Collections · Towers, palaces & grisly history
Monuments & the Macabre
The landmarks everyone knows, plus the dark corners of how they got here: the Tower of London, the Great Fire, a battle or two, and the buildings that watched it all happen.
30 places in this collection
- 1Statue of Libertyhistoric site · United States
The Statue of Liberty was designed by Bartholdi and he based the body on his mistress and the face on his mother, which is a little bit Freudian, isn't it?
Open this place → - 2Eiffel Towerhistoric site · France
This was for a world's exposition which France was holding in 1900, and they needed a sequel to the Eiffel Tower, because the Eiffel Tower was a huge hit and they said we need another thing that's really big…
Open this place → - 3Empire State Buildinghistoric site · United States
The workers on the Empire State Building used to carve their wives' names into the buildings.
Open this place → - 4Buckingham Palacehistoric site · United Kingdom
In 1896, telephone wires were laid between Buckingham Palace and a bunch of concert halls in London so that the royal family, whenever they wanted to, could listen to a concert.
Open this place → - 5Great Wall of Chinahistoric site · China
On the Great Wall of China, you know the whole thing about whether you can see it from space or not.
Open this place → - 6Tower of Londonhistoric site · United Kingdom
He also closed the Royal Menagerie, which used to be based at the Tower of London.
Open this place → - 7White Househistoric site · United States
My fact is that American president Calvin Coolidge used to ride a robot horse inside the White House three times every day.
Open this place → - 8Bletchley Parkhistoric site · United Kingdom
Alan Turing, at Bletchley Park, used to chain his cup to a radiator so that no one would steal it.
Open this place → - 9Golden Gate Bridgehistoric site · United States
There were out-of-work men who would routinely line the sight of the Golden Gate Bridge, and they were waiting for someone to either quit or fall off the bridge.
Open this place → - 10Berlin Wallhistoric site · Germany
When the Berlin Wall, when people were trying to get across, there was that couple where the lady who shouldn't have gone across was sewn into the seat of the car.
Open this place → - 11Stonehengehistoric site · United Kingdom
In 1915, a wealthy barrister called Sir Cecil Chubb went to an auction in Salisbury intending to buy a pair of curtains at a knock-down price and ended up buying Stonehenge.
Open this place → - 12Tower Bridgehistoric site · United Kingdom
If you've ever seen the movie Speed, where they have to jump the gap of a bridge, that happened on Tower Bridge with a bus driver in 1952.
Open this place → - 13Forbidden Cityhistoric site · China
Every single Manchu woman in the kingdom had to apply to become a concubine in the Forbidden City.
Open this place → - 14Pyramidshistoric site · New Zealand
There was one called Blackpool, and there was another which was called Pyramid.
Open this place → - 15Burj Khalifahistoric site · United Arab Emirates
The main company that does Burj Khalifa, which is the highest building — if you want to get a job there, they show you a video nasty before you are allowed to apply.
Open this place → - 16Versailleshistoric site · France
The French built the Hall of Mirrors in Versailles, which was a big fuck you to Venice.
Open this place → - 17Pompeiihistoric site · Italy
The only example of a giraffe leg in all of ancient Rome is found in Pompeii.
Open this place → - 18Leaning Tower of Pisahistoric site · Italy
It's been leaning over more and more away from the House of Parliament, and they've worked out that if it keeps falling over at the rate it is falling over, in about 4,000 years' time, it'll be leaning as much…
Open this place → - 19Crystal Palacehistoric site · United Kingdom
In Crystal Palace in London, this family discovered in their basement an unexploded World War II bomb, and they found it in the evening, but they didn't call the police because they didn't want to wake the…
Open this place → - 20London Bridgehistoric site · United Kingdom
Lots of the previous London Bridge got sold off as souvenirs.
Open this place → - 21Great Pyramidhistoric site · Egypt
If a sausage could jump that quickly, then it could get to the top of the Great Pyramid at Giza in three seconds.
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- 23Battle of Agincourthistoric site · France
Almost every Englishman at the Battle of Agincourt ate a small amount of soil just before the battle started.
Open this place → - 24Great Fire of Londonhistoric site · United Kingdom
It avoided the Great Fire of London, then in 1672 it caught up with the curve and it burned down.
Open this place → - 25Taj Mahalhistoric site · India
It started in April 2008 when a Dutch student committed the act on the Taj Mahal.
Open this place → - 26Coliseumhistoric site · Italy
There was the Pertauris, which the sources we have suggest was a giant seesaw, and we think it was used at kind of half time in the Coliseum.
Open this place → - 27Big Benhistoric site · United Kingdom
The Big Ben Tower has a prison in it that they keep naughty MPs in.
Open this place → - 28London Eyehistoric site · United Kingdom
The king accused the wizard of stealing his spot, which was by the London Eye — prime turf.
Open this place → - 29Machu Picchuhistoric site · Peru
They had a ceremony in 2005 and they've twinned with the great Inca city of Machu Picchu.
Open this place → - 30Palace of Westminsterhistoric site · United Kingdom
There are 24 fire patrol officers who go around the Palace of Westminster.
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