successful.
01:00:37In the late 1990s, Mercedes-Benz was looking for a new design idea of an aerodynamic, safe,
01:00:44efficient, and maneuverable car.
01:00:46They thought a boxfish would be a perfect role model.
01:00:50It resists the flow of water and stays on its course even in the rough sea.
01:00:54Well, what worked well in the sea didn't work out for a car.
01:00:58It turned out to be super unstable.
01:01:00Hey, it wasn't failure.
01:01:03They just learned one more way that it didn't work and went on to try the next thing.
01:01:08Good advice!
01:01:13What if I told you you just won a round-the-world trip to visit the planet's most famous landmarks?
01:01:19Nice right?
01:01:20But there's a catch.
01:01:22You might be visiting them for the last time in your life.
01:01:24That's because these landmarks are threatened to disappear during your lifetime.
01:01:29Yikes!
01:01:30Ah, Paris, the city of love.
01:01:34For our modern eyes, it's hard to imagine the city without its most famous landmark,
01:01:39the Eiffel Tower.
01:01:40But it wasn't always there, of course.
01:01:43Gustave Eiffel, the tower's architect, was commissioned to expose it during the 1889
01:01:48World Fair.
01:01:49But the so-called Iron Lady was only meant to stand for 20 years.
01:01:54After that, it was going to be demolished, except that, uh, this plan was never implemented.
01:02:00The tower wasn't taken down because of an antenna built on top of the tower, and it
01:02:05conducts wireless signals.
01:02:07But there's a problem.
01:02:08The Iron Lady is made of iron.
01:02:11And with time and bad weather, which Paris happens to get a lot of, iron deteriorates.
01:02:17It rusts, and this rusting makes the iron weak, up until the point where it can crack.
01:02:22And if a tower that is made purely of iron starts to crack, you know what this means.
01:02:28No more selfies eating croissants in front of the famous Tour Eiffel.
01:02:32Apparently, French authorities are aware that this is happening, but instead of repairing
01:02:37the whole tower, they're kind of just painting over the rust.
01:02:41Your next stop is in beautiful Rome.
01:02:44You are here to visit, you guessed it, the Colosseum.
01:02:48One of the world's most visited monuments.
01:02:50The gladiators used to put on shows there.
01:02:53Well, you might as well say, arrivederci to it, while you can.
01:02:57Like a lot of ancient monuments, the Colosseum is in danger of disappearing.
01:03:02It survived for almost 2,000 years, since it was commissioned by Emperor Vespasian.
01:03:08But due to yearly exposure to harsh weather, the monument is getting weaker.
01:03:12The problem here is mainly snow.
01:03:15When snow falls upon the Colosseum, the freezing water infiltrates the cracks of the rocks
01:03:20and makes them bloat.
01:03:21You know, like when you put a soda can into the freezer and the bottom pops out?
01:03:26I know, snow is a kind of infrequent visitor in Rome, but even rare below zero temperatures
01:03:32can damage the Colosseum seriously.
01:03:35And since we can't control the weather, who knows how long we'll get to see this
01:03:39beauty around.
01:03:41After hopping on a red-eye to India, you arrive at the unique Taj Mahal.
01:03:46It's even more mesmerizing in person than it is in pictures.
01:03:50The Taj is one of the seven wonders of the modern world.
01:03:54But why is it at risk of disappearing, you might ask?
01:03:57The monument was finished way back in 1643.
01:04:01It was made with pristine white marble as a gift from Emperor Shah Jahan to his beloved
01:04:06wife.
01:04:07If our white shirts get dirty just by stepping outside the house, imagine an open-air monument
01:04:13that has existed for over four centuries.
01:04:17The Taj Mahal is located in the city of Agra, right beside the Yamuna River.
01:04:22Over the years, the region has become very polluted, and all of this pollution is helping
01:04:27to destroy the Taj.
01:04:29India's Supreme Court has been on the case for many years now, and they say the monument
01:04:34is turning greenish and brown.
01:04:37So high authorities decided that either the local government restores the Taj Mahal completely
01:04:42or they'll shut it down, or worse, destroy it.
01:04:46For the good of humanity, I hope they decide to restore it already, otherwise we'll be
01:04:51down to only six wonders.
01:04:53Ah, finally, you've made it to South America, more specifically, you're now in the mountainous
01:04:59country of Peru.
01:05:01If you're not used to such high altitudes, you might get a little dizzy.
01:05:05But it's worth it to see the mesmerizing Incan ruins of Machu Picchu.
01:05:09The city is located at over 7,000 feet above sea level, and no one knows how the Incas
01:05:15built such a sophisticated village.
01:05:18That's why the site attracts around 440,000 visitors every single year.
01:05:24But since regulation is not so strict, the site is also slowly deteriorating.
01:05:30Machu Picchu may be the victim of something known as overtourism.
01:05:35I mean, if you look at any footage from the site on a normal day, it's pretty packed up.
01:05:40And even if it's a stone-made town and stones are pretty resistant, they do suffer from
01:05:45erosion.
01:05:46Man-made or weather-made, oh boy, I really don't like the sound of that.
01:05:52There's another stone monument that you need to check off your list.
01:05:56Can you guess which one it is?
01:05:58Yup, Stonehenge.
01:06:00Located in the peaceful hills of Wiltshire, England, Stonehenge has been around for over
01:06:045,000 years.
01:06:07Well, nobody knows exactly when it was built, but bear with me.
01:06:11If the only cause for disappearance would be erosion, then it would make the monument
01:06:15millions of years before it disappeared.
01:06:18But that's not the case.
01:06:19Since 1995, there have been multiple proposals from British authorities to build an underground
01:06:25tunnel that connects southeast and southwest England.
01:06:28The thing is, the tunnel passes underneath Stonehenge and it might rock the site's foundation.
01:06:34Get it?
01:06:35Rock?
01:06:36Anyway, since the project was suggested, local supporters of the monument have found a Save
01:06:41Stonehenge Alliance to keep the monument safe.
01:06:44They strongly believe that any enterprise, such as this tunnel, will severely harm the
01:06:49site.
01:06:50Ah, Egypt.
01:06:52This time, to arrive at your destination, you travel in style.
01:06:57And by that, I mean camels.
01:06:59Just for the photo op, of course.
01:07:01But why are you here?
01:07:02You came to check out the Great Sphinx.
01:07:05You know, the one with the broken nose?
01:07:08The Sphinx was also built way, way back in the day.
01:07:12Try over 4,000 years ago.
01:07:15And back then, they used what they had at their disposal, limestone.
01:07:19Now, some researchers think that hazardous weather may be damaging the Sphinx's limestones.
01:07:25You see, they're very porous types of rock, so water easily infiltrates inside of them,
01:07:31making erosion stronger and faster.
01:07:34But water is also coming from down below.
01:07:38Unlike the Pyramids of Giza, the Great Sphinx was carved directly from the bedrock.
01:07:43And right underneath the monument, there's a riverbed, which also infiltrates into the
01:07:48Sphinx, making it weaker.
01:07:51Fingers crossed that Egypt doesn't get a lot of rainfall in the next few centuries.
01:07:56I hope you brought your swimsuit, because it's time to dive deep into the Dead Sea.
01:08:01Except that you probably won't get too deep.
01:08:04You know, since there's so much salt in the water that you basically only float.
01:08:08Fun fact, this sea is 10 times saltier than the ocean.
01:08:13It may be a little ironic that the Dead Sea is at risk of actually perishing, but it's true.
01:08:19The lake level is dropping 4 feet every year.
01:08:23It has to do with one of the sea's main tributaries.
01:08:26A tributary is a river that flows into a much larger body of water.
01:08:31The thing is, the region is not so rich in natural water, so some of the local authorities
01:08:37ended up diverting small tributaries for basic human uses.
01:08:41But since every action has a reaction, the Dead Sea is now facing some difficulties.
01:08:48Back in the USA, it's time to visit the city that never sleeps.
01:08:53And if you've understood this trip by now, you already know the landmark we're visiting.
01:08:58It's Lady Liberty.
01:09:00It may come as a surprise to some, but the famous Statue of Liberty was originally copper.
01:09:05It's turned green due to oxidation.
01:09:08I mean, maybe I would also turn green if I was constantly exposed to New York's harsh weather.
01:09:14Some researchers say that air pollution can also speed up oxidation processes, threatening
01:09:19the long life of Lady Liberty.
01:09:21Of course, New York City does its share of maintenance.
01:09:25Hopefully it'll be enough for us to keep seeing the statue during our lifetime.
01:09:29Hey, it's time to head back home.
01:09:31I sure enjoyed this trip.
01:09:32Hope you did too.
01:09:34Let's hope we can still visit these places.
01:09:36Imagine working seven days a week on a large-scale construction site.
01:09:40You, along with thousands of others, carry millions of stone blocks and put them on top
01:09:46of each other according to a complex system.
01:09:49You work without modern construction equipment.
01:09:53You have no air conditioning or constant access to water.
01:09:56It's so hot outside that you can fry eggs on the road.
01:10:00You've been building the pyramid for decades.
01:10:03And now, when it's finally done, you enjoy the result of the colossal work of thousands
01:10:09of people.
01:10:11You're looking at a giant cultural monument of global value that will freeze in time and
01:10:16amaze people for tens of thousands of years.
01:10:21A few thousand years have passed.
01:10:24People in the 21st century see the pyramids and are like, wow, I can't believe humans
01:10:29have built this.
01:10:30Yeah, the people who built the pyramids wouldn't have appreciated such a theory.
01:10:36But actually, there are reasons to believe that people built it using some fantastic
01:10:41technology.
01:10:42From the outside, it seems the great pyramids are just big triangles of stone.
01:10:47People just put some heavy blocks on top of each other and that's it.
01:10:52In fact, the design seems too perfect to be true.
01:10:57The pyramid consists of more than two million blocks.
01:11:00They lay so close to each other and are so even that you couldn't squeeze even a thin
01:11:05sheet of paper between them.
01:11:07Scientists still can't figure out the exact technology for building the Egyptian pyramids.
01:11:14One of the biggest and most famous is the Great Pyramid of Giza.
01:11:18This huge construction, well-known all over the world, has one big secret.
01:11:23There should be a capstone on top of the pyramid.
01:11:26It's a triangular-shaped stone block, a small pyramid on top of a huge one.
01:11:32It's also called a pyramidion.
01:11:36The builders of ancient Egypt made it out of granite and limestone and covered it with
01:11:40gold.
01:11:41No records or old drawings prove that there was a pyramidion at the top of the Great Pyramid
01:11:47of Giza.
01:11:48But there's another ancient Egyptian structure with such a triangle, the Red Pyramid.
01:11:53It was built before the Great One, and its capstone has survived to this day.
01:11:59Scientists have found and reconstructed it.
01:12:02But where could the capstone of the Great Pyramid be?
01:12:05It's a mystery that still has no answer.
01:12:10Some are sure that some thieves have stolen it from the top.
01:12:13Maybe they just climbed up and pushed the pyramidion down.
01:12:18It makes perfect sense.
01:12:20The capstone was probably the most valuable element of the pyramid.
01:12:24Many scientists and archaeologists still don't know its exact purpose.
01:12:29Some believe that this peak covered with gold glorified the pharaohs.
01:12:34The capstone reflected moonlight at night and illuminated the entire space around it.
01:12:41During the day, the capstone reflected sunlight with its shiny surface.
01:12:46You could have noticed it from afar.
01:12:48The top of the pyramid was a kind of guiding star for lost travelers.
01:12:54All other stone blocks of the pyramid consist of limestone.
01:12:58People polished them to make them look shiny.
01:13:01In the past, they were even glowing and reflected light.
01:13:05You could see glowing pyramids from space, although they looked like tiny lights.
01:13:11Over thousands of years, winds, sandstorms, and rains have changed the pyramids' appearance.
01:13:18If people had taken care of them all this time, they would have looked like something
01:13:22out of science fiction movies, or the pyramids from Las Vegas.
01:13:26Unfortunately, we will never see their original appearance.
01:13:32Some archaeologists and scientists believe that the capstone could absorb the sun's energy
01:13:37and distribute it evenly throughout the pyramid.
01:13:41No one knows precisely why the Egyptians needed this technology.
01:13:45There's a theory the pyramids are ancient energy systems.
01:13:49The pharaohs applied this energy to use some unique technologies that were more advanced
01:13:54than all the achievements of the 21st century, and the triangular shape of the pyramids was
01:13:59ideal for boosting this electromagnetic energy.
01:14:04In theory, solar radiation, or electromagnetic forces, accumulated at the top of the pyramid,
01:14:11filled the inner rooms, and then went down the walls to the base.
01:14:15Any surface distortion could prevent the flow from spreading, so they had to create a perfectly
01:14:20smooth surface.
01:14:22That's why they installed the blocks so that nobody could squeeze a needle or razor blade
01:14:26between them.
01:14:29Many people believe in this theory because they built the pyramids from limestone.
01:14:34This material can hold energy inside itself.
01:14:37In the inner part, they created granite deposits to cause air ionization, that is, to create
01:14:43an electric charge.
01:14:46They also dug channels under the pyramid for water to transmit electricity.
01:14:51And at the top, they put a gold capstone, the best conductor of electricity.
01:14:57So this is how you get a great power generator.
01:15:01Different cultures used similar technologies to create electricity all over the world.
01:15:06But these are all theories.
01:15:08If it had been working, humanity would have used these technologies today.
01:15:14There are mentions of the metal industry, chemistry, engineering, physics, mathematics,
01:15:20and astronomy in some ancient records.
01:15:23Most scientists don't believe in all these things.
01:15:27We know the detailed stages of the technology's development in different cultures.
01:15:32In the 21st century, scientists, historians, and anthropologists can track the evolution
01:15:37of all modern devices.
01:15:40If people had created some technological inventions in ancient times, the history of the world
01:15:45would have looked different.
01:15:48Perhaps all the achievements of antiquity could have been wiped off the face of the
01:15:51earth by global cataclysms, and it can happen to us.
01:15:56Just imagine how people would dig up a laptop in 5,000 years.
01:16:00Perhaps they wouldn't understand what kind of device it is.
01:16:06Another Egyptian wonder surrounded by mystery is the statue of the Sphinx.
01:16:11The Egyptians carved it out of a single massive piece of limestone about 4.5 thousand years
01:16:17ago, but scientists still don't know the exact date of its construction or who built it.
01:16:24People painted the Sphinx in different colors, so it looked much brighter and more vivid
01:16:29in the distant past.
01:16:30It was shining just like the Great Pyramids.
01:16:33Anyway, time hasn't only changed its appearance, but its name, too.
01:16:38Initially, the Egyptians called it Horemekhet.
01:16:42The Greeks renamed it the Sphinx about a few hundred years after it had been built.
01:16:48The Sphinx emphasized the greatness of the rulers of Egypt.
01:16:52It also performed a symbolic function of a watchdog guarding the tomb of the pharaoh
01:16:56and the paths leading to it.
01:16:58This version sounds realistic, since archaeologists have discovered many secret entrances at the
01:17:04foot of the Sphinx.
01:17:06Perhaps these rooms and intricate tunnels lead to underground halls with treasures.
01:17:12But treasures don't always mean gold and jewelry.
01:17:15According to legends and theories, the Sphinx guards the Hall of Records, the storage of
01:17:20all humankind's knowledge.
01:17:22The information about the ancient mythical state of Atlantis could be there.
01:17:27You can find many detailed maps of the internal dungeons of the Sphinx on the internet.
01:17:33They show structures 12 stories deep under the statue.
01:17:37It looks like a small city filled with gold, scrolls of knowledge, and various ancient
01:17:41artifacts.
01:17:44But don't believe all these maps.
01:17:46These are just theories.
01:17:48Several thousand years have passed, but people have very little information about it.
01:17:53Archaeologists know that there are still many strange and exciting things about the Sphinx
01:17:57that are still undiscovered.
01:17:59Some locals are afraid to research because they believe they can awaken something terrible
01:18:04from the underground depths.
01:18:06Therefore, it's mostly scientists from other countries who conduct the excavations.
01:18:13In 1998, scientists discovered strange tunnels leading to empty rooms under the Sphinx.
01:18:19They realized that some people tried to get there through tunnels in the past.
01:18:24And maybe those people took all the treasures that were there.
01:18:29One of the legends says that some powerful artifact lays beneath the Sphinx.
01:18:34This technology can change the whole world, but the locals are hiding it because it can
01:18:39damage the planet.
01:18:41Some believe that you can find evidence of unknown technologies painted on the granite
01:18:45walls in the pharaoh's tombs.
01:18:47But most likely, these paintings and signs tell us the myths and legends of ancient Egypt.
01:18:55But what if Egyptian symbols and drawings are detailed instructions for using ancient
01:18:59technologies?
01:19:01What if the locals that lived at that time thought, hmm, people in the future won't be
01:19:06able to get energy themselves, let's leave some detailed instructions for them.
01:19:12Anyway, there are many riddles and theories.
01:19:15In reality, the search for answers is a dangerous undertaking since it's not easy to get into
01:19:21the underground halls.
01:19:23Excavations can ruin the structure of the entire Sphinx.
01:19:26Any person inside the tunnels may get lost and never be able to find their way back.
01:19:31Besides, it costs a lot of money.
01:19:36Now what would be awesome is if people could invent some device that could scan underground
01:19:41areas and show their detailed models.