00:00You won't believe the stories behind these monuments.
00:02Quick hook, one monument hides a secret room.
00:05Guess which? Stay to find out.
00:07Counting down the top 10 with insane wow facts.
00:11What's up everyone, it's Liz,
00:13and today we are going on an absolutely epic journey across the United States.
00:17I'm talking about the biggest, the boldest,
00:20and the most mind-blowing monuments this country has to offer.
00:23We're doing a fast-paced 5-minute countdown,
00:26and for each one, I've got a wow fact that will change how you see these icons.
00:32Seriously, some of these are just crazy.
00:35This isn't your boring history class.
00:37We'll see a monument taller than any in the Western Hemisphere,
00:40and another with a secret room almost nobody knows about.
00:44Stay till the end.
00:45The number one story is absolutely insane.
00:48Let's get into it, uh, right now.
00:50Kicking off our list at number 10 is the Gateway Arch in St. Louis, Missouri.
00:54Standing at an incredible 630 feet,
00:57it's the tallest man-made monument in the United States,
01:00and the tallest arch in the world.
01:02Designed by Eero Saarinen to commemorate the nation's westward expansion.
01:06Wow fact.
01:07It's as wide as it is tall.
01:09630 by 630.
01:12Perfect symmetry.
01:13It can sway up to 18 inches in high winds.
01:16A flexible, earthquake-resistant mathematical marvel.
01:19The legs were built separately.
01:21Off by even 1 64th of an inch and they'd miss.
01:25Crews even cooled the sun-heated side with water so the final piece would fit.
01:29Not just a monument, precision made visible.
01:32Coming in at number 9, the Liberty Bell in Philadelphia.
01:35More than a cracked bell, it's a symbol of independence.
01:39Proclaim liberty throughout all the land.
01:41Wow fact.
01:42No one knows for sure how it first cracked.
01:45And the repair?
01:45Stop Drilling widened it into the famous fissure we see today.
01:50After its final toll, it was silenced forever.
01:52Its quiet now speaks volumes.
01:55At number 8, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
01:58Simple, elegant, deeply moving.
02:01Designed by Maya Lin at 21,
02:03the reflective granite lets you see yourself among the names.
02:06Number 7.
02:07The Golden Gate Bridge.
02:09San Francisco's defining icon.
02:11When it opened in 1937,
02:14it was the longest and tallest suspension bridge in the world.
02:18Built to battle high winds,
02:19fierce currents,
02:20and dense fog.
02:22Wow fact.
02:23It's not red.
02:25It's international orange.
02:26A primer color that architect Irving Morrow fought to keep.
02:30Engineer Joseph Strauss mandated hard hats
02:33and a giant safety net that saved 19 men,
02:36the halfway to hell club.
02:37An icon of design,
02:38and of safety.
02:41At number 6,
02:42the Alamo,
02:43defiance and sacrifice in San Antonio, Texas.
02:46In 1836,
02:47a small force held out for 13 days against Santa Ana's army.
02:52Wow fact.
02:53The iconic curved facade,
02:55the gable,
02:56was added about 14 years later by the U.S. Army.
02:59It wasn't there during the battle.
03:01The chapel is only a fragment of the original mission complex.
03:05Preservation continues to tell its complex history.
03:07Sometimes a defeat inspires victory.
03:11Remember the Alamo?
03:13Cracking our top 5,
03:14the Jefferson Memorial,
03:16an open-air tribute to the author of the Declaration of Independence.
03:20Inspired by Rome's pantheon,
03:22chosen by architect John Russell Pope.
03:25Wow fact.
03:26During the Buhayi,
03:28a plaster statue painted to look like bronze,
03:30stood inside.
03:31The bronze arrived in 1947.
03:33Inside,
03:35Jefferson's words on liberty,
03:37freedom,
03:37and education surround you,
03:39inviting quiet reflection.
03:42More than a statue,
03:43a temple to ideals.
03:44nell singing
03:52.
03:56.
03:56.
03:57.
04:05.
04:05Number 4. The Washington Monument, D.C.'s unmistakable spire. At 555 feet, it's the
04:22world's tallest stone structure and tallest obelisk. Wow fact. You can see where construction
04:27paused. Stone color shifts about 150 feet up. A literal time capsule. Briefly, the world's
04:34tallest structure until the Eiffel Tower. Ride the elevator for breathtaking views of
04:38the Capitol. Number 3. The Lincoln Memorial. More than a memorial. It's a national stage.
04:46Here Dr. King delivered, I have a dream. If Lincoln stood, he'd be 28 feet tall. Legend
04:53says the sculptor hid initials in Lincoln's hair. One hand clenched for resolve, one open
04:58for compassion. Speeches etched in stone make you feel small and inspired. Number 2. Mount
05:06Rushmore. 60-foot faces carved into the Black Hills. Chosen to represent the nation's birth,
05:12growth, development, and preservation. Wow. Fact. A secret hall of records was planned behind
05:19Lincoln's head. Unfinished. But in 1998, a repository with 16 panels was placed at the entrance.
05:25A message to people thousands of years from now. And our number one most insane monument,
05:31the Statue of Liberty. Wow fact. She started copper brown like a new penny. Oxidation formed a
05:38protective green patina. Her copper skin is only 3 32nds of an inch, thinner than 2 pennies, yet weighs 31
05:46tons. Her original lighthouse torch was so dim it was almost useless. An icon with a story as monumental
05:53as her size. And that is a wrap on the top 10. Which monument surprised you most? Drop a comment,
06:01like, subscribe, and hit the bell. Next up, 10 hidden U.S. landmarks you won't believe exist.
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