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Embark on a captivating journey through two distinct yet intertwining worlds. Immerse yourself in the realm of creativity and intrigue, where the boundaries between art and technology blur, and history holds awe-inspiring secrets waiting to be unveiled.
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00:00Hey, I have an invitation for you. Pack your bags and let's head down to the world's most visited city,
00:06Paris.
00:07The city of love, the city of blinding lights, or whatever you want to call it.
00:12Our goal is to uncover as many secrets as possible regarding the world-famous Musée de Louvre.
00:19Are you up for it? Grab your travel book and bon voyage!
00:22The Louvre makes a big impression if you're visiting it for the first time.
00:27The traditional French Renaissance architecture is mixed with some modern elements, like the Louvre Pyramid.
00:33And that's our first stop today.
00:35To get inside the museum, you can go through the huge glass pyramid sitting right there in the Louvre's courtyard.
00:43If you're wondering what's the deal with this pyramid, let's stop here for a few minutes and learn some more
00:49about it.
00:49The Louvre Pyramid hasn't been here since the beginning.
00:53After all, the Louvre's main building, a.k.a. the Louvre Palace, dates back to 1190.
00:59But before it looked like what you see today, this place was a castle, full of moats and dungeons.
01:06And not dragons, because those aren't real, unfortunately.
01:10Anyways, the palace was commissioned by French King Philip II.
01:14Oh, and you can check out some of the medieval Louvre in the museum's basement.
01:20The Louvre only became a museum quite recently, historically speaking.
01:25In 1793, after the French Revolution, the nation decided that this building would be used to display France's prized collection
01:33of art.
01:35It wasn't until the 1980s that the idea of the glass pyramid came along.
01:40Then-president, François Mitterrand, issued a big renovation of the Louvre.
01:46The project was called Grand Louvre.
01:48And it included the construction of a new entrance for visitors.
01:52By the 80s, the museum had already been receiving millions of visitors per year.
01:57And the entrance would often get crowded.
02:00And that's when foreign architect Ayo Ming Pei comes along.
02:04Mitterrand hired Pei to build an entrance that would connect the museum's three pavilions.
02:08And if you ask me, I'd say he did a pretty good job.
02:12We're talking about 200 tons of glass and iron.
02:17Not to mention that this glass, the so-called diamond glass, was specially designed to be completely transparent.
02:23Without any green or blue tint to it.
02:26Pei wanted visitors to have a clear view of the main buildings without the glass interfering with it.
02:33It took two years just to get the glass color right.
02:37It also took a while before Pei decided he was going to build a pyramid.
02:42He experimented with designing a cube and even a hemisphere.
02:46But since the original building doesn't have any curves, this would make the courtyard piece too out of context.
02:53So, he decided to build a pyramid instead.
02:56Inspired by the ones in Egypt.
02:58After all, the Louvre holds an immense collection of ancient Egyptian artifacts.
03:03So, that kind of makes sense.
03:05Just a wild guess here.
03:07The thing is, the French are pretty critical.
03:10And once the Louvre pyramid was finished in 1988, it became the center of a very heated debate.
03:16Public opinion was unsettled by such a modern construction.
03:20Today, people take all kinds of weird selfies with the pyramid.
03:24But back then, locals were saying that the modern architecture had nothing to do with the Louvre's Renaissance style or
03:31even the history of the building.
03:33Some even said that the pyramid wasn't French enough.
03:36Yikes!
03:38Standing in line to get inside the Louvre, you can't help but wonder, how do people clean this huge glass
03:45pyramid?
03:45We're talking glass slopes, so this sure isn't an easy feat.
03:49In the beginning, the museum administration apparently hired mountaineers to climb it and clean it.
03:54And some still do this job nowadays, when the robot built for this task can't clean all the dirty spots
04:00off the glass.
04:01I'm not joking.
04:02The Louvre pyramid is cleaned by a robot.
04:05You know what they say, the future is here.
04:09Once you're down the escalators, you'll notice that this awesome pyramid you were taking pictures with upstairs has an inverted
04:16face to it downstairs.
04:17It serves as a skylight to the Carousel de Louvre, which is like an underground shopping mall or the museum's
04:25main lobby.
04:26Hey, look, there's an Apple store, except that the French people pronounce it Aipel.
04:32You'll have the option to choose from three different wings of the museum, the Richelot, Solis, or Denon.
04:38I say we begin with Denon.
04:40You'll understand why in a bit.
04:42Did you know that the Louvre exhibits around 35,000 pieces of art?
04:47That's why it's virtually impossible to visit everything in one day.
04:51If you're an art lover, you'll have to come back here for more visits.
04:55But to see all the pieces of art, spending around 30 seconds on each, you'd have to visit the Louvre
05:00over 100 times.
05:02And that's not counting restroom and lunch breaks.
05:06You get the picture, right?
05:08The museum is huge.
05:09That's why it takes about a 10-minute walk to get from the lobby entrance to the Louvre's most famous
05:14painting, the Mona Lisa.
05:17But since you're here early, you managed to take good pictures of this da Vinci masterpiece.
05:22A little-known fact, the Mona Lisa was once stolen from the Louvre.
05:28It was once stolen at night by a man called Vincenzo Perugia.
05:32He was an employee of the museum, and investigators think he slept inside the Louvre to perform what is known
05:39as the greatest art theft of the 20th century.
05:43Apparently, the next morning, Vincenzo simply walked out of the museum with the Mona Lisa hidden among his belongings.
05:50The Mona Lisa was gone for almost two years until the painting was recovered in Italy.
05:56Who knows?
05:57Maybe she enjoyed the trip back to her homeland.
06:00If you're an art history buff, you might know that the Mona Lisa has lots of theories revolving around it.
06:06The painting is shrouded in mystery.
06:08That's a fact.
06:09A strong case has been made that the Mona Lisa could be a self-portrait of da Vinci himself.
06:16Historians have compared da Vinci's face and that of the Mona Lisa.
06:19And guess what?
06:20They appear to be strikingly similar.
06:24Also, a 2010 study done by Italy's Committee for Cultural Heritage found that there is a collection of symbols hidden
06:32in the painting.
06:33These are only visible through highly technological magnifying lenses, but they showed that Leonardo inscribed an LV inside Mona Lisa's
06:42right eye.
06:43Experts guess that this is da Vinci's signature, but the other symbols, a CE in the left eye and a
06:5072 in the arch of the background bridge, are still a mystery.
06:55But enough about La Gioconda.
06:57We want to get to the Soli wing of the museum.
07:00Along the way, you'll see some people sitting in front of paintings with a drawing book or even a canvas.
07:05Is that allowed?
07:06Yep, this is a very interesting feature of the Musée de Louvre.
07:10The museum houses an art school called École de Louvre.
07:14The students of this school, as well as other Parisian institutions, can get permits to sit in front of paintings
07:20and copy them.
07:22This way, promising young artists can learn directly from the source.
07:26They copy the works of Renoir, Monet, and Poussin, trying to figure out the techniques these painters used.
07:32Hmm, can I sign up for this, please?
07:36To finish your tour, you're visiting the ancient moat we talked about earlier in this video.
07:41You know, the one that was part of the original Louvre when it was still a castle.
07:45Thanks to the archaeological excavations that happened in the 1980s, this part was uncovered and has been open for visitation
07:52since 2016.
07:54You can even see a miniature model of what the original castle looked like.
07:59And if you visited other landmarks in Paris, you'll notice that it's pretty similar to the Conciergerie.
08:05I wonder if they've ever thought about producing cheese down here.
08:08It seems like a perfect place.
08:10Oh well, I hope you enjoyed learning some secrets of the world's most famous museum.
08:15See you next time!
08:29Look, there are wet footprints in the corridor.
08:46They're wet, so it means they're still fresh, and they don't belong to Adele because she just walked in.
08:52There's someone in her house.
08:55Keep your brain working, because here's another one.
08:58Mrs. Carpenter has three daughters, Ava, Jane, and Mia.
09:02Ava is now twice as old as Jane will be when Mia turns as old as Ava is now.
09:08Who is the oldest daughter, and who is the youngest?
09:22Let's rephrase it.
09:23Sometime in the future, Mia will be as old as Ava is now, and Jane will be half that age.
09:31So, obviously, Ava is the oldest, and Jane is the youngest.
09:37Mrs. Brown is a landlady of an apartment building with a no-pet policy.
09:42Not even fish are allowed.
09:44One night, she heard a cat meowing.
09:47The sound was coming from the floor above.
09:49The next day, she inspected two apartments.
09:52In which apartment does the cat live?
10:04Look, there's a cat's house in the corner of this apartment.
10:07The cat must live there.
10:11Esme was having a walk in the forest and got lost.
10:15After wandering around for a while, she found a witch's house and asked her to take her home.
10:21The witch was busy with potions, but she agreed to help Esme if the girl helped her first.
10:26There were four ingredients the witch needed for the potion.
10:29A few bugs, a secret herb, some magic powder, and dried mushrooms.
10:34The witch didn't remember in what order she needed to add the ingredients, but she remembered this.
10:40What's the correct order?
10:51There are four ingredients.
10:53If the powder is added before at least two of them, it means that it's added either the first or
10:58second.
10:59But since mushrooms should go before the powder, then they're added first, followed by the magic powder.
11:06Then there should be the bugs.
11:08And the secret herb comes last.
11:13Now, I have a very special mission for you.
11:15There's a robber who steals famous paintings from galleries across the globe.
11:20The police all over the world have been looking for the paintings, which the robber hides in different places.
11:26The police have managed to find the first secret place.
11:30Each painting is stored in a chest, with its replica generated by AI.
11:35You can only take out one painting, and after you take it out, the chest will blow up together with
11:40the remaining painting.
11:41So, you have to choose carefully and recognize the original work of art at first glance.
11:47Here's the first chest.
11:49It stores The Scream by Edward Munch, and it's a replica.
11:53Which one is the original?
12:04This is the original.
12:07Now, it's The Starry Night by Vincent van Gogh.
12:11Can you recognize the original?
12:22It's this one.
12:23Did you get it right?
12:26In the next chest, you'll find the famous Mona Lisa, painted by Leonardo da Vinci.
12:31You'll probably recognize this one easily, but the replica is very realistic.
12:36So, keep your eyes wide open.
12:47Yes, this is the one and only Mona Lisa.
12:50It goes back to the Louvre now.
12:53In the fourth chest, there's another famous artwork by Vincent van Gogh.
12:58Café Terrace at Night.
12:59Can you spot the original one?
13:10Here's the original.
13:12Have you saved the correct one?
13:14And now, it's time for the last painting in the discovered batch.
13:18It's The Old Fisherman.
13:20A painting by a Hungarian artist.
13:22Which painting should we save?
13:33This is the one.
13:35Congratulations and thank you for your help.
13:37We'll let you know if other paintings are found.
13:43A detective went on vacation to Spain.
13:45But at night, someone broke into his neighbor's hotel room and stole all her valuables.
13:50In the morning, the detective analyzed the camera footage and came up with three suspects.
13:55They all agreed to answer some questions.
13:58Jack said,
13:59I arrived late in the evening and I was sleeping the whole night.
14:04Allison said,
14:05I went out at night.
14:06I came to my room only a couple of hours ago.
14:09Robert said,
14:10I don't know this woman.
14:12I didn't rob her.
14:14Who should the detective arrest?
14:26He arrived late in the evening.
14:29But then, when did he get sunburned?
14:31There's no sun in the evening.
14:33He must have spent more time in the hotel than he claimed.
14:38Eliza went for a walk in a dark forest and she found an old mansion.
14:42Of course, she went there to see what was inside.
14:45As soon as she entered, the door behind her back got locked.
14:49It was a magic house.
14:51There were three exits, but each of them seemed dangerous.
14:54Behind the first door, there was a laser with a motion sensor.
14:58Behind the second door, the floor was made of lava that burned anything that touched it.
15:03Behind the third door, there was a huge herbivore dinosaur.
15:07Which way should Eliza choose to get out safely?
15:19Eliza should pick the last entrance.
15:21Firstly, dinos are extinct.
15:22But even if there actually was one, a herbivore dino would only eat plants.
15:27It wouldn't be interested in a human.
15:30Hannah was chilling at home, drinking tea and reading, when she heard a knock on the door.
15:35She opened the door and there was a stranger there.
15:38Oh, sorry.
15:39I must have confused the floors.
15:40I've just moved in.
15:42Sorry for disturbing you.
15:43When the guy left, Hannah called the police because she didn't believe it was just a mistake.
15:48Why was he so suspicious?
15:59The problem was that the guy knocked.
16:02If he had really thought it was his apartment, he'd have tried to open the door with his keys.
16:08Good news.
16:09Police have discovered another batch of stolen paintings.
16:12Just like the previous one, they're stored in chests.
16:15Each has a replica and only one can be saved.
16:18Are you ready to save some art?
16:21Here's the first one.
16:22American Gothic, painted by Grant Wood.
16:25Where is the original one?
16:36Here it is.
16:37Did you recognize it?
16:40Okay, the second chest.
16:42And that's Girl with a Pearl Earring by Johannes Vermeer.
16:45Can you spot the original girl?
16:57Here she is.
16:59We all know the next one.
17:01The Persistence of Memory by Salvador Dali.
17:04It was stolen from the Museum of Modern Art in New York.
17:07And we have to return it.
17:09But which one?
17:19This is a replica.
17:20And this is the original.
17:22Did you save the right one?
17:25Just two more left.
17:26So stay alert.
17:27In the fourth chest, we have The Kiss by Gustav Klimt.
17:32As always, you should decide which of the two is the original.
17:35So, what's your call?
17:46Of course, this is the one.
17:49And it's time to save the last painting.
17:52The Mysterious Black Square by Kazimir Malevich.
17:56Can you find the original one?
18:07It wasn't easy, but this is the one you need.
18:09Thank you for your help.
18:11The paintings all go back to where they were stolen from.
18:15Nikki participated in a game show.
18:17And she won.
18:18She won three exclusive gifts.
18:21A Montclair jacket, a Vivienne Westwood purse, and a Ferrari.
18:25But here's a catch.
18:26She is to pick her presence herself by choosing between the original and a replica.
18:31Will you help her pick the correct prize?
18:34Here are two Montclair jackets.
18:37One of them is the original, and the other is a replica.
18:39Which one should Nikki choose?
18:50This one, it has the correct logo, so it must be the original.
18:55Next, two identical purses.
18:57But only one of them is the original one from Vivienne Westwood.
19:01Which one?
19:11This one, with the correct logo.
19:14And finally, a Ferrari.
19:16Let's see if you remember their logo.
19:28Yes, this is the one.
19:29Great job.
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