26Louvre's Secret Entrance
There is a "secret" entrance to the Louvre that allows you to bypass the ridiculous line at the public entrance. The Porte des Lions entrance is the best entrance into the Louvre. From this entrance, you can buy your tickets, enter the museum, and have the shortest route to the Italian Renaissance painting section. This door always has the shortest line. Also, if you wanted to see every piece of art in The Louvre in one visit, it would take you over a month, assuming you were there 24/7 and took no breaks or sleep.
27. Petra in Jordan had a more efficient and advanced water system than ancient Rome, with a sophisticated water management system that allowed its 40,000 inhabitants to survive in the harsh desert environment. Scientists have discovered a hidden monument in the center of Petra using high-resolution satellite images, drone photos, and ground surveys, and they estimate there are still many undiscovered tombs and ruins buried beneath the ground. Despite extensive archaeological excavations and research, only about 15% of the ancient city has been fully explored and documented.
28. When the Hoover Dam was being drafted, engineers calculated that it would take 125 years for the concrete to cool if done in a single pour. Instead, they poured it in sectioned blocks, some as big as 50 square feet and 5 feet high. This way, the physical dam itself will survive up to 10,000 years and be one of the last remaining visible and recognizable monuments of humans on the planet. Also, the first death occurred on December 20, 1922, during its construction. Exactly 13 years later, on December 20th, 1935, the last death occurred, and the two men were father and son, respectively.
29. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City, one of the most important Catholic churches in the world, was funded by selling indulgences—letters excusing you from sin. Rich people even bought these in advance for sins they planned on committing. During the demolition of Old St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican in the 17th century, over 100 papal tombs were destroyed.
30. Angkor Wat, located in Cambodia, is the largest religious structure in the world. Built in the early 12th century, it was originally a Hindu temple before being converted to a Buddhist temple. The temple complex is massive, spanning over 80 times the size of St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City and at least 3.5 times the size of the entire Vatican City. Unlike the Egyptian pyramids, which were built with stone quarried from only 0.5 km away, Angkor Wat was constructed using stone quarried from over 35 km away, making it one of the most impressive engineering feats in history.
Latest FactRepublic Video:
15 Most Controversial & Costly Blunders in History
31Mount Rushmore's Secret
Mount Rushmore, located in South Dakota, is a national monument that honors four American presidents. Behind the monument is a room that was intended to house important documents and information about the carving of the presidents' faces. However, construction of the room was halted when the government ordered the sculptor to focus on the faces instead. The room now contains 16 porcelain and enamel tablets describing the project and a brief history of the United States. The tablets are kept in a teakwood box and sealed inside a titanium vault, located behind Lincoln's hairline.
32. The Great Sphinx of Giza, one of the most recognizable landmarks in Egypt, was carved out of a single mass of limestone found in a horseshoe-shaped quarry. Some archaeologists argue that the Sphinx is far older than previously believed due to evidence of water erosion, head recarving, and megalithic sites. When confronted with these findings, the minister of Egyptology dismissed them by saying, "I don't believe in radar." The Sphinx was first restored in 1400 BC, by which time it was already several thousand years old.
33. The Hagia Sophia, a prominent landmark in Istanbul, Turkey, was originally a Christian church before it was converted into a mosque. The city was violently conquered by the Ottomans, who murdered and raped citizens for three days with approval from their sultan. All those who held liturgies in the Hagia Sophia were killed. The mosque also sits atop an ancient series of underground tunnels, 800 feet beneath its foundation. A documentary crew, granted rare permission to explore these tunnels, discovered sealed passages, a graveyard with children's bones, and the burial chamber of the first priest of Hagia Sophia.
34. The Burj Khalifa, the world's tallest skyscraper, stands on sand without any bedrock. Its base is supported by a massive concrete slab, which acts like a snowshoe and prevents it from sinking. 194 shafts of concrete were dug into ancient seashell dust to provide friction, and it is the only thing holding up the building. Despite its towering height, the Burj Khalifa is not connected to the municipal sewage system, and its waste water is transported out of town by trucks, which sometimes have to wait in line for up to 24 hours.
35. The Palace of Versailles was originally a royal hunting lodge. In order to supply water to the parks of the Palace of Versailles, Louis XIV ordered the construction of the machine Marly to pump water from the Seine, located 10 km from the castle with a drop of 150 meters. This machine, considered one of the most complex of its time, worked for 133 years. The Moberly-Jourdain incident is an eerie incident that supposedly took place in the gardens of the Palace of Versailles in 1901. Two women claimed to have traveled back in time to the 18th century and witnessed the court of Marie Antoinette. Their story has fascinated and perplexed people ever since, with some believing it to be a genuine paranormal experience and others dismissing it as a hoax or hallucination.
