The story behind this beloved toy—named for Theodore Roosevelt and owned by his grandson—is more complicated than you might guess.

An overlooked tribute to one of the most important peace deals in American history.

The little-known, 300-year history of the area includes former lives as a bustling tobacco port, parking lot, and industrial dump.

The oldest building in the District of Columbia was preserved because of a mistaken connection to George Washington.

An obscure federal monument honors the French diplomat who served as Ambassador to the U.S. during WWI.

Enormous piles of historically significant stones, dumped by Congress in a forest, and abandoned for 60 years.

A Civil War fort in the middle of Washington, D.C. has been swallowed by a forest.

The Pentagon sits on a former island that was in Virginia at low tide and D.C. at high tide.

The national park was once a plantation estate.

At 207 feet, one of the world's longest continuous escalators.

This unique historical monument features large concrete spheres designed to resemble fallen stars.

An oft-overlooked, magically musical monolith that stands majestically between Arlington Cemetery and the Iwo Jima Memorial.

Though his role as the inventor of baseball may be up for debate, fans still festoon Doubleday's grave with baseballs.

The hidden offices underneath Memorial Bridge have been locked up since 1976.

A gift from Scotland to the United States in memory of the 270 lives lost when Pan Am Flight 103 exploded over Lockerbie due to a terrorist bombing.

This poor little statue is the most vandalized memorial in Washington.

The most accurate timepiece in the world.

When it comes to handsignals (and colonialism) rock always beats scissors.

The sculptor was instructed to add “stallion attributes” to the general's bronze mare.

A bas relief commemorates the "Nuns of the Battlefield" who cared for soldiers on both sides of the conflict.

An overlooked memorial honoring the local Washington residents who died in World War I.

A derelict bit of infrastructure from the canal that once ran through D.C. is landlocked in the heart of the city.

The preamble to the U.S. Constitution written entirely from vanity license plates hangs in the Smithsonian museum.

Light bulbs, scrap wood, and tinfoil comprise this homemade throne of the gods.